102 DAYS OF LYING ABOUT LAUREN came out on June 20, 2023.
​
Twelve-year-old Mouse calls an amusement park home.
Nobody notices her, and that's the way she likes it. Mouse sweeps the streets and wears a uniform she “borrowed” and sleeps on the top floor of the Haunted House of Horrors. She knows which security guards to avoid, eats the bagel left out each morning for the Ghost of Summer (a popular theme park legend), and even has the taco guy convinced that her lunch is paid for. She has her special hiding methods down to a science.
But one morning, a girl named Cat comes looking for Lauren Suszek. Cat notices her, and Mouse doesn’t like it. Mouse cannot let this nosy pest find out who she really is! If Mouse gets discovered living in the park, Mama might come back for her, and Mouse doesn’t want that. Or—even worse?—Mama might not come back at all.
Mouse knows she can lose this girl without blowing her cover. She just has to follow her rules. A carefully constructed life in the park is all she needs. Right?
Anchored by memorable characters and an extraordinary setting, Maura Jortner’s brilliant debut novel is bursting with grit, humor, and heart.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
PRAISE FOR
102 DAYS
OF LYING ABOUT LAUREN
"Hilarious, absorbing, and immensely endearing, here is a story that will have your whole heart. This book is alive with 'Park Magic.'" —Chris Baron, author of Sydney Taylor Notable Book The Magical Imperfect
"Told with the feel of a classic, 102 Days of Lying about Lauren is a truly special book full of hope, friendship, and heart—all the things you need to weather the worst of storms." —Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl
​
​
SHELF AWARENESS
BOOK OF THE YEAR
In Maura Jortner's funny and spirited debut novel, a stouthearted girl brings to bear all the cleverness, courage, and morality she can muster as she survives an impossible and terrifying situation.
One hundred and two days ago, 12-year-old Lauren's struggling mother brought her to "America's most famous amusement park" then snuck away while Lauren was on the Cursed Twirling Teacups ride. The clever tween snagged an employee shirt and a broken name badge. Since then, she has been sleeping in the Haunted House of Horrors by night and pretending to be a 16-year-old amusement park walkway sweeper by day. Lauren thinks she's managing reasonably well, but bad weather is coming, and her fragile pretense may not be able to withstand the storm.
Lauren's poignant, humorous first-person narrative immediately pulls readers onto her side, even as they suspect that her lifestyle is not sustainable. The vivid, remarkable behind-the-scenes details of Lauren's daily survival arrangements, along with well-developed characters, and a timely and realistic depiction of a family in crisis make 102 Days of Lying About Lauren both relevant and engrossing. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor
A heartfelt story that’s filled with adventure
​
Twelve-year-old Lana Parker has been warned away from the marsh bordering her neighborhood in Galveston, Texas, but an intriguing discovery leads her there anyway.
Lana has little in common with her fraternal twin, Gracie, and younger sister, Duck. Since their dad died of a virus two years ago, her family members have retreated: Mom into listening to audiobooks and writing poetry, Gracie into K-pop music, and Duck into video games. With her best friends gone for the summer and her grandmother in a nursing home following a recent stroke, Lana is bored. She escapes to Nana’s nearly empty house, where she discovers a mysterious golden key and a letter addressed to her father, admonishing him to “do your duty. The Alligator Witch is always there.” Most people regard the witch as a legend, but Dad believed in her, so Lana decides to see the instructions through. But when she enters the marsh seeking the witch, her mother and sisters face unintended magical consequences. Lana’s sincere first-person narrative is interspersed with sections following early-20th-century New York City teen spiritualist Zofia Kowalczyk and another pair of fraternal twins who lived in Galveston during the devastating Big Storm of 1900. This low fantasy blends historical and contemporary elements with magic in a storyline that offers a healthy exploration of dealing with grief. The storytelling in this compact tale will sustain readers’ interest before wrapping up with a satisfying resolution.
"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale"
Hans Christian Andersen
