Shortlisted for the 2017 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize “Simeon Marsalis’s As Lie Is to Grin is not a satire meant to teach us lessons, nor a statement of hope or despair, but something more visionary—a portrait of a young man’s unraveling, a depiction of how race shapes and deforms us, a coming–of–age story that is also a confrontation with American history and amnesia. The book achieves more in its brief span than most books do at three times the length.” —Zachary Lazar, author of I Pity the Poor Immigrant David, the narrator of Simeon Marsalis’s singular first novel, is a freshman at the University of Vermont who is struggling to define himself against the white backdrop of his school. He is also mourning the loss of his New York girlfriend, whose grandfather’s alma mater he has chosen to attend. When David met Melody, he lied to her about who he was and where he lived, creating a more intriguing story than his own. This lie haunts and almost unhinges him as he attempts to find his true voice and identity. On campus in Vermont, David imagines encounters with a student from the past who might represent either Melody’s grandfather or Jean Toomer, the author of the acclaimed Harlem Renaissance novel Cane (1923). He becomes obsessed with the varieties of American architecture “upon land that was stolen,” and with the university’s past and attitudes as recorded in its newspaper, The Cynic. And he is frustrated with the way the Internet and libraries are curated, making it difficult to find the information he needs to make connections between the university’s history, African American history, and his own life. In New York, the previous year, Melody confides a shocking secret about her grandfather’s student days at the University of Vermont. When she and her father collude with the intent to meet David’s mother in Harlem—craving what they consider an authentic experience of the black world—their plan ends explosively. The title of this impressive and emotionally powerful novel is inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” (1896): “We wear the mask that grins and lies . . .”

“A smart, suspenseful, and unpredictable thriller that will keep readers turning pages until every last lie is revealed.”—Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying For fans of The Darkest Corners and Pretty Little Liars, Amanda Searcy’s debut novel will have readers both disturbed and entranced by one girl’s present-day horrors and another’s haunting past. Flight. All Kayla Asher wants to do is run. Run from the government housing complex she calls home. Run from her unstable mother. Run from a desperate job at No Limits Food. Run to a better, cleaner, safer life. Every day is one day closer to leaving. Fight. All Betsy Hopewell wants to do is survive. Survive the burner phone hidden under her bed. Survive her new rules. Survive a new school with new classmates. Survive being watched. Every minute grants her another moment of life. When fate brings Kayla and Betsy together, only one girl will survive.

Chris Brennan is applying for a job as a high school government teacher, ready to step in as an assistant baseball coach, and his references are impeccable -- but everything about him is a lie. Widow Susan Sematov is proud of her son Raz, a high school pitcher being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college. Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who lives for her son Jordan's baseball games. Mindy Kostis fills her days with social events and too many gin and tonics, unaware her husband and her son, Evan, are hiding secrets that might destroy all of them.

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M

New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts weaves scandal, celebrity secrets, and murder into an explosive novel of Hollywood almost too wicked not to be true: the story of a legendary actress who knows too much—and the woman she’s chosen to reveal it all. . . . Eve Benedict is the kind of subject who could make any biographer’s career. Last of the movie goddesses, she has two Oscars, four ex-husbands, and a legion of lovers, both famous and infamous. Now she is ready to write a tell-all memoir that has even Hollywood’s richest and most powerful worried. Julia Summers never dreamed of being chosen to tell Eve’s story. But even if it means transplanting herself and her ten-year-old son from their quiet life in Connecticut to the withering limelight of Beverly Hills, it’s an opportunity too great to pass up. But Julia never imagined how far someone would go to keep Eve Benedict’s book from being published . . . until she discovers just how dark Eve’s secrets are. And the one man Julia hopes she can trust—Eve’s stepson, Paul Winthrop—may have the most to gain if his stepmother’s story is never told . . . and if Julia’s life ends before she can write a word of the truth. “Roberts does a beautiful job weaving together the movie star’s tittilating tales and the love story that develops.”—USA Today

Fandango and Other Stories presents a selection of essential short fiction by Alexander Grin, Russia's counterpart to Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Alexandre Dumas. Grin's ingenious plots explore conflicts of the individual and society in a romantic world populated by a cast of eccentric, cosmopolitan characters.

A steamy debut about a love off limits, and lines destined to be crossed—with the wit of John Green and the heart of Sarah Dessen. Tom Drummond is the perfect guy. He reads the classics. He tells the wittiest jokes. Best of all, he actually likes Charlie. And for a girl used to being caught in the shadow of her best friend, Drummond’s spotlight warms Charlie in a way she never thought possible. But as their relationship grows closer, there’s one detail that remains impossible to forget: Mr. Drummond is her teacher. “Jessica Alcott’s writing is like a very personal glimpse into your own adolescent diary. Raw, uncomfortable, but still often hilarious.” –Harried Reuter Hapgood, author of The Square Root of Summer “The witty repartee among characters is reminiscent of the dialogue in John Green’s novels or a Gilmore Girls episode.” –School Library Journal “Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen.” –Booklist