REBECCA RUPP is the beloved author of more than a dozen books for young readers, among them The Dragon of Lonely Island, Sarah Simpson’s Rules for Living, and Octavia Boone’s Big Questions About Life, the Universe, and Everything. About After Eli, she says, “Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘There never was a good war or a bad peace.’ As a writer during the Revolution, he knew what he was talking about. As another writer in a time of war, I set out to capture the feelings of the young people who have been exposed to it — their fear, their loss, and ultimately their hope.” Rebecca Rupp and her family live in Swanton, Vermont.