Local Authors

The Ungraspable, Uncomfortable, Inconceivable, Unacceptable, Ineffable Untenable Fragrance of Violets...the big question is, what are the nature and demands of forgiveness, and how do you know who must forgive whom, and when, and how? This is not just a memoir. It is a complex saga that has morphed into a trilogy with a sequel. I kept on writing as the world moved onward, replete with meteorological, economic, political, societal changes creating a background noise, a magnetic force that enveloped, encompassed, consumed the rest. I was told that I needed to choose a theme to focus on. Less is more, everyone said, a mantra I had avoided all of my adult life. I am a more is more kind of person, there is no escaping this truth. It is evident in my art, in my home, in my garden. In my family. In the entirety of my life. My art, my studio, my gallery, even my home have been critiqued by some as worthless, untenable, because they are so filled, so encrusted with stuff. And yet, I have been successful. I have persevered, continued with art forms that give me great pleasure, and fought the mighty dragon of minimalism, and managed to survive in the art world. So here's the thing. I have this vision of my story as it is; my last and most important work of art that is comprised of all the details of my life, colored, textured cross threads woven into the woof and warp of a carefully constructed rich complex tapestry. I don't have one simple story, a memory of a period in time, a problem solved. I cannot write a simple memoir; what I have is a saga. The very fact of the interaction, the conflict between all of these disparate elements is the heart and soul of the story, its life force. What it really appears to be is an anthology of interwoven novellas, essays, thoughts, memories... Maybe it will eventually be unreadable, a tree in a forest that fell, sound and motion that no one was there to experience; a huge, deep infinite, tangled forest, too many trees, a situation that makes exploration impossible, a lengthy and cumbersome tome. Does this matter? As long as it is recorded, I can rest easy. One friend has told me I must decide whether I want to write an all encompassing story for my own personal satisfaction or a more marketable endeavor for popular consumption. I ask myself if these are mutually exclusive. So where do I begin? With love, faith, marriage, children, art, law, loss, recovery? Therein lies the rub. Now, having reached the entrance to my eighth decade, it seems as good a place as any to begin as well as end the tale, for chances are, I won't be here to update those last few chapters, and all that is going to be resolved, already is, and that which won't be, will not change. So I begin today, in 2009, introduce myself at this moment in time without giving away the story, and then continue with the source of all adversity, the first domino that falls against all the others, one by one, until they are all knocked down, lying on the ground, motionless.

South Brooklyn in the 1950s
In Grace Zolla Protano's touching memoir we meet the people who most impacted her life: her brothers Jack and Sal, who gave her strength and laughter; her father Anthony, who showed her gentleness and character. We see her mother Fiorentina, who taught her kindness and wonder, but whose emotionally crippling illness stole half a childhood.
Set mainly in Brooklyn in the 1950s, "As Long As You Can See the Clock, You're Okay" is a recollection of growing up with a unique love embodying joy and sadness; pride and shame; tenderness and cruelty.
We sing along with the doo-woppers; we drool over the teen idols as we cheer throughout Alan Freed's Rock and Roll Revue at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater. We play Ringo Levio, Kick the Can and Iron Tag until our moms look out their windows and call us in.
The author longs for her absent mother and we cry with her; she feels a safety just by seeing Downtown Brooklyn's 512 foot icon, the Williamsburgh Savings Bank clock tower, and we understand fully why "As Long As You Can See the Clock, You're Okay."

The true story of six children whose father was leading a double life during the Great Depression, the dire circumstances in which they lived, and their eventual triumph over their difficult beginnings. The story unfolds over the course of a series of letters written by the author's mother.

Montauk Mike is all alone!

Montauk Mike, everyone’s favorite friendly fish and the star of Montauk Has a Very Hungry Shark, returns in a second adventure. Join him in his quest to find a friend of his very own.

Toddlers and young readers can join Mike as he sets out to find his one and only friend: the Girl in the Pink Dress. As he travels the waterways and villages of Long Island’s beautiful East End, Mike meets a variety of animals, some helpful and some not. Poor Mike! All he wants to do is find his friend.

