The first volume in a series, Wendy Darling offers an exciting new perspective on Neverland. Told by Wendy, eldest of the three Darling children, the story by Colleen Oakes is less concerned with make-believe and more firmly footed in what it means to grow up. At 16 years old, Wendy wavers between the carefree joy of childhood and the measured responsibility of being an adult. She strives to please her father and be the lady her mother wishes she would be.

Knowing her affluent family would disapprove, she keeps her relationship with Booth, a poor bookseller, secret. When her beau tells her she must be brave and tell her parents of their courtship, Wendy balks, unable to step outside of her sheltered life and decide her own future. By the time Peter comes to take the Darling siblings to Neverland, Wendy wants nothing more than to escape her conflicted feelings for a short while. Unfortunately for Wendy, the adventure is not as Peter promised.

Neverland is not a game, and the only way Wendy can stay safe from the numerous threats, including sirens and pirates, is to stay close to Peter. But proximity comes with a cost. Wendy begins to forget who she is, losing herself in what feels like addictive love. The Lost Boys also look to Peter with cult-like obsession. When Wendy regains her mind, she is appalled by the veneration and devotion Peter commands. In this dark and dangerous Neverland with YA crossover appeal, Wendy must act against Peter to save herself and her brothers. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company

A Trappist monastery near Philadelphia is the centerpiece of James Martin's compassionate, engaging The Abbey. Martin (Jesus: A Pilgrimage) acknowledges that this novel (his first) is based on a dream and grounded in experiences from his own journey of faith. Thus, he brings together, via the fictional Abbey of Saints Philip and James, three souls, each grappling with personal problems.

The main character is Anne, a divorcee, accountant and lapsed Catholic, who, for three years has been grieving the death of her only child, 13-year-old Jeremiah. Anne owns two houses. She lives in one and the other (her parents' house) she rents to Mark, an unsettled ladies' man and former architect, who now works as a handyman at the Abbey. When teenagers in the neighborhood--friends of Jeremiah--accidentally break a window at the rental home, Mark is forced to contact Anne. Through a series of providential coincidences, Mark and Anne are drawn to the Abbey where Father Paul--the middle-aged abbot who privately questions his own existence and place in the world--gently broadens the views of Mark and Anne in their concepts of spirituality and prayer, mercy and love, and how God and the divine manifest in ordinary lives.

The Abbey takes on a different meaning for the personal evolution of each character. With tender wit and wisdom, Martin offers an in-depth glimpse into committed religious life and how lay people can practice a devout faith amid doubt, anger and questioning. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

After solving a murder at a fashionable seaside resort, socialite Amory Ames is looking forward to some quiet time in London with her husband, Milo, to patch up their marriage. (Suspecting one's husband of both murder and infidelity does tend to put a damper on romance.) But their relative peace is disturbed when a friend asks Amory to investigate a jewelry theft. Amory reluctantly agrees to help entrap the thief at a masked ball, but when the night's events lead to murder, Amory finds herself drawn into the investigation.

Ashley Weaver (Murder at the Brightwell) deftly evokes the glittering world of 1930s London society in her second mystery, Death Wears a Mask, assembling her suspects--complete with murky pasts and assorted motives for theft and murder--at a dinner party. Amory again proves a perceptive and appealing amateur sleuth as she sifts through clues (including her maid's stack of gossip sheets) and attempts to unearth new information (even visiting pawnshops in disguise). Amory is less perceptive about the intentions of the notorious Viscount Dunmore, host of the masquerade, and several other male suspects. Meanwhile, rumors are swirling about Milo's relationship to a French film star, and Amory must decide what and whom to believe.

