Shani Petroff Books in Order

Shani Petroff writes books for teen and tween readers, moving easily between supernatural comedy, dystopian adventure, and contemporary romance. She lives in New York City and also works in TV news, alongside writing for other outlets.

Her published fiction for younger readers began with the Bedeviled series. Daddy's Little Angel introduces Angel Garret, a girl who learns that her absent father is not merely difficult or mysterious. He is literally the Devil, and he wants a place in her life.

That is a lot for one middle-schooler to process.

The books that follow, including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress, Careful What You Wish For, and Love Struck, keep Angel caught between family complications, friendship trouble, crushes, and powers she has not quite learned to control. The premise is playful, but the stakes stay close to Angel's everyday world: fitting in, making good choices, and figuring out who to trust.

Petroff later took a sharp turn into dystopian fiction with Ash, co-written with Darci Manley. That novel follows two girls from very different social classes in a future where each person's role is assigned at birth. It lets Petroff explore bigger questions about power, status, and whether a life can really be planned for someone else.

Then came the high-school rom-coms.

In Romeo & What's Her Name, an unprepared understudy suddenly has to play Juliet opposite her longtime crush. My New Crush Gave to Me follows a determined student who rigs a Secret Santa exchange in hopes of winning over the boy she likes, only to spend more time with his very different cousin. Both books lean into awkward plans, school events, friendships, and the gap between a perfect fantasy and real life.

Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over narrows its story to a stormy travel disaster, trapping Sari Silver with the ex who broke her heart and an intriguing stranger. In Finding Mr. Better-Than-You, Camryn's public breakup forces her to rethink the senior-year plan she built around her boyfriend and her dream college. Romance matters in these books, but so do best friends and the slow work of deciding what you want for yourself.

Petroff's characters often start with a plan, then watch it go spectacularly sideways. That gives her stories room for embarrassment, mixed signals, family pressure, and the kind of friendship that survives a bad decision or two.

She has said that when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, watching television, spending time with family and friends, and dreaming up new story ideas. She also writes as Shani Michelle. Across her work, the tone stays approachable, funny, and focused on young people learning that a crush, a label, or even a predicted future does not have to define them.