Featuring stunning, original water-color artwork by Ross, Montauk Has a Very Lonely Shark is a gentle tale about searching for what you want and learning that sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of your eyes.

Everyone’s favorite friendly fish, and the star of Montauk Has A Very Hungry Shark and Montauk Has a Very Lonely Shark, returns for a third adventure. Join him on his quest to identify a tiny treasure he finds on the ocean floor, which he fondly calls a “smoon.”

Toddlers and young readers will delight in following along as Mike heads ashore to find out what the “smoon” could be. But his luck suddenly changes when his treasure goes missing. Will his friend, the Girl in the Pink Dress, help Mike to find it and learn what it is?

Featuring stunning, original watercolor artwork by Nina Ross, Montauk Has A Very Lucky Shark is a wonderous story about teamwork, friendship, and what it takes to find happiness.

In Montauk Has a Very Hungry Shark, Mike has a very big wish: To find himself the perfect dish! Toddlers and young readers will delight in Mike’s adventures as he dons a disguise and travels the towns and villages of Long Island’s East End in search of the perfect ice-cream sundae. Along the way Mike discovers getting what you want is not always easy, but with the help of new friend and a little kindness, things work out in his favor. Featuring stunning, original water-color artwork by Ross, Montauk Has a Very Hungry Shark is a gentle tale about searching for what you want and learning the importance of friendship and kindness.

Marian Lindberg grew up being told that Walter Lindberg, the man who raised her father, was a brave explorer who had been murdered in the Amazon. She took her father’s claims at face value, basking in her exotic roots, until she started to notice things. The unverified legend became a riddle she couldn’t solve.

As Lindberg moved from journalism to law, fell in love, and sought a family of her own, her father repeatedly interfered. He had a closed vision of his family, and she—unlike the silent Walter—was breaking out.

Yet her father’s story of the past haunted Lindberg. Long after her father’s death, Lindberg set off for the Amazon, determined to find out the truth about Walter. Aided by generous Brazilians who adopted her search as if it were their own, she discovered as much about herself and her family as about Walter, whose true role in Brazil’s history turned out to be unexpected and deeply troubling.

Sharply observant, wrought with honesty, and sweeping in its ambitions, The End of the Rainy Season is a powerful examination of identity and human relationships with nature, and between one another.

The captain wore a see-through dress. No dispute about that. Even the captain admitted that in a certain light, guests at the party could The captain wore a see-through dress. No dispute about that. Even the captain admitted that in a certain light, guests at the party could see the outline of his body through the muslin shift. Months later, a lawyer would press for details: Was the dress tied at the waist? What color and length were the captain's socks? Did others treat him "as if you were a woman"?(From Chapter One, "Cross-Dressing For Halloween")

The carefree parties on Plum Island drew the ire of Maj. Benjamin Koehler, yet he would be the man arrested and accused of "immoral conduct" at the end of 1913. Koehler, a West Point alumnus and Philippine War veteran, had been tasked with bringing discipline to the 700 men living at Fort Terry, a sprawling post on a beautiful island off New York's coast. He lived on officers row with his sister, an educated and independent woman who, like her brother, was unmarried. Little did the devoted siblings know that Fort Terry would soon be the stuff of front-page headlines, with Ben Koehler at the center of them--and not for his dutiful service to his country.

The claims that Fort Terry's commander had groped male subordinates shocked the Army and Koehler's supporters, but the accusers were smart, triggering one of the first high-profile instances of federal legal process against a high-level military officer. Well before "homophobia" was a term, Koehler struggled to prove that the accusers were lying in a trial rife with innuendo and ill-informed ideas about how a "homo-sexualist" would behave.

