Few legends of the American Old West are as enduring and elusive as that of William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. Ron Hansen, who started his career writing literary westerns (Desperadoes), has returned to his roots with a meticulously researched novel that digs into Bonney's life. While Hansen does not answer every question about the Kid's short and violent trajectory, he does reframe Bonney's exploits in an effective and haunting way, providing fresh insight about the man and myth.

The Kid begins with Bonney's birth as Henry McCarty in New York and his family's relocation to New Mexico following his father's death. His mother died when he was 14, and the orphaned boy fell in with the wrong crowd and landed in jail. McCarty escaped to Arizona, worked as a rancher and shot a man before fleeing back to New Mexico, where he changed his name to Bonney. He was a fast-shooting and graceful bantamweight man who charmed women and attracted loyalty from friends, despite a hair-trigger temper and a hair-trigger hand. While many of the Kid's initial crimes involved theft, it was the murder of a mentor during the Lincoln County Wars that pushed Bonney to embrace violence and his life as an outlaw.

Early on, one character asks Billy what he wants from this life; he responds, "To belong. To be liked. To be famous. To be feared." These are haunting words played out over the course of the Kid's violent life and impressive literary afterlife in Hansen's entertaining adventure. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant

Richard Francis (Judge Sewall's Apology) turns to historical fiction to tell the story of a Salem witch trials judge from a personal perspective. Crane Pond is an intimate look at this 17th-century American colonist, who married the first black couple in Boston, was a devoted brother, husband and father, and always strove to do what was right. Told in Samuel Sewall's voice, the novel delves into the mind and emotions of the only judge to publicly ask forgiveness for his role in the tragedy that resulted in 20 innocent women being hung.

Sewall is a simple character in a complex situation. He has strong faith, but this faith brings contradictions that leave him praying for guidance and strength, seeing signs in nature's unpredictability and following the demands of leaders whose idealism blind them to the evil they evoke in their followers. Crane Pond offers a compassionate view of this mortal in his struggles to do what is best, despite his ultimate failure. Readers may find the struggle between religion and politics familiar.

Richard Francis's in-depth knowledge of his character and the era makes Crane Pond eerily authentic, while his empathy for Sewall provides a rare perspective of an event that has long captivated readers. Francis also guides his audience into the period with convincing language that captures the atmosphere but doesn't require translation. Crane Pond is fascinatingly engaging and thought provoking, the best kind of storytelling. --Jen Forbus, freelancer

Allen Eskens is dastardly. In The Heavens May Fall, he gives us two root-for-'til-the-end best friends--law professor Boady Sanden and Detective Max Rupert--and puts them at odds. Boady and Max have appeared in Eskens's other novels (The Life We Bury), but they take center stage in this duel over the murder of a wealthy foundation director, each bringing personal demons to the legal battle that threatens to end their relationship.

Ben Pruitt, the victim's husband, is Boady's former law partner. Boady agrees to represent Ben despite having retired from practice following a devastating loss. Max and Ben also have a history, but it's far from warm and fuzzy. Boady is certain his friend is innocent; Max is burning to prove Ben's alibi is not as airtight as it seems. Though he's zeroed in on Ben as the killer, Max may be falling victim to tunnel vision and the emotions raised by the anniversary of his wife's death.

Two heroes working at cross-purposes on a high-profile case ingeniously ratchets the tension over where the chips will fall. One of these good men is wrong. The story is told from competing perspectives, with Boady and Max each working steadfastly toward what he believes is justice. Eskens keeps the pace brisk, the plotting tight. His criminal law acumen is evident in compelling courtroom scenes. The short chapters in this thrilling mystery will have readers just-one-more-ing well past bedtime. --Lauren O'Brien of Malcolm Avenue Review

Seventeen-year-old Ryn Whittaker is a Citadel, a soldier with specially enhanced physical abilities, whose primary purpose is to guard the Rift, a portal where creatures from one of the numerous other Earths in the multiverse appear on a frequent basis. She hides her true identity from the few non-Citadel friends that she has and from her family, who think she attends school instead of protecting the planet from invaders. When Ezra, a young man from a different Earth, rifts through the glowing green portal, Ryn becomes attracted to him despite a condition called Blood Lust, which turns any romantic notion in a Citadel into a desire to kill. Ezra, an MIT student, begins to question the new world he has arrived in, and it prompts Ryn to wonder who in fact she is--and why she continues to follow orders obediently.

The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster is a fast-paced and intriguing first book in a trilogy that blends quantum physics and modern cultural references with teenage angst and romance. She encourages readers to consider the psychological, cultural and racial implications of a world that is inhabited by people who, for their own personal gain, are bent on manipulating children, forcing them to become something they are not. She also delves into the multiple layers of what it means to be an immigrant--from a different version of Earth--and an American, and how society and those in the higher echelons of power dictate conformity to the detriment of the innocent. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer

Demon first appeared as a serial on Jason Shiga's website, ShigaBooks, nearly two years ago. Shiga revived Jimmy Yee, the trademark hero of his previous comics, (Meanwhile, Bookhunter, Fleep and Empire State), and used mystery and puzzles as part of the narrative, but with a body-snatching twist. No matter how many times Jimmy tries, he cannot die in a story where Groundhog Day meets Inception.

Demon opens with Jimmy writing a letter. The next panels show him at various stages of thought, until the very last panel on the page, with his feet dangling above the note; the scene fades to black. Jimmy wakes up in bed to realize his suicide attempt failed, although 20 minutes have elapsed. Jimmy slits his wrists, shoots himself and dives headfirst into the path of an oncoming truck, to no avail. His last suicide attempt puts him in the hospital, where he remembers the car accident that claimed the lives of his wife and daughter. Depressed and sad, he robs a bank and kills the teller before landing in his present circumstances. The action that ensues is even more twisted, surreal and shocking than might be anticipated. Shiga's artistic minimalism plays well in setting the pace. Early panels echo the time loop that Jimmy seems to relive after each suicide attempt, and the details added to later panels emphasize the progressive desperation and distress that haunts him after each failure.

While Meanwhile was experimental and Empire State was nostalgic, Demon is a stunning amalgamation of Shiga's previous books and the formal debut of what should become an intellectually stimulating cult classic. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant

Many of the writings about celebrity chef Julia Child's life have focused on her years abroad, her earliest cookbooks and her first television program, The French Chef. Alex Prud'homme, Child's nephew and coauthor of her memoir My Life in France, fills in the story of her "second act" with this look at her life after that first program.

Her iconic status encourages a false perception that Child rocketed to stardom following the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and remained there, but in fact, she faced the same pressure as any other celebrity to reinvent herself to match changing public interest. Blessed with a boundless work ethic and an indomitable spirit, she rose above creative differences, fickle audiences and shifts in culinary zeitgeist, from a taste for the rich and exotic to a demand for healthier, lighter fare. She mentored and collaborated with other celeb chefs, gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at a White House dinner, and eschewed paid endorsements on her way to becoming a pioneer in culinary entertainment.

Thanks to extensive use of personal letters and papers, the narrative includes Child's voice, and Prud'homme skillfully evokes his aunt by focusing on her most human moments. His in-depth exploration of her relationship with nouvelle cuisine, the forerunner of today's local and sustainable food movements, shows how complex but flexible her philosophies could be. This candid but loving look at one of food entertainment's biggest personalities will satisfy fans. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

"Representation is important," Sam Maggs writes in her introduction to Wonder Women. "Media critics use this phrase all the time.... But something we often forget is that representation matters everywhere, not just in fiction but also in our everyday IRL lives." In the warm, colloquial style that characterized her first book, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, Maggs presents bite-size biographies of 25 "brilliant, patriarchy-smashing, butt-kicking" women who have made important discoveries in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Starting with STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), Maggs highlights a few women whose stories may be familiar to readers (computer programmer Ada Lovelace; pioneering doctor Elizabeth Blackwell) along with many more obscure figures (Austrian physicist Lise Meitner; Indian doctor Anandibai Joshi). She moves on to "Women of Espionage," then the broader categories of "innovation" and "adventure," which include female painters, inventors, rocket scientists, aviators and more. Maggs rounds off each section by interviewing a professional woman in the relevant field, asking about their career paths and soliciting advice for young women who want to follow in their footsteps. Maggs's message--delivered in a snappy, girl-power tone--and her subjects--any one of whom could star in a book of her own--are timely and compelling.

For girls in search of whip-smart female role models or adults of any gender who have heard one too many stories about white men, Wonder Women is a smart, witty celebration of its subjects. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

In the opening pages of I'll Tell You in Person, Chloe Caldwell (Legs Get Led Astray) reflects on the first personal essay she read: "Mono No Aware" by Miki Howard. Dissecting Howard's work, Caldwell asks, "But how did she do that? Take something from her life and craft it into this moving piece of art that resonated with me even though it had nothing to do with me?"

The pieces in I'll Tell You in Person attempt to answer that question, as Caldwell's personal experience centers on universal themes of friendship, love and self-discovery. This is more successful in some essays than others (though these successes and failures may be more a reflection of the reader than the writer). In "Hungry Ghost," Caldwell explores the lengths to which we will go to impress others. "Sisterless" tries to give shape to a relationship that moves beyond friendship and into some nameless place. Female friendship surfaces again and again, both as the central theme of particular essays (as in "Maggie and Me: A Love Story," the story of a friendship found and lost) and as a secondary theme in stories of coming out and hooking up and hitchhiking and job hunting and quitting and searching.

Caldwell doesn't always paint herself in a particularly favorable light: she is selfish, dangerous, boisterous, disastrous and at times heartless. This may turn off some readers, but those willing to sit with the discomfort of Caldwell's experiences, for better or worse, may feel "a touch of participation mystique while reading about [these] sometimes poor decisions." --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

Sixteen-year-old Rani Patel is always the odd one out: she's the only Gujarati Indian girl on the tiny Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, where she moved when she was 12, and the only girl she knows who writes rap. After her abusive father leaves Rani and her mother alone to run the family general store and café, hip-hop is her only solace. When her alter ego, MC Sutra, is invited to audition for an underground hip-hop crew, Rani finally has something to look forward to--especially when another MC, Mark, shows interest in more than her rhymes. But Mark is older, with struggles of his own. When they become involved, memories of her father's abuse overwhelm her, causing an emotional upheaval that even Rani doesn't understand. Rani's "hard work at staying sober from Mark-the-love-drug" will be familiar to older teens.

Readers will find a kindred spirit in Rani through Sonia Patel's skillful crafting of her internal battle. Patel doesn't turn away from the difficult issues Rani is facing, especially the "emotional turmoil" that results from incest. Throughout Rani Patel in Full Effect, Patel--a child and adolescent psychiatrist--is respectful of what abused teens survive without sugarcoating. Teens recovering from sexual trauma will be inspired by a heroine who gathers her inner strength despite setbacks; others will gain insight into how trauma makes people act unexpectedly. And all readers will appreciate the authentic detail and development of Rani's Gujarati-Hawaiian-hip-hop world of 1991. Rani's deeply felt but uneven rhymes, combined with the book's effortless inclusion of Gujarati and Hawaiian pidgin, create a distinct adolescent voice. --Stephanie Anderson, assistant director for public services, Darien Library (Conn.)