Catherine Clark Books in Order
Explore Catherine Clark books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, and easy suggestions for where to start with her funny, heartfelt YA fiction.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
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Publication Order
28 books
What's So Funny about Ninth Grade?
by Catherine Clark
1991
After a painful talent-show flop, Sheila loses confidence in herself as a performer. She has to decide whether she can risk one more public try when the spring musical comes around.
Girl of the Year
by Catherine Clark
1993
Megan Patterson suddenly finds herself in the spotlight as the host of her own cable talk show. The attention feels exciting, but fame starts putting pressure on the people, and the boyfriend, who knew her before it did.
Wiseguys in Love
by Catherine Clark
1993
Michael Bonello is a terrible mob recruit, Lisa Johnson is in over her head, and one bad decision sends them into a comic spiral of gangsters, kidnappings, and romance. It is part caper, part love story, and happily off-balance.
My So-Called Life
by Catherine Clark
1995
Based on the TV series, this novel steps inside Angela Chase's head as she navigates school, friendship, family, and her obsession with Jordan Catalano. It keeps the awkwardness and emotional intensity that made the show memorable.
The Day I Met Him
by Catherine Clark
1995
A teen romance about the shock of first attraction and how one meeting can rearrange everything you thought you knew. Catherine Clark keeps the focus on emotion, uncertainty, and the thrill of a relationship just beginning.
Bank Robbers
by Catherine Clark
1996
Dottie Weist decides robbing a bank might be the only way to take control of her life, which is only the start of the trouble. Catherine Clark turns the setup into a quirky crime comedy about old connections, bad plans, and second chances.
My So-Called Life Goes On
by Catherine Clark
1997
School is out, but Angela Chase and her friends are still tangled in crushes, work, and identity crises. This summer follow-up keeps the show's sharp teen voice while pushing everyone into new complications.
Lost in Space
by Catherine Clark
1998
The Robinson family blasts off on a mission to colonize a new world, only to be thrown wildly off course by sabotage. Stranded with Major West, Dr. Smith, and the Robot, they have to survive the unknown together.
Middle Sister
by Catherine Clark
2000
Lucy Camden is tired of being squeezed between an older sister who shines and a younger one who gets her way. This 7th Heaven tie-in follows her search for a place in a loud, loving family.
Truth or Dairy/Banana Splitsville
by Catherine Clark
2000
Courtney Von Dragen Smith starts senior year newly single, working at Truth or Dairy, and trying to swear off boys. That would be easier if heartbreak, friendship drama, and one especially distracting guy would leave her alone.
Star-Crossed
by Catherine Clark
2001
A short teen romance about falling hard when timing and circumstances are all wrong. Catherine Clark leans into the rush, confusion, and ache that make first love feel impossible to ignore.
Wurst Case Scenario/Rocky Road Trip
by Catherine Clark
2001
Courtney leaves Colorado for college in Wisconsin and discovers that long-distance love, dorm life, and vegan ideals are harder to manage in America's Dairyland. Told in her sharp diary voice, it is funny, messy, and very college-freshman.
I Do, Don't I?
by Catherine Clark
2002
As Lorelai's wedding plans start taking over life in Stars Hollow, Rory is pulled into the chaos while juggling school and her own feelings. This Gilmore Girls tie-in captures the mix of heart, humor, and family drama that drives the show.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
by Catherine Clark
2002
This Gilmore Girls tie-in follows Rory and Lorelai through school stress, family pressure, and the familiar blur of love and fast talk in Stars Hollow. It keeps the focus on the pair's close, complicated bond.
Better Latte Than Never
by Catherine Clark
2003
Peggy Fleming Farrell is working at the Gas'n Git, paying for her mistakes, and trying to survive a very small-town summer. Between family drama, bad luck, and an unexpected burst of real excitement, things get weird fast.
Frozen Rodeo
by Catherine Clark
2003
Peggy Fleming Farrell is stuck in a tiny-town summer of gas-station work, family chaos, and a crush that refuses to cooperate. Then a run of strange local drama turns her boring season into something much wilder.
Maine Squeeze
by Catherine Clark
2004
Colleen thinks her Maine island summer is mapped out: friends, work, and time with her boyfriend Ben. Then Evan, the boy who broke her heart last year, shows up again and throws the whole season off balance.
The Alison Rules
by Catherine Clark
2004
Nearly a year after her mother's death, Alison is still living by a set of private rules designed to keep grief from shifting. New friendships and a possible romance make it harder to stay safely frozen in place.
Icing on the Lake
by Catherine Clark
2005
Kirsten spends winter in Minneapolis helping her injured sister and caring for a young nephew. Between snow, skating, and two very different brothers, her supposedly dull break turns into a romantic mess.