Thoroughly researched, involving historical figures as contrasting as Theodore Roosevelt and Susan B. Anthony, Scandal on Plum Island follows Koehler from respected officer to vilified outcast and turns up provocative information about his defense. His story is set in the context of changing standards of masculinity as the action moves from America's heartland to New York City, the Philippines, San Francisco, eastern Long Island, and government offices in Washington, D.C. In addition to telling a fast-moving and compelling story, Scandal on Plum Island speaks directly to modern discussions of gender norms, testimonial injustice, the high cost of stereotypes, and other issues of pressing concern.

Hollywood critics agree. Joss Byrd is "fiercely emotional," a young actress with "complete conviction," and a "powerhouse."

Joss Byrd is America's most celebrated young actress, but on the set of her latest project, a gritty indie film called The Locals, Joss's life is far from glamorous. While struggling with her mother's expectations, a crush on her movie brother, and a secret that could end her career, Joss must pull off a performance worthy of a star. When her renowned, charismatic director demands more than she is ready to deliver, Joss must go off-script to stay true to herself.

“Devious, delicious, and gasp-worthy.” (Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces)

In this genre-defying page-turner from Lygia Day Peñaflor, four teens befriend their favorite YA novelist, only to find their deepest, darkest secrets in the pages of her next book—with devastating consequences.

Miri Tan loved the book Undertow like it was a living being. So when she and her friends went to a book signing to hear the author, Fatima Ro, they concocted a plan to get close to her.

Soleil Johnston wanted to be a writer herself one day. When she and her friends started hanging out with her favorite author, Fatima Ro, she couldn’t believe their luck—especially when Jonah Nicholls started hanging out with them, too.

Penny Panzarella was more than the materialist party girl everyone at the Graham School thought she was—and she was willing to share all her secrets with Fatima Ro to prove it.

Jonah Nicholls had more to hide than any of them. And now that Fatima’s next book is out in the world, he’s the one who is paying the price...

Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying—and told as a series of interviews, journal entries, and even pages from the book within the book—this gripping story of a fictional scandal will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

"Readers looking for a light beach read will enjoy the engaging writing and compelling plot."--Library Journal

"A great romp of a read"--Candace Bushnell, New York Times bestselling author of SEX AND THE CITY

Bright lights, big trouble...Dana Barry has nothing against rules. She just knows they're meant to be bent. So it's no wonder the single, twentysomething, aspiring actress loses her day job. Now her life is a mess... until she hears the Shopping Channel is auditioning. Relying on her knack for knowing what makes people tick, she lands a gig on air. But before she can say office politics, Dana is caught in the biggest drama of her life. The star host--a diva who terrorized the entire staff--is found dead. Dana knows the prime suspect is innocent.

The heat is on, and Dana thinks she's ready for it...until she tangles with the tall, dark and smoldering detective in charge. It's more fuel than she needs right now as she's trying to launch her career. But Dana's never been afraid to take chances...even when a single spark could ignite everything.

2021 SUMMER READ PICK--LONG ISLAND WOMAN



"THE ROOFTOP PARTY is a wickedly entertaining rom-com/murder mystery from start to finish. It promises to be a contender for beach read of the year."

--BookReporter



A Host of Trouble...



In this witty and engaging novel, Dana Barry, the Shopping Channel's star host, stops by the company's rooftop party to pitch the new CEO her brilliant idea that just might save the flagging business, her job and possibly her love life.



As she chats with the smarmy executive, he backs her into a dark corner. For Dana, it's a quid pro oh-hell-no. She escapes his lecherous grasp and grabs her drink on her way to the dance floor. Woozy, she blacks out.



When she comes to, the CEO is dead, fallen from the roof. Or was he pushed? And if so, by whom? It's hard to know, but one thing is certain: Dana was close enough to be suspect.



Sure, she loathed how the creep moved in on her, but she's no killer. Or is she? Truth is, Dana can't remember much about those minutes. Now she has to use all her skills to prove her innocence to everyone, including her police detective boyfriend--and herself.



Meister's latest is fun and breezy, a compelling, suspenseful read that entertains and keeps you guessing.

"[A] gripping, emotional story set in the part of history we’ll never forget." - New York Daily News

On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? Gae Polisner's The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain—it tells a story of hope.

