Lauren McLaughlin

The Perfect Man and Others

Each story in this collection explores the limits of consciousness, both human and other. In the title story, “The Perfect Man” (first published in Salon.com) we meet Lucy, a single woman who decides to design her own boyfriend. Pritchard may be a software program, but he has more in mind than simply pleasing his creator. In “Sheila” (Interzone, Year’s Best SF) a rogue artificial intelligence has become a God to her human followers by promising to deliver them to a more exalted state of consciousness. “New York City Versus The World” (first published in Sybil’s Garage) finds the collective unconscious of the world engaged in a fierce debate with the collective unconscious of New York City over its desire to secede from the United States.

Original, suspenseful, and sharply comedic, McLaughlin’s short fiction challenges our assumptions about technology and consciousness while exploring what it means to be human at this particular moment in time.

Publisher

Ivy Press

Publication Date

January 27, 2021

Age Category

Adult

Genre

Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Send Pics

At first glance, the sleepy suburb of Jonesville, Massachusetts doesn’t seem to have much going on. The teens at Jonesville High are itching for more, ready to escape the confines of suburbia and the cliche of classroom cliques… but there’s more to the story behind closed doors. Town darling and star athlete Tarkin Shaw reveals himself to be a predator who has used his privilege to prey upon girls for years, with no consequences. After a shocking assault, a group of shaken but stubborn friends are ready for revenge—but things don’t quite go as planned. Instead, they’re forced to step up and confront the injustice of a world that paints girls as victims who get what they deserve.

Praise for Send Pics

“A gritty read for a woke generation.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Dottir Press

Publication Date

April 21, 2020

Age Category

Young Adult

Genre

Contemporary Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Wonderful You

A heartwarming tale about adoption, diversity, and acceptance that’s perfect for all types of families!

A lyrical adoption story that tenderly addresses a baby’s transition from the care of her birth mother to that of her adoptive parents. This lovely poem illuminates the role of an adopted child’s birth mother, respecting her choice to give her child to a loving family. We follow a mother’s journey as she carries her child, searches for deserving parents, and ultimately creates a new family. The story offers a version of the process that is full of warmth, care, and joy.

An adoptive mother herself, author Lauren McLaughlin was glad for an opportunity to memorialize her family’s own fairy tale, and Meilo So’s ethereal illustrations breathe magic into an already wondrous experience.

Praise for Wonderful You

“Wonderful You: An Adoption Story is the perfect gift for new adoptive parents or for families who are on the lookout for books to help their children understand adoption.” –Adoption.com

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

April 25, 2017

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Family/Adoption

Rights

Random House

The Free

In the beginning, Isaac West stole to give his younger sister, Janelle, little things: a new sweater, a scarf, just things that made her look less like a charity case whose mother spent money on booze and more like the prep school girls he’s seen on the way to school.

But when his biggest job to date, a car theft, goes wrong, Isaac chooses to take the full rap himself, and he’s cut off from helping Janelle. He steels himself for 30 days at Haverland Juvenile Detention Facility. Friendless in a dangerous world of gangs and violent offenders, he must watch his every step.

Isaac’s sentence includes group therapy, where he and fellow inmates reenact their crimes, attempting to understand what happened from the perspective of their victims. The sessions are intense. And as Isaac pieces together the truth about the circumstances that shaped his life—the circumstances that landed him in juvie in the first place—he must face who he was, who he is . . . and who he wants to be.

Praise for The Free

“A 16-year-old boy works to overcome a lifetime of obstacles in this riveting YA novel about life in ‘juvie.’ Brilliant.” –Shelf Awareness, starred review

“A tight, claustrophobic novel that veers between the terror and camaraderie of incarceration; I don’t know when I’ve read a more empathic novel, and it’s been a long time since I read one that was more sorrowful and joyful at the same time.” –Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Homeland

“A spellbinding novel about crime, taking responsibility, and finding a new path to justice.” –Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author of Uglies and Spill Zone

Publisher

Soho Teen

Publication Date

February 28, 2017

Age Category

Young Adult

Genre

Contemporary

Rights

JGLM

Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective in What's That Smell? (Mitzi Tulane #1)

Mitzi Tulane may be only three years old, but she sure knows how to follow a trail of evidence and solve tough mysteries. From the strange happenings in the kitchen to the sudden arrival of every family member she’s ever met, Mitzi pieces together the clues and (finally) realizes that she’s . . . in the middle of her own surprise birthday party!

Kids and parents will laugh along as Mitzi sorts through not-so-subtle hints and comes to her conclusions. Readers will love figuring out the surprise ahead of the private-eye protagonist! Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s bouncy illustrations bring an extra layer of fun to Lauren McLaughlin’s clever story.

