Marcella Pixley is the award-winning author of five acclaimed young adult novels for young people: Freak, Without Tess, Ready to Fall, Trowbridge Road, and most recently, Neshama, which is the Middle Grade winner of the 2025 Sydney Taylor Book Award. Neshama was named a Junior Library Guild Selection for 2025 and a Best Book of 2025 by Bank Street College of Education, Children’s Book Review, NIBLINGS, The Berkshire Eagle, and Tablet Magazine. Neshama was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award. Trowbridge Road was long listed for the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award and the Golden Dome Award.