An endearing story of love and grief as one girl follows the clues in a scavenger hunt left behind by her best friend, perfect for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Nine, Ten.

WHEN YOU'VE LOST WHAT MATTERS MOST,
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY BACK HOME?

Joy Fonseca is dreading her 13th birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago -- and dreading the fact he may have heard what she accidentally blurted to him the night before. Or maybe she's more worried he didn't hear.

Either way, she's decided: she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers.

"I truly loved it! Baskin and Polisner seamlessly unfold one touching relationship after another in this gorgeous story about everlasting friendship. This tender tale is indelibly etched on my heart." --Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

"Polisner and Baskin's brief tale of two quite distant friends magically manages to bridge an uncrossable gap. Seven Clues to Home is both a charming mystery and a real meditation on the complexities of the young heart in love." --Tony Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Firegirl and The Great Jeff

"I read this whole book with a lump in my throat. A perfect gem." --Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Bob

When chance, or fate, throws two twelve-year-olds together on board a scientific research ship at the edge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s not all smooth sailing!

Jeremy “JB” Barnes is looking forward to spending the summer before seventh grade hanging on the beach. But his mother, a scientist, has called for him to join her aboard a research ship where, instead, he’ll spend his summer seasick and bored as he stares out at the endless plastic, microbeads, and other floating debris, both visible and not, that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Miles and miles away, twelve-year-old Sidney Miller is trying to come up with an alternate activity worthy of convincing her overprotective parents that she can skip summer camp.

When Jeremy is asked to find the contact information for a list of important international scientists and invite them to attend a last-minute Emergency Global Summit, he's excited to have a chance to actually do something that matters to the mission. How could he know that the Sidney Miller he messages is not the famous marine biologist he has been tasked with contacting, but rather a girl making podcasts from her bedroom—let alone that she would want to sneak aboard the ship?

Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's Consider the Octopus is a comedy of errors, mistaken identity, and synchronicity. Above all, it is a heartfelt story about friendship and an empowering call to environmental protection, especially to our young people who are already stepping up to help save our oceans and our Earth.

* A Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2017 * A Georgia Peach Book Award Nominee *

Read the book New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith calls “powerful and haunting,” and acclaimed author Peter Brown Hoffmeister calls “beautiful and sad.”

Now Is Everything is a stirring debut novel told in alternating THEN and NOW chapters, perfect for Sarah Dessen and Jennifer Niven fans, about what one girl is willing to do to protect her past, present, and future.

The McCauleys look perfect on the outside. But nothing is ever as it seems, and this family is hiding a dark secret.

Hadley McCauley will do anything to keep her sister safe from their father. But when Hadley’s forbidden relationship with Charlie Simmons deepens, the violence at home escalates, culminating in an explosive accident that will leave everyone changed.

When Hadley attempts to take her own life at the hospital post-accident, her friends, doctors, family, and the investigator on the case want to know why. Only Hadley knows what really happened that day, and she’s not talking.

How fully can the world be explored when you are focused on trying not to die?

This is the question that lies at the heart of Amy Fusselman's Savage Park. America is the land of safety, of protecting children to make sure that nothing can possibly hurt them. But while on a trip to Tokyo with her family, Fusselman stumbled upon an adventure playground called Hanegi Playpark, where children sawed wood, hammered nails, and built open fires. Her conceptions of space, risk, and play were shattered. In asking us to reexamine fundamental ideas about our approaches to space and risk and how we pass these concepts down to our children, Fusselman also asks us to look at the world in a different way. Perhaps it isn't variety, but fear that is the spice of life. This startling revelation is at the heart of Savage Park, and will make readers look at the world in a whole new way.