Praise for the Mitzi Tulane series

“.. a sweet story centering on a bright, black birthday girl, and on that front it takes the cake.” –Kirkus

“This brightly illustrated story will be fun for young listeners as they try to guess what is happening. Will they figure it out before Mitzi does? The protagonist is brown-skinned, and her parents, doll, and little brother are white. The scenes of their relatives and friends are equally diverse and reinforce the subtle lesson that people and families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. VERDICT Mitzi Tulane is a character whom children will enjoy meeting, and they will look forward to her future adventures.” –School Library Journal

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

July 12, 2016

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Adventure/Mystery

Rights

Random House

Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective in The Secret Ingredient (Mitzi Tulane #2)

Not even the smallest clue gets past this preschool private eye!

Just as Mitzi is about to enjoy a nice muffin her Dad made, her friend Max stops her in her tracks! He has a sneaking suspicion that there is something funny about this muffin — so the two of them set off on an investigation…

Kids and parents will laugh along as Mitzi, Max and their friends test the muffin for dodgy ingredients and come to their conclusion. What did Dad put in the muffin after all? Debbie Ohi’s bouncy illustrations bring an extra layer of fun to Lauren McLaughlin’s clever text.

Praise for the Mitzi Tulane series

“.. a sweet story centering on a bright, black birthday girl, and on that front it takes the cake.” –Kirkus

“This brightly illustrated story will be fun for young listeners as they try to guess what is happening. Will they figure it out before Mitzi does? The protagonist is brown-skinned, and her parents, doll, and little brother are white. The scenes of their relatives and friends are equally diverse and reinforce the subtle lesson that people and families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. VERDICT Mitzi Tulane is a character whom children will enjoy meeting, and they will look forward to her future adventures.” –School Library Journal

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

July 11, 2017

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Adventure/Mystery

Rights

Random House

Cycler

As far as anyone at her high school knows, Jill McTeague is an average smart girl trying to get her dream date to ask her to the prom.

What no one knows, except for Jill’s mom and dad, is that for the four days Jill is out of school each month, she is not Jill at all. She is Jack, a genuine boy—complete with all the parts. Jack lives his four days per month in the solitude of Jill’s room. But his personality has been building since the cycling began. He is less and less content with his confinement and his cycles are becoming more frequent. Now Jill’s question about the prom isn’t who she’ll go with, but who she’ll be when the big night arrives.

Praise for Cycler

“Jill and Jack’s story, touched with intrigue, humor and fascinating questions, ends with a conclusion both satisfactory and open-ended.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

August 19, 2008

Age Category

Young Adult

Genre

Contemporary/Science Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Re(cycler)

How do you grow up, if who you are keeps changing?

Jill McTeague is not your average high school graduate, she’s a scientific anomaly. Every month for four days she turns into Jack, a guy—complete with all the parts. Now everyone in her hometown knows that something very weird is up with her. So what’s a girl (and a guy) to do? Get the heck out of town, that’s what! With her kooky best friend, Ramie, Jill sets out for New York City. There both she and Jack will have to figure out everything from the usual (relationships) to the not so usual (career options for a “cycler,” anyone?).

As in Cycler, the first book featuring Jack and Jill, author Lauren McLaughlin deftly weaves the downright mundane with the outright bizarre in a story that, while defying classification, is peopled with characters that readers can fully relate to.

Praise for (Re)cycler

“Packed with realistically emo adolescent pain, Jack and Jill’s journey of self-discovery is funny, heartwarming and just a little bit smutty.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

August 15, 2009

Age Category

Young Adult

Genre

Contemporary/Science Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Scored

Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a “score” that determines their future potential. This score has the ability to get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above. Scored‘s reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend’s score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily forseeable future.

Praise for Scored

“McLaughlin (Recycler, 2009, etc.) keeps the heavy, philosophical ideas married to the characters, thus preventing the story from becoming a preachy rant. Diego’s flaws and privilege along with the tension of Imani’s final score looming overhead complicate what would otherwise be an open agenda. The bold, aggressive narrative condemns both No Child Left Behind–style testing and current financial policies, cautioning about what could happen to social mobility in the face of stark inequity.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

October 25, 2011

Age Category

Young Adult

Genre

Dystopian Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Agent

The Perfect Man and Others

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Send Pics

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Wonderful You

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The Free

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Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective in What's That Smell? (Mitzi Tulane #1)

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Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective in The Secret Ingredient (Mitzi Tulane #2)

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Cycler

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Re(cycler)

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Scored

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