Reed Hadley would gladly spend her day holed up in her room with her dog, watching horror movies or surfing the internet on her trusty laptop. Too bad she is the daughter of one of the biggest matchmakers in the business. As soon as Reed started to develop into what scientist dubbed an adolescent, her mom has been sitting her up on dates, which seem to go wrong every time. Reed is done with these dates, and she realizes that the only way to get her mom off her back is to find a boyfriend. When Reed is partnered with bad boy Parker Hunt on a school project, they can't stand each other. However, Reed and Parker quickly realize they need each other; Reed needs Parker so that her mom will stop with the blind dates, and Parker needs Reed so his jealous ex-girlfriend will leave him alone. So, this odd pair strikes up a deal. For appearances' sake, they're an item. Behind closed doors, they may fight like children, but Reed and Parker have managed to fool the people they need to. However, can a fake relationship stay fake forever?

We are all imbalanced, especially us.

Selene is a "non-essential" crew member on a generational spaceship that classifies artists as insane. She and her fellow non-essential artists are given a rather unique assignment: create art they find beautiful, with no angle of making it essential for life on board the ship. As they hone their art skills, Selene teams up with a troubled sculptor and learns just how dangerous art--and being non-essential--can be. This novella takes place on the spaceship Godspeed and deals with characters seen in the Across the Universe series. You can read it without reading the novels, although it might be more fitting to read it after A Million Suns.