"I yield to no one in my admiration for Amy Fusselman's work. Her new book, Savage Park, further explores with astonishing power, eloquence, precision, and acid humor her obsessive, necessary theme: the gossamer-thin separation between life and death." --David Shields, author of Reality Hunger

"In this unusually refreshing meditation (which reads like a novel), we are given a tour of the space around and within us. With poetic efficiency Amy Fusselman reveals what makes us savage or ¬ why secret, wild spaces are essential; and why playing should be taken seriously." --Philippe Petit, high-wire artist

AMY FUSSELMAN is the author of The Pharmacist's Mate and 8. As "Dr." Fusselman, she writes the Family Practice parenting column for McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Ms., Hairpin, and ARTnews.
 

Leaping from ballet to quiltmaking, from the The Nutcracker to an Annie-B Parson interview, Idiophone is a strikingly original meditation on risk-taking and provocation in art and a unabashedly honest, funny, and intimate consideration of art-making in the context of motherhood, and motherhood in the context of addiction. Amy Fusselman's compact, beautifully digressive essay feels both surprising and effortless, fueled by broad-ranging curiosity, and, fundamentally, joy.

Sara, Alix, and Lucy are living their best life under the sea...until one day, they discover some friends need rescuing. The three mermaids dive into action to figure out how to save their fellow ocean dwellers from the constant troubles they face.

Following the award-winning The Fin-Tastic Cleanup, this series brings children on sea adventures which teach them about our precious waters and the marine life that lives within them.

A group of magical misfit animals learns to appreciate their seemingly useless powers--and themselves--when they work together to thwart a villain's attempt to steal their magic.

Holly, a grey squirrel, and her animal friends have accepted that they will never be wizards' familiars. Though they are each magical, their powers are so offbeat--Holly herself can conjure pastries (and only pastries)--that no professional magic-worker would choose any of them as a companion for noble quests. So instead of going on adventures, they languish at the Shelter for Rejected Familiars, where they are known as "shelterlings."

When an old friend appears with a plan for curing the shelterlings' defective magic, everyone is on board to help him locate and retrieve the ingredients for a powerful spell. But when they learn that his offer is not what it seems, Holly and the shelterlings must fight to defend their magic, discovering in the process that their unorthodox skills may just be what is needed to save the day.

"Durst consistently defies expectations."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 

From award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone epic fantasy set in a brand-new world of towering mountains and sparkling cities, in which a band of aging warriors have a second chance to defeat dark magic and avenge a haunting loss.

Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor--a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived.

Since then, Kreya, the group's leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice--for each day he lives, she will live one less.

She'd rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is illegal in Vos. The dead are burned--as are any bone workers who violate the law. Yet Kreya knows where she can find the bones she needs: the battlefield where her husband and countless others lost their lives.

But defying the laws of the land exposes a terrible possibility. Maybe the dead don't rest in peace after all.

Five warriors--one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn't stop just because someone once said, "the end."

The behind-the-scenes access of Almost Famous meets the searing revelations of metoo in this story of a teen journalist who uncovers the scandal of the decade.

Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she's equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She's got this.

Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie's world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn't know whether she's flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she's in over her head.

One woman's account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she's reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn't step up, who will?

From the author of Full Disclosure, this is a moving testament to the MeToo movement, and all the ways women stand up for each other.

"Brave, necessary, and unflinchingly real, Off the Record is an instant classic." --Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

"An unflinchingly honest, eye-opening, heartful story that's sure to keep readers talking." --Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give and On the Come Up

"Romantic, funny, hopeful, and unflinchingly real." --Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda

The uplifting story of an HIV-positive teen, falling in love and learning to live her truth.

Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She's making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she's HIV-positive, because last time . . . well, last time things got ugly.
Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real--shy kisses escalating into much more--she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she's positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she's terrified of how he'll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.
Simone's first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on. . . .

"Full Disclosure is such a joy to read." --Erika Sanchez, National Book Award finalist for I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

"A big-hearted love letter to inclusivity, bravery, and acceptance, Full Disclosure is a wonder of a book." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if Mahalia had a coming-out party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, Black joy, and queer pride.


Mahalia Harris wants.

She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend, Naomi.
She wants the super-cute new girl Siobhan to like her back.
She wants a break from worrying—about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it.

Then inspiration strikes: It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a coming-out party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.

