Originally published in Cranston High School West’s student newspaper The West Wind

Sophomore Alessandra Russo, otherwise known by her pen name, ‘Ali Marie’, has become a published author by writing and publishing three books before the age of sixteen. Her three books include a children’s book called The Ski Trip Countdown, and two young adult mysteries, called What Went Wrong Last Summer and A Girl Named Ivy.

“The Ski Trip Countdown is a children’s book I wrote based on my own experience of a ski trip, and that was written when I was about eight to eleven.” The Ski Trip Countdown was Russo’s first book, and is her only children's book. Russo stated that this book was originally a journal she wrote to help with her anxiety regarding her trip.

Russo continued, “A Girl Named Ivy is a medical mystery about a girl in a coma and after she wakes up from this two year coma, she does not know anything but her first name.” A Girl Named Ivy was her first young adult novel, published in 2022.

What Went Wrong Last Summer is a book based in Block Island, Rhode Island, and it is about friend group who goes through some mysterious happenings with a stalker. Russo’s third book, published in 2023, is her most recent novel, highlighting local, well known sites on Block Island. Russo’s inspiration, as she described, came from not only other authors, but from within herself as well.

“A lot of writers write to relieve overthinking, and I do that as well, and I think seeing other people’s journey really helps me to write my books.”

Russo explained that the hardest part of the process was formatting. All three of her books were self published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. All formatting, editing, and corrections were done directly by her, making it an overall time consuming process.

On Friday, March 22, Russo sent out an official press release to draw more publicity to her work. Within the press release, she stated that she has a new novel idea in the works that she will begin to plan in the coming months. “Obviously, I don’t have all the details in place yet, but I also want it to be a medical mystery. I want there to be a stalker involved as well, so it is a mystery novel, and I’m still putting everything into place, but it does involve a movie star as well.”

When asked about her goals, Russo reveals her ambitious goals for the future, stating, “It would be amazing to be highlighted on the New York Times Bestselling List. I think that's a goal a lot of people, including myself, have.”

Many authors struggle to produce work and get it out into the world as adults, so for a teen author such as Russo to write and self-publish three books before adulthood, it is especially significant.