So Inn Love
by Catherine Clark
2007
Liza takes a summer job at a fancy seaside inn expecting easy money, sun, and maybe romance. Instead she lands on the cleaning crew and falls for a guy she is probably not supposed to date.
Picture Perfect
by Catherine Clark
2008
Emily returns to the Outer Banks hoping for a carefree summer and maybe a new crush next door. That plan gets messy fast when Spencer, the boy who hurt her before, is suddenly back in the picture.
Wish You Were Here
by Catherine Clark
2008
Ariel expects a miserable summer trapped on a cross-country bus tour with her family and a boyfriend back home. Then she meets Andre, and the trip starts forcing her to rethink romance, family, and where she is really headed.
Meanicures
by Catherine Clark
2010
Madison is tired of the mean-girl clique, especially because their leader used to be her best friend. But when a strange anti-mean ritual backfires, Madison and her friends start turning mean too.
Sundae My Prince Will Come
by Catherine Clark
2011
This bind-up follows Courtney Von Dragen Smith through heartbreak, long-distance romance, and the jump from senior year to college. With diary-style humor and plenty of dessert puns, it mixes crushes, friendship drama, and growing up.
How Not to Run for President
by Catherine Clark
2012
After twelve-year-old Aidan saves a presidential candidate at a rally, he is swept into campaign buses, TV cameras, and nonstop political chaos. Fame sounds exciting until the candidate's daughter and the media start turning it into a mess.
How to Meet Boys
by Catherine Clark
2014
Lucy and Mikayla plan a perfect lake summer, until Mikayla falls for Jackson, the boy who broke Lucy's heart. Their friendship is tested as crushes, jealousy, and old feelings start to collide.
Eleven Things I Promised
by Catherine Clark
2016
Seventeen-year-old Frances heads off on a charity bike race with a wild list of dares from her injured best friend, Stella. Finishing it means facing guilt, secrets, and feelings she did not expect.
The Summer of Everything
by Catherine Clark
2016
This summer bind-up pairs Picture Perfect and Wish You Were Here, two vacation romances with very different moods. One girl heads to the Outer Banks hoping to outrun old heartbreak, while another survives a family bus tour that changes everything.
Where should I start?
If you want classic summer romance: Maine Squeeze → Picture Perfect → Wish You Were Here
If you want friendship with bigger emotions: The Alison Rules → Eleven Things I Promised
If you like diary-style, very funny heroines: Truth or Dairy/Banana Splitsville → Wurst Case Scenario/Rocky Road Trip → Sundae My Prince Will Come
If you want younger middle-grade reads: Meanicures → How Not to Run for President
Author bio
Catherine Clark is a Massachusetts native who grew up in western Massachusetts, where her father taught at Northfield Mount Hermon. She has built her career around stories for teens, especially readers who like humor, awkward crushes, family complications, and girls trying to figure themselves out.
She studied at Wesleyan University and later earned an MFA in creative writing from Colorado State University. Before her fiction career fully took shape, she worked a run of bookish and media jobs, including time as a secretary, in publishing in New York City, and in public television.
That background matters.
Her novels tend to feel close to real teenage life, not because the plots are tiny, but because the details are so recognizable. Summer jobs go sideways. Friendships get weird. Family vacations become endurance tests. A crush can feel like the biggest story in the world, right up until something bigger sneaks in.
A lot of her best-known books live in that sweet spot between funny and heartfelt. Maine Squeeze, Picture Perfect, and Wish You Were Here all lean into summer settings, beaches, road trips, old heartbreaks, and new possibilities. Readers who come to Clark for romance usually stay for the voice: smart, chatty, a little self-mocking, and grounded in the kinds of messes that feel very believable.
She can shift into deeper emotional territory, too. The Alison Rules looks at grief and the odd personal rules people create after loss, while Eleven Things I Promised brings together friendship, guilt, secrecy, and a charity bike race in a story with more weight than its breezy setup first suggests. Even when the feelings get heavier, her writing stays clear and approachable.
She also wrote tie-in novels connected to shows like Gilmore Girls, My So-Called Life, 7th Heaven, and Lost in Space. That makes a lot of sense for her as a writer. She has a strong ear for character voice, especially the quick, slightly exasperated, very teen way of seeing the world that can make a familiar story feel personal again.
One of the nicest small details about her work is the way everyday life turns into fiction. Wish You Were Here was inspired in part by her parents insisting that she take the bus everywhere when she was younger, along with a memorable trip to Mount Rushmore. That is very much her lane: take something mildly annoying, add heart, add humor, and see what happens.
Now she lives in Minneapolis and has worked as a bookseller in Saint Paul at Red Balloon Bookshop. She has also taught at times and, by her own account, goes running every so often. She lives close to books, close to readers, and close to the age group she writes for, and that connection shows.
Her stories know that growing up is rarely graceful.
And that is a big part of why they work.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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