The idea lights a fire beneath her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the coming out of her dreams. But it’s not long before she’s buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia’s party be over before it’s even begun?

A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.

Superfudge meets The Lemonade War in this funny, heartwarming book about change, adventure, family, and of course, doughnuts.

Tristan isn't Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he's always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville--a town with one street and no restaurants. It's like suddenly they're supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters.

His suspicions about his new town are confirmed when he's tricked into believing the local general store has life-changing chocolate cream doughnuts, when in fact the owner hasn't made them in years. And so begins the only thing that could make life in Petersville worth living: getting the recipe, making the doughnuts, and bringing them back to the town through his very own doughnut stand. But Tristan will soon discover that when starting a business, it helps to be both Gifted and Talented, and it's possible he's bitten off more than he can chew...

A perfect book for:

• Ages 9-12
• Children with the entrepreneurial spirit!
• Parents and teachers looking to inspire a growth mindset!
• Young foodies looking for fun recipes!

"The Means is such a fast-paced, breezy comedic novel that you may find yourself surprised that Fusselman deftly and directly leads you to existential dilemmas and the absurdity of capitalism and striving for more." - The Millions

Shelly Means, a stay-at-home mom and disgraced former PTA president, is poised to get the one thing in life she really wants: a beach house in the Hamptons. Surely, once she has her beach house, Shelly will at last feel at peace, in control, and content. It might be a very small house, and it might be in the least-fancy part of the Hamptons, but Shelly is hell-bent on achieving this idea of paradise.

But what should be a simple real estate transaction quickly goes awry as Shelly's new neighbors disapprove of her proposed shipping container house at the same time that her spouse George's lucrative work as a VoiceOver artist dries up. When George wants to cancel the beach house, Shelly goes deeper down the rabbit hole of capitalism: it's an investment property! It's a community! It's a place for their children to thrive! And, for a woman whose labor has buoyed her family for years, this beach house might just be Shelly's last stand.

The debut novel from "one of our best interrogators of how we live now, and how we should live" (Dave Eggers), The Means is a comedy about the suffering inherent in desire, capitalist delusion, and the value of unpaid labor.

"With its deadpan absurdity, pithy prose and moral je ne sais quoi, Fusselman's latest will appeal to fans of Marcy Dermansky....With its satire of the particular hypocrisy of the Hamptons, including homeowners associations, graft, and garbage and recycling practices, Maria Semple....We may be entering a golden age of the comic novel, surely one of the best possible outcomes of this desperate moment in history." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Doesn't everyone love a good baking competition? If you or the kids in your life are into the hit show Nailed It! and if those kids have the entrepreneurial spirit, then this book is for you! When Tris tries to save his doughnut business and town by competing on a cooking show, will he have what a takes to win, or will he lose it all?

Tris Levin thought moving from New York City to middle-of-nowhere Petersville meant life would definitely get worse...only it actually got better. But just when things are looking up, problems start rolling in.

His doughnut business has a major supply issue. And that's not the worst part, Petersville has its own supply problem--it doesn't have enough people. Folks keep moving away and if they can't get people to stay, Petersville may disappear.

Petersville needs to become a tourist destination, and his shop could be a big part of it, if Tris can keep up with demand. There's only one solution: The Belshaw Donut Robot. If Tris can win "Can You Cut It," the cutthroat competitive kids' cooking show, he can get the cash to buy the machine. But even with the whole town training and supporting him, Tris isn't sure he can live with what it takes to takes to win.

This sequel to The Doughnut Fix is about growing up, family, change, and as always, doughnuts. Kids with the spirit of an entrepreneur will relate to the ups and downs Tris experiences in this book. Parents and teachers, your middle school kids will love this story!

An evocative story by acclaimed author Amy Giles about tragedy, love, and learning to heal.

The year since a mass shooting shook their Queens neighborhood has played out differently for Jess and Lucas, both of whom were affected by that night in eerily similar and deeply personal ways.

