...from Counterpoint Press and in the UK from Serpent's Tail .  Translations are available in Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Ukrainian.   

The Gunners is the winner of the 2020 TRIBÙK DEI LIBRAI PRIZE in Italy and a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers selection for 2018.

The New York Times Book Review: "...Kauffman has done something remarkable with “The Gunners,” the now grown group of childhood friends who adopted the moniker from the mailbox of the abandoned home they used as an after-school squat: She’s made spending time with them not just tolerable, but delightful. And she’s achieved this not by manufacturing likability, but by so convincingly rendering the affection between them that you accept each character’s foibles as readily as they do one another’s...There’s so much generosity and spirit and humor shared by whatever characters are on the page at any given time that I was always happy to accompany them."

NPR: "Unusually for a literary novelist, Kauffman has no fear of overt feeling. When she explores an emotion, she does it with absolute candor. Her characters announce their grief and affection and rage in a way that few others do...And the brilliance of The Gunners is that it helps you. Kauffman teaches you the right way to read her prose. To put it in Loofbourow's terms, she shows you how intentional she's being, how canny a writer she is...Another thing literary novelists don't often let themselves do is write novels with morals, or messages, but The Gunners has one. It's clear, though not easy: Accept your emotions. Feel them bluntly, plainly. Allow yourself to flinch. There isn't a better way forward. Not in life, and not, I suspect, on the page. 

Oprah Magazine: "Beautifully wrought... Engrossing... Kauffman is interested in the muddiness of love—how it can be selfish and desperate, even cruel. After Sally's funeral, Alice tells Mikey about her technique for selecting and preserving earthworms to sell at her marina: Once picked, they need to be set in soil; otherwise, the worms will "kill themselves gettin' all wrapped up in each other." The novel is rife with images of the squiggly creatures, as well as grackles, owls, and other critters. When it comes to love, Kauffman suggests, we're equal parts predator and prey."

Entertainment Weekly This Week's Must List: "Kauffman’s moving novel follows a group of childhood friends who reunite after one dies by suicide. Each character comes to terms with their dark pasts and uncertain futures -- like an intimate hangout session, dashed with suspense and a few extra layers of emotional beauty. You’ll find yourself thinking of Freaks and Geeks, The Big Chill, and maybe all those friends you've been meaning to text."

People Magazine: “A riveting portrayal of the joys and mysteries of growing up, and of friendship itself.”

Washington City Paper: "With its ensemble cast and weighty, sentimental subject matter, The Gunners is a feat in economy. Character backgrounds are executed in a matter of sentences rather than chapters; narrative intrigue is succinct and enduring. Kauffman wields a firm grasp on her characters, ensuring the reader loves them as she does without passing any direct judgment. The contrast between Mikey, resigned to his fate and scared of his own shadow, and Alice, who grabs life by the horns (among other things), fills quiet scenes with compelling tension. The third-person limited voice emphasizes misunderstandings compounded over years of separation, and the resolution strikes a heartrending note on the seasons of life without undermining any of the novel’s heavier themes. ...Friendship outweighs happiness or lack thereof, making their every interaction poignant and memorable. Kauffman’s precision in tackling the nature of love and fatality constitutes a major accomplishment for a young writer, and The Gunners packs a serious emotional punch in its pragmatic brevity."

Kirkus Review:  "Kauffman has created vivid and compelling characters struggling with what is in some ways the most universal dilemma: how to grow up. Mikey especially is mature and thoughtful but not at all precious; and the boisterous, hilarious Alice is charming despite her best efforts to behave otherwise. In fluid prose, Kauffman lays bare the lessons of youth and truth.  A layered and loving bildungsroman of friendship."

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review): "Perceptive, funny, and endearing...Reminiscent of The Big Chill and St. Elmo's Fire,...provides readers with an entire cast of characters who will feel like old friends."

Booklist Review: "...Kauffman’s quiet and deep second novel reconciles the responsibilities we carry and the secrets we keep with the outsize pleasure of being known and loved by a chosen family."

Library Journal: "VERDICT Neither dark nor despairing, this work admirably expresses the satisfying comfort derived from the survival of such long-term friendships even as it evokes sadness about the losses and challenges that come with transitioning to adulthood. A successful sophomore effort after Kauffman’s well-received first novel, Another Place You’ve Never Been."

Voted by Canada's Loan Star reader-advisory program and the Canadian Urban Libraries Council as a Favourite Upcoming March Title.

Chosen as a Best Book by: Esquire Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple Magazine, Nylon Magazine, Chicago Review of Books, TimeOut, Bustle, and JetSetter Magazine.