War of words breaks out after YA novelist’s fans go after critical reader

Twitterstorm unleashed after Sarah Dessen reveals hurt feelings about graduate’s wish to see her dropped from university curriculum

A bestselling author’s decision to respond to a recent graduate who criticised her books in a local newspaper has seen the graduate bombarded with online abuse and her university apologise for her comments.

YA author Sarah Dessen retweeted a story from South Dakota’s Aberdeen News to her 268,700 Twitter followers in which the graduate, Brooke Nelson, spoke about joining a committee at Northern State University to help choose a book that new students would be required to read on its Common Read course. Nelson said she had joined specifically to speak out against Dessen’s novels being included.

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