Swati Avasthi has a BA from The University of Chicago and an MFA from The University of Minnesota.  Her first novel, SPLIT, received the International Reading Association’s Young Adult Award, a CYBILS Award, and a Silver Parent’s Choice Award.  It was included on YALSA’s a Best Fiction for Young Adults in 2011 and is being translated into three languages.  In other words, Swati’s feet haven’t touched the ground since it was released.  Her second novel, CHASING SHADOWS, is due out from Knopf in 2012 and please visit her at www.swatiavasthi.com