McGhee attended Holland Patent High School, in New York[1] and Middlebury College in Vermont.
[1] McGhee's first novel, Rainlight, follows the characters left behind after the sudden and accidental death of Starr Williams.
[2] McGhee's sophomore effort, Shadow Baby, is witnessed through the eyes of a young girl who befriends an old man as part of a school project.
Turning her hand to young adult novels, McGhee introduced Snap and All Rivers Flow to the Sea.
[3] McGhee is also a professor of creative writing at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.