"It is difficult enough to read people in real life, to sort through the masks we all wear," Amory muses. Although Amory may be unsure of where the truth lies, Weaver's skill--as evidenced by her sparkling prose and sensitive portrayal of a difficult marriage--is no illusion. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

After having a specimen deposited on his head by a bird as he passes under an apple tree, Geoffrey, the young protagonist in this new addition to the Discworld series, decides he wants to open a poo museum. With the help of his grandmother and the gardener, Plain Old Humphrey, Geoffrey and his new puppy, Widdler, set off on a series of scatological adventures, collecting specimens from as many new species as they can find. They consort with a friendly gargoyle, bring home a steaming pile from a baby dragon, ride on a barge through the sewage-laden river governed by Sir Harry King, who runs a massive poo collection service, and generally have a tremendous amount of fun while collecting many pieces of feces.

Terry Pratchett's satire and wit are evident throughout this humorous venture into a semi-taboo topic; when discussing the poo of dragons, he writes, "Draco nobilis... is a carnivore. This species is particularly fond of virgins, but knights in armour are a bonus because they add a certain amount of roughage to the diet... the dragons excrete small tin roundels not unlike corned beef, but still in the tin as it were." Pratchett has taken an often smelly, offensive subject and made it the object of a young boy's desire--to have the best poo museum in the world--providing readers with a funny and informative view on a process that is natural and a bond of sorts among animals and humans alike. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer

The King's Justice contains two novellas from Stephen R. Donaldson, whose 10-novel series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is among the best fantasy of all time.

The first novella, "The King's Justice," tells of the King's servant, Black, a mysterious figure who seeks to eradicate a new evil that has appeared in the land. Black's travels introduce him to many villagers in Settle's Crossways, some helpful, some not, on his journey to discover the origin of the balance-destroying magic within the village itself. Black is captured when confronting Haul Varder, a blacksmith, but must find a way to rescue himself, as well as thwart Varder's malevolent plans.

The second novella, "The Augur's Gambit," concerns Queen Inimica Phlegathon deVry of Indemnie. Her majesty's hieronomer Mayhew, a seer into the unknown, tells the story of his queen's convoluted machinations within her own kingdom, to ensure its deliverance from Mayhew's dire prophesies. He is deeply loyal to Inimica, but also equally smitten with her plain yet brilliant daughter--and only heir--Excrucia, who must avoid many attempts on her life. When Mayhew, his queen and her daughter are forced to confront their enemies much sooner than they expect, "The Augur's Gambit" escalates into a tense, intricate read.

Donaldson is in fine form with these two engaging stories, each with its own elaborately conceived world and backstory that will pull curious readers in immediately and not let go until the very end. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor

Poet, novelist and biographer Jay Parini (One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner) has written an intimate, clear-eyed and authoritative biography of Gore Vidal (1925-2012). Parini's nearly 30-year friendship doesn't blind him to his friend's faults. "He could be cantankerous, testy, ill-mannered, a terrible snob, a drunken bore," writes Parini. But he was also "a man I admired and valued as a friend."

Vidal wrote two memoirs (Palimpsest in 1995, and Point to Point Navigation in 2006) but he wanted Parini to write his full biography. Parini agreed on the condition it would not be published in Vidal's lifetime. This freedom from interference allows Parini a more critical eye toward Vidal's novels, screenplays and essays. He's also able to sift out fiction from what Vidal presented as fact. (Parini believes Vidal wasn't blacklisted by reviewers after the publication of his groundbreaking 1948 gay novel The City and the Pillar; he just followed it up with a number of underwhelming novels.)

A charming narcissist ("He required a hall of mirrors for adequate reflection, and there was never enough"), Vidal's colorful and volatile life was filled with fetes and feuds with celebrities, politicians and writers. His poised, witty and acerbic personality (catnip for talk shows that helped sell his novels) hid his social insecurity. His life partner of 53 years, Howard Austen, was his diplomatic buffer with most people.

