Gennifer Choldenko was born in Santa Monica, California. Gennifer Choldenko is a Newbery Honor-winning American writer of popular books for children and adolescents. Her first novel, Notes From a Liar and Her Dog was named "Best Book of the Year" by School Library Journal and her second, Al Capone Does My Shirts, part of Al Capone on Alcatraz series, won the 2005 Newbery Honor citation.