Walter Dean Myers, the young adult author known for his honest, gripping books about growing up as an African American, has passed away at the age of 76. Works of his like Monster, Fallen Angels and Hoops were celebrated for their courage, poignancy and for breaking ground in the YA genre. Current YA it-man and The Fault In Our Stars author John Green took to Twitter to express his sadness: “Myers inspired generations of readers, including a 12-year-old me when I read ‘Fallen Angels,’ and then a 22-year-old me when I read ‘Monster,’” John Green, author of the bestselling “The Fault in Our Stars. It’s hard to imagine YA literature without him.” Over the course of Myers’ life, he penned six Newbery Honor Books and three National Book Award finalists. He also won the first Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature and the first Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement …
