While Sarah Dessen was born on June 6, 1970 in Evanston, Illinois, she was raised in North Carolina. Both of her parents were professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. which Dessen later attended from 1988 to 1993 She graduated with highest honors with a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. Dessen sold her first book, That Summer, three years after she graduated. Two of her novels, That Summer and Someone Like You, were the basis for How to Deal, a 2003 movie starring Mandy Moore. Her novel Just Listen, was released in April 2006 and subsequently reached number two on the New York Times Book Review.