Empire of Self offers a fascinating and compelling portrait of Gore Vidal's many contradictions: an anti-Roosevelt Democrat; a gay man who believed "There were no homosexuals, only homosexual acts"; and an enormously successful author with the thinnest of skins. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant

As World War II dragged on, past the Nazi defeat at Stalingrad in 1943, through strategic reversals on all fronts and increasingly devastating air raids, the German people, generally speaking, still gave the war effort their utmost support. Even in the fall of 1944 and into early 1945, many held out in desperate conditions under the belief that something, a miracle weapon or dissolution of the Soviet-Western alliance, would change Germany's fortunes. What compelled them to struggle and die for a regime whose crimes were so appalling? How much did Germans know about the Holocaust, and how could that knowledge coexist with a belief in the righteousness of the German cause?

In The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945, Oxford professor Nicholas Stargardt (Witnesses of War) explores these and other questions through letters, diaries and other first-hand accounts from German civilians and soldiers. The result is a portrait of a population that experienced complex combinations of patriotism, religious faith, fear, familial love and, ultimately, guilt.

Stargardt debunks the postwar pleas of ignorance given by Germans when confronted with the horrors of the death camps. News of genocide in the occupied east made its way back into the Reich through letters from soldiers to their families. As the bombing of German cities became catastrophic, civilians mused publicly that the air raids were revenge for how Germany had treated the Jews. The Holocaust was an open secret, and how regular Germans dealt with it is just part of what makes The German War so fascinating. --Tobias Mutter, freelance reviewer

For years, letters addressed to Santa Claus have been shipped to Santa Claus, Ind., where a staff of town volunteers--"elves"--processes and answers some 400,000 pieces of mail every December.

The book gathers more than 250 scanned letters and documents, from the 1930s to the present. Wish lists reflect the times--from Shirley Temple dolls to Apple gift cards--and the letters are telling and confessional. A "good little bad boy" admits he's been a "real louse," pouring Tabasco instead of chocolate syrup on his brother's ice cream. A humble little girl wants only shoes with heels for her depressed single mother. Another asks for a time machine to "fix all the bad things that have happened to me." A six-year-old wants Santa to bring his ex-con father a job. A dog, abandoned by housemates, wants his favorite treats. A Braille letter from a blind Filipino girl asks for a radio. There are others boldly seeking mates, money, lingerie and legal aid.

Some lists are long and typed, others short: "I want my dad to be smarter"; "Can my mom come home from the hospital?" Questions about reindeer, chimneys and coal abound, as do apologies and vows toward better behavior. Some dangle prospects of Christmas Eve sweet treats to entice Santa--one promises beer and a liverwurst sandwich. This well-presented, historical collection--reflecting both the naughty and nice--will entertain and offer insights into the human condition. And it's even been reported that a reader spotted her own letter to Santa in the mix! Might yours be included? --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

A human's trash is a mouse's treasure, isn't that the expression? In this charming addition to the Five Nice Mice collection, Japanese artist Chisato Tashiro (Five Nice Mice and the Great Car Race) brings her exquisite painterly sensibility to the city dump.

The five nice mice are properly introduced: Nibble ("has no idea where his other blue sock is"), Teeny ("never without her green bracelet"), Bon Bon ("always wears his favorite yellow scarf"), Whisk ("the mouse with a knot in his tail") and the red-bowed Abby ("sometimes a little vain"). Early on, cats are established as the enemy, and two very big ones have just moved into the old building where the mice live. The mice search and search for a safer home, until they find "an extraordinary mountain" of cast-off armchairs and clocks, cans and lampshades: the city dump. Delighted, they decide to build a house. A big red chair, overturned, makes an ideal roof, a clock makes a nice pantry and kitchen. The afternoon nap room is perfect: "And when they were finished, the light shone through the glass balls and filled the room with soft, magical light." They even build a Ferris wheel with old bicycle tires! A "MMMEEEOOOWWW!" shatters their newfound harmony, but only temporarily. The poor cat is caught in some twine, the compassionate mice gnaw him free, and in return he becomes their loyal "watch cat."

Children will marvel at the ingenuity of the mice, and revel in the enchanting details of the splendid mouse-house that any creature would love to inhabit. --Karin Snelson, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness