Michelle Kadarusman grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and has also lived in Indonesia and Canada. Her 2019 middle-grade novel Girl of the Southern Sea was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award and a Junior Library Guild selection. The Theory of Hummingbirds was a finalist for a number of reader's choice awards. Her 2020 title Music for Tigers was an honor book for the Green Earth Book Award and a USBBY Outstanding International Book, among other honors. Today Michelle lives in Toronto, Canada, when she is not visiting her Australian homeland.