In the follow-up to her acclaimed debut, which drew comparisons from critics to The Bell Jar and The Awakening, Amy Koppelman delivers an aggressive and unnerving portrait of a modern suburban woman.

Laney Brooks acts out. Married with kids, she takes the drugs she wants, sleeps with the men she wants, disappears when she wants. Lurking beneath Laney's composed surface is the destructive impulse to follow in the footsteps of her father, to leave and topple her family's balance in the process.

"Powerful. Koppelman's instincts help her navigate these choppy waters with inventiveness and integrity." -Paul Kolsby, Los Angeles Times

"This crushing novel by the author of A Mouthful of Air is a shocking portrait of suburban ennui gone horribly awry. Koppelman's prose style is understated and crackling; each sentence is laden with a foreboding sense of menace. Like a crime scene or a flaming car wreck, it becomes impossible not to stare."
-Publishers Weekly

"Koppelman mosly writes from inside Laney's disillusioned mind, ricocheting between the quotidian details of wife and motherhood and big-picture musings, forming exquisite stand-alone tone poems." -Elle-

"Amy Koppelman explores with ruthless honesty a woman come undone. Laney remains captivating in her certainty that although her family's dissolution is her sole responsibility to deter, she can't quite conjure the necessary thwarting efforts. For the only thing as ferocious as Laney's lack of preventive action is her behavior, the reader powerless against her vice: an addict hooked to Koppelman's potent writing and her protagonist's unpredictable conduct."
-Bookslut-

"Laney Brooks is a woman in agony, suffering from an undefined malady that makes standard housewife ennui — boredom from carpooling or picking up dry cleaning — look like a picnic. Laney’s despair, [is] ably depicted by Amy Koppelman in her affecting second novel."
-Sara Ivry, Bookforum-

"This book is a demanding read, with relentless pacing, a choppy, aggressive tone and a compelling battle for redemption." -Lilith Magazine

"Koppelman's writing is expressive and nuanced . . . [a] potent novel."
-Booklist-

"[Koppelman's] brave and challenging look beyond appearances of beauty to the ugly reality of a disturbed mind will remain with readers long after they've finished the book. Highly recommended for literary collections."
-Library Journal

"Koppelman is great at evoking the polarized psychology of a woman pulled between conflicting desires. Imagine the uncompromising sexual prose of the great Tamara Faith Berger merging with an episode of Mad Men."
-Broken Pencil

"Amy Koppelman probes deeply into the dark and cavernous recesses of a picture-perfect suburban mom, and emerges with one of the most terrifying novels I've read in ages. Read I Smile Back at your own risk. It's a glorious little explosion of a book." -Dani Shapiro

"Amy Koppelman writes with beauty and precision about a life turned ugly and disoriented. Laney Brooks is a heroine on par with Joan Didion's Maria Wyeth. She captivates not only because she recognizes the darkness closing in around her, but because a part of her welcomes it." -David Benioff

Like the outlaw movies that Laney likes, Amy Koppelman's unforgettable heroine is dangerous, raw and untamable. Like Laney, Koppelman refuses to tone down, be polite, or color in the lines - which is what makes I Smile Back so brilliant and devastating. -Susan Shapiro

"One of today's most fearless and brilliant writers, Koppelman peels away at the dark side of the suburban dream. The prose gleams like poetry, and she’s given us a heroine so original and disquieting, that I dare any reader to forget her — or Koppelman." -Caroline Leavitt

"Amy Koppelman's portrait of a contemporary American couple will slash and burn every idea you ever had about marriage. Koppelman's vision is both dark and ferocious; once you are in her grip, she'll never let you go. -Yona Zeldis McDonough