As Jess struggles to take care of her depressed mother and Lucas takes up boxing under the ever-watchful eye of his overprotective parents, their paths converge. They slowly become friends and then something more, learning to heal and move forward together.

But what does it mean to love after an unspeakable tragedy?

"A page-turner with heart--and much needed laughs." - Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You


Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness...Doug Applebaum.

In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

Sandy Taylor thinks her brother Amani is weird because he doesn't talk. After Mommy and Daddy explain why he doesn't speak, Sandy realizes how important it is to be kind to someone who appears to be different. When Sandy sees a girl at her school being bullied for being different from the other kids, she has a choice to make. Will she ignore it, or will she step in and save her? W.R.E.a.C Havoc Heroes presents the story of a girl who learns to accept people as they are. This is a tale about UNDERSTANDING and a willingness to show compassion to others.

Yellowjackets meets One of Us Is Lying in this masterful survival thriller from award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst.

Claire's grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It's just how she's wired--her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.

Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge--and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.

When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows.

Something that refuses to let them leave.

A fresh version of a familiar tale. For clever foxes and hares ages 4 years and up.

Goldie Fox would like a nice dinner of hare. With a clever plan, she tries to lure the Hare family into a trap. But Mama Hare soon realizes what Goldie is up to. Can the Hares outsmart her?

Sara, Alix, and Lucy are happy mermaids living in their quaint coral village . . . until, one day, the three mermaids are forced to face the pollution riddling the sea that surrounds them. With the help of some friends, the mermaids jump into action! The Fin-tastic Cleanup will transport young readers to an imaginary world while they explore a real world problem.

You meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this twisty YA thriller that follows the tragic love story of Holy Family High School's cutest couple--as told through the eyes of the classmate who's stalking them.

Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore are the perfect couple: beautiful, popular, talented, and hopelessly in love. Everyone looks up to them at Holy Family High School.

But Rafi doesn't just admire them. She watches them. She's drawn to them.

Intent on becoming their closest friend, Rafi weaves her way into their lives. She starts small: taking photos of the senior class for the yearbook, joining Laney's club, and babysitting Nico's little sister. And it works--soon they invite her to parties, take her on joyrides, and ask her for favors. Rafi's actions quickly turn invasive, delving deeper and deeper until she's consumed by their most intimate secrets.

When tragedy strikes the young lovers, Rafi's obsession spirals, and she will do anything to keep the perfect couple together. Anything . . .

From Steve Israel, the congressman-turned-novelist who writes “in the full-tilt style of Carl Hiaasen” (The Washington Post), comes a comic tale about the mighty firearm industry, a small Long Island town, and Washington politics.

When Chicago’s Mayor Michael Rodriguez starts a national campaign to ban handguns from America’s cities, towns, and villages, Otis Cogsworth, the wealthy chairman and CEO of Cogsworth International Arms worries about the effects on his company. In response he and lobbyist Sunny McCarthy convince an Arkansas congressman to introduce federal legislation mandating that every American must own a firearm. Events soon escalate.

Asabogue’s Mayor Lois Leibowitz passes an ordinance to ban guns in the town—right in Otis Cogsworth’s backyard. Otis retaliates by orchestrating a recall election against Lois and Jack Steele, a rich town resident, runs against her. Even though the election is for the mayor of a village on Long Island, Steele brings in the big guns of American politics to defeat Lois: political consultants, Super PACs, and celebrities. Soon, thousands of pro-gun and anti-gun partisans descend on Asabogue, along with an assortment of heavily armed rightwing militias and the national news media. Bucolic Asabogue becomes a tinderbox. Meanwhile, Washington politicians in both parties are caught between a mighty gun lobby whose support they need for reelection and the absurdity of requiring that every American with waivers for children under age four carry a gun. What ensues is a discomfiting, hilarious indictment of the state of American politics.

Former Long Island Congressman, Steve Israel has firsthand knowledge of the cynicism and corruption at the heart of our political system. Big Guns will make you laugh, will make you angry, and will make you think as you flip the pages faster and faster to find out what happens next.