YOU BETWEEN THE LINES

When an aspiring writer enrolls in a prestigious MFA program, she’s shocked to discover that her high school crush-turned-nemesis is her new classmate.

Leigh Simon has only ever had one true, life-changing crush in her 27 years, and that was Will Langford from Cleveland, Ohio. They attended Rowan High School together, where Will was a wunderkind poet whose father often wrote for the New Yorker. Back then, Leigh had dreams of becoming a writer herself, and was desperate for Will’s approval in their creative writing workshop. Unfortunately, he said her poem was "all style, no substance." Ten years and a stint at a Boston copywriting firm later, Leigh is hoping to rediscover her passion for writing at Perrin University’s MFA program in North Carolina. Leigh is ecstatic at the prospect of studying with like-minded writers for the next few years; that is, until she meets her fellow classmates. Will Langford is not only enrolled at Perrin, he’s Leigh’s workshop partner—and he’s vying for the same fellowship she’s coveting. When it comes to their work, Will and Leigh have little in common—he’s a somber, soulful poet with a Moleskine notebook always at hand, and she’s barely even sure if she belongs. But when Leigh remembers an eventful night she shared with Will six years ago, she can’t help but imagine what could’ve been...and what could be now. It seems like Will feels the same way, and it’s hard to deny the existence of a spark between them when Will hands in a poem that’s almost certainly about Leigh. Naymon’s debut is a charming take on first loves and second chances. The characters suffer from old wounds—Leigh and her high school insecurity, Will’s issues with his father’s success—yet the familiarity between them makes it easy to root for their love story, and readers will be itching for the moments when their actions speak louder than their poems.

A treat for writers and hopeless romantics.