The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman

by Brady Stefani
June 7

Fifteen year old Courtney wants to be normal like her friends. But there’s something frighteningly different about her. It’s not just the mysterious tattoo her conspiracy-obsessed grandfather marked her with when she was a child. “Mental illness is a slippery slope,” her mother warns her. And the last thing Courtney wants to do is end up crazy and dead like her grandfather did.

But what about the tattoo? And the alien scouts who visit Courtney in her bedroom at night claiming to have shared an alliance with her grandfather? And her new friend Agatha’s apocalyptic visions? They have to be connected. Courtney has a mission: untangle her past, discover the truth, and stop the apocalypse before anyone from school finds out she’s missing.

“As the father of two teenage girls, I can tell you that Brady Stefani must have some sort of supernatural helmet that helps him think and write in their language. But The Alienation of Courtney Hoffman is much more than a novel for teens. This fast-paced adventure kept my attention, blazing back-and-forth from reality to an alter-world so close by that it’s creepy. Here’s a page-turner that captures a lot about childhood struggles through an imaginative story filled with surprises.”
―Jim Schaefer, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer for the Detroit Free Press

So Close

by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
June 7

From international #1 best-selling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus comes a story about a girl from the trailer parks of central Florida and the two powerful men who shape her life. One of whom will raise her up to places she never imagined, the other of whom will threaten to destroy her.

Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives―in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it’s his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda’s imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she’s never had―a role model. Meanwhile Amanda is introduced to the wealthy, charismatic, and deeply troubled Pax Westerbrook. He clearly desires Amanda, but if she gives in will that move her closer to the life she’s always dreamed of―or make it impossible?

Amanda rides Davis’s political success all the way to Washington, where he becomes Senator and will later be tapped for president and even make a bid for the White House. But when Amanda starts to suspect, and later confirms, his moral indiscretions, her loyalty is tested. Will a girl from a trailer park even be believed if she goes public with damning information? Will she be willing to risk losing everything she’s gained?

“Guarded, genuine Emma makes a compelling heroine in McLaughlin and Kraus’s most moving outing yet”
—Booklist

Tracing the Bones

by Elise Miller
June 14

Cynical housewife Eve Myer has two kids, chronic back pain, and a decaying writing career―as well as a stagnant marriage haunted by her husband’s long ago affair.

When a new family moves in next door, Eve becomes consumed with curiosity about beautiful life coach Anna, and with powerful lust for Billy, a sexy alternative healer with a troubled, mysterious past. As Eve begins healing sessions with Billy, an unthinkable tragedy strikes Anna and her small son. Eve’s obsession invites even more suspicion and mistrust into her marriage and as her life unravels. Her sessions with Billy intensify, culminating in an alternative, experimental trip deep into the woods. It’s during a freezing winter’s journey that threatens the remaining bonds of Eve’s marriage and finally uncovers the reason for Anna’s death.

“Engaging, arousing, unpredictable, and seriously funny. Read this suburban satire as soon as possible―you won’t be sorry.”
―Darin Strauss, author of More Than it Hurts You and Chang & Eng

Gridley Girls

by Meredith First
June 21

Sometimes you have to go back before you can move forward.

Meg Monahan feels like she was born to be a secret keeper. From the moment she became a peer counselor in high school, Meg has been keeping her friends secrets. Coming from sordid family drama to their sex lives – that she never wanted to know. Flash forward to adulthood when Meg is a recruiter for the world’s hippest (and most paranoid) high-tech company. Now Meg is a professional secret keeper. When sudden tragedy strikes before Meg hosts the wedding of her childhood BFF, Anne Calzaretta, the women are forced to face their past. They must uncover their secrets in order to move on to their future.

In 1978, Meg, Anne, Jennifer, and Tonya were such close friends, they were known as “The Group” in their hometown of Gridley, California. But in ninth grade, their lives were changed forever. Loss, lies, and secrets separated them, but could not break their bonds of friendship. Thirty years later, Meg and Anne reminisce about those days―dealing with parents, school, boys, sex, love, and betrayal. Anne remembers their freshman year as an easier time, but Meg, still feeling guilty about a betrayal of Anne’s trust, is haunted. Even now, Meg is keeping a secret she’s not prepared to face, let alone share.

In her debut novel, based on true events, Meredith First tells a timeless story about the bonds of friendship, loss, and betrayal―and the forgiveness that is within everyone.

Can anyone really keep a secret forever?

“If you remember watching Gilligan’s Island while drinking TAB and jotting your deepest secrets inside the pages of your gold leaf-edged diary, you’ll discover many fond memories in the Gridley Girls. An enjoyable story of friendship and love, 1970s style.”
―Kaira Rouda, USA Today best-selling author of The Goodbye Year