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    Make Nice

    A Novel

    Author Ryan Effgen
    Hardcover
    $30.00 US
    | $41.99 CAN
    Knopf
    On sale Jul 14, 2026 | 336 Pages | 9798217208128
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    Sandwich meets The Wedding People in this irresistible comedy of manners as three generations of a family—a snail scientist, a soon-to-be divorcée, her teenage daughter, a hapless con man, and their feckless patriarch—descend on a ritzy Lake Michigan vacation island.

    "Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation."
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket

    When the Pickford siblings arrive at The Grand Hotel—a nostalgic tourist paradise of horse-drawn carriages, muddled cocktails, and white sweaters on the tennis court—they have every intention of spending the long weekend making nice. Pete, the nation’s foremost expert on gastropods (mollusks), is keen to wade around the lake in search of a rare and exciting Carthusian snail. Viv, reeling from the secret revelation that her husband is gay, is determined to put on a brave face for her daughter. And Corey, a charming, handsome grifter, has lucked into five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the first dumb rich guy he can find.

    But when Pete falls for the alluring mother of a local kid, when Viv’s daughter gets up to teenage trouble, and when Corey finds the wealthy guests less interested in party drugs than golf clubs and waffle cones, the long weekend of family bonding veers into disaster. Why did their father bring them to this cushy island resort in the first place? And why does Corey, the biggest screw-up of them all, seem to be the only one who knows the truth? As secrets spill, old flames are fanned, and an innocent snail is crushed beneath the unrelenting heel of a hiking boot. In a story that is as sneakily wise as it is absurdly funny, Ryan Effgen’s debut shows how sometimes the people who bring out your worst—your family—can also be the ones to bring you out of your shell.
    "If you enjoy my novels, then Make Nice is for you! Ryan Effgen chronicles the hijinks and complicated dynamics of a weeklong family vacation in a gloriously depicted Mackinac Island—replete with fudge shops, lake views, and horse-drawn carriages. Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation."
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket

    “When the Pickford family returns to the Lake Michigan island where they spent childhood summers, they explore not only sandy beaches and fudge stores . . . but long-hidden family secrets. I can’t decide which Pickford sibling I love the most. There’s Pete (a snail scientist) and Viv (whose husband's sexy secret has nothing to do with her)—but my favorite has to be Corey, the wayward little brother who’s hoping to fix his life by selling five pounds of stolen cocaine to a rich stranger at the hotel his dad is paying for. Make Nice is true, tender, and sneakily hilarious...the perfect novel to make you treasure your own imperfect family.”
    —Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

    "Tired of our long national nightmare? Take heart in Make Nice, a witty, tender family saga that will have you grinning from ear to ear as you bury your head in the sand for a few blissed-out hours. And trust me when I say: it is very, very good sand."
    —Joshua Ferris, author of A Calling for Charlie Barnes

    "A brilliantly funny, big-hearted novel full of family drama, scandalous secrets, big dreams, and long-shot gambles, with love and fireworks aplenty. Effgen's debut is pure pleasure, and I relished every page."
    —Amy Poeppel, author of Far and Away
    RYAN EFFGEN’s fiction has appeared in Best New American Voices, Fiction Magazine, Painted Bride Quarterly, and elsewhere. He has earned creative writing fellowships from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and George Mason University. He works as an instructional designer and lives in Virginia with his wife and children. View titles by Ryan Effgen

    About

    Sandwich meets The Wedding People in this irresistible comedy of manners as three generations of a family—a snail scientist, a soon-to-be divorcée, her teenage daughter, a hapless con man, and their feckless patriarch—descend on a ritzy Lake Michigan vacation island.

    "Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation."
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket

    When the Pickford siblings arrive at The Grand Hotel—a nostalgic tourist paradise of horse-drawn carriages, muddled cocktails, and white sweaters on the tennis court—they have every intention of spending the long weekend making nice. Pete, the nation’s foremost expert on gastropods (mollusks), is keen to wade around the lake in search of a rare and exciting Carthusian snail. Viv, reeling from the secret revelation that her husband is gay, is determined to put on a brave face for her daughter. And Corey, a charming, handsome grifter, has lucked into five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the first dumb rich guy he can find.

    But when Pete falls for the alluring mother of a local kid, when Viv’s daughter gets up to teenage trouble, and when Corey finds the wealthy guests less interested in party drugs than golf clubs and waffle cones, the long weekend of family bonding veers into disaster. Why did their father bring them to this cushy island resort in the first place? And why does Corey, the biggest screw-up of them all, seem to be the only one who knows the truth? As secrets spill, old flames are fanned, and an innocent snail is crushed beneath the unrelenting heel of a hiking boot. In a story that is as sneakily wise as it is absurdly funny, Ryan Effgen’s debut shows how sometimes the people who bring out your worst—your family—can also be the ones to bring you out of your shell.

    Reviews

    "If you enjoy my novels, then Make Nice is for you! Ryan Effgen chronicles the hijinks and complicated dynamics of a weeklong family vacation in a gloriously depicted Mackinac Island—replete with fudge shops, lake views, and horse-drawn carriages. Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation."
    —Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket

    “When the Pickford family returns to the Lake Michigan island where they spent childhood summers, they explore not only sandy beaches and fudge stores . . . but long-hidden family secrets. I can’t decide which Pickford sibling I love the most. There’s Pete (a snail scientist) and Viv (whose husband's sexy secret has nothing to do with her)—but my favorite has to be Corey, the wayward little brother who’s hoping to fix his life by selling five pounds of stolen cocaine to a rich stranger at the hotel his dad is paying for. Make Nice is true, tender, and sneakily hilarious...the perfect novel to make you treasure your own imperfect family.”
    —Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

    "Tired of our long national nightmare? Take heart in Make Nice, a witty, tender family saga that will have you grinning from ear to ear as you bury your head in the sand for a few blissed-out hours. And trust me when I say: it is very, very good sand."
    —Joshua Ferris, author of A Calling for Charlie Barnes

    "A brilliantly funny, big-hearted novel full of family drama, scandalous secrets, big dreams, and long-shot gambles, with love and fireworks aplenty. Effgen's debut is pure pleasure, and I relished every page."
    —Amy Poeppel, author of Far and Away

    Author

    RYAN EFFGEN’s fiction has appeared in Best New American Voices, Fiction Magazine, Painted Bride Quarterly, and elsewhere. He has earned creative writing fellowships from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and George Mason University. He works as an instructional designer and lives in Virginia with his wife and children. View titles by Ryan Effgen

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