When young Mary El and her mother are emancipated by their abolitionist owner in 1840s Richmond, they find themselves cast into a distrustful, uncertain state. They are free, but Virginia law requires them to relocate, and Mary El's father remains enslaved. Mary El's first taste of freedom, then, is bittersweet; though she goes on to Philadelphia for a proper education, she does so alone, her mother remaining behind with her father. The unfairness of this partial freedom infuriates Mary El and worsens as she faces the prejudices of the North and the increasing inaction of the abolitionists. As the country marches to war, Mary El soon finds herself heading back to Virginia to further the cause of the abolitionists from within the heart of the South.

The Secrets of Mary Bowser, Lois Leveen's debut novel, is based on the fascinating true story of a freed African American woman who voluntarily returned to Richmond during the Civil War to fight for emancipation. Through Mary El's complicated journey, Leveen gets to the core of the delicate issues surrounding slavery: the class system among the slaves, from "we in the house" to the cotton-pickers in the fields; racial prejudices; the emotional trials of those separated from their families; and the true definition of freedom. Leveen has clearly done her research: The Secrets of Mary Bowser is a rich, layered story of slavery, of the South and of what it means to fight for what we believe in, no matter the cost. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

Discover: A brilliant historical novel based on the true story of one slave’s fight for emancipation from within the heart of the South.

Suzanne Joinson's A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar is a bewitching novel about the vertiginous chasm between East and West. Joinson's richly imagined characters and winding, unexpected plot turns offer a clear-eyed appreciation of how everyone bristles at proscribed geographical identities and not even the most open society can make a lost person feel at home.

In 1923, a trio of missionaries--Eva; her sister, Lizzie; and Lizzie's mentor, Millicent--arrive full of bluster and zeal in Kashgar, an ancient, mostly Muslim trading hub on the Chinese frontier, and are almost immediately imperiled after a cultural misunderstanding. What began as an adventure for Eva, who set out to write the titular guide while keeping an eye on Lizzie, becomes a desperate trek for survival across hostile terrain. In present-day London, a researcher named Frieda has just arrived home from Egypt to find Tayeb, a Yemeni immigrant, camped in her hallway--and the news that she's inherited the contents of an apartment left behind by a deceased woman she's never heard of.

Joinson tells the two stories concurrently, gradually illuminating the connections. It makes for an unusual, sprawling, but beguiling novel, filled with images of desert pilgrimages, pet owls, body painting as erotic expression and communards in a leafy English country town choosing to cut their tongues in order to find meaning in silence. These intriguing characters all think they know what they need from the other culture but, ultimately, are left unprepared for the blinding obscurity of the desert wind. --Cherie Ann Parker, freelance journalist and book critic

Discover: A sprawling and beguiling tale of three characters navigating the space between cultures of the East and West.

Sometimes a character comes along who is so bad she's finger-licking good. Meet Camille, the star of Michelle Stimpson's Falling into Grace. Camille lies like a rug. She makes up a fictional dying cat to shirk work duties and pretends to have a pacemaker to garner sympathy. She insists she's accepted Jesus Christ as her savior, but only so she can secretly record herself singing with a church choir and submit a demo tape to her agent.

See, Camille is broke. In the early 1990s, she had fame and beaucoup bucks as part of an all-girl pop group, but after her disastrous firing of her savvy and protective brother/manager, she hasn't seen cash money (or her hurt brother) since. It turns out the joke is on Camille, though. Ever since she accepted Jesus into her life as part of her ruse to make a comeback, she finds herself, well, acting Christ-like. She's volunteering with the church's teenage girls, making friendships and maybe even falling for her earnest choir director.

Falling into Grace is a story about faith--faith in God and God's unwavering faith in us. The brilliance of Stimpson's story is that Camille could be any one of us on our worst day. You know she's going to get her comeuppance, but you still root for her ultimate redemption. And there is something infinitely human about a protagonist who can cattily make fun of someone's shoes while still asking, in all seriousness, what Jesus would do. --Natalie Papailiou. author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend

Discover: A fun novel about an unforgettable bad-girl-gone-good that will make you reconsider how faith plays into your daily life.

Katherine Shaw is confident, successful and unworried about her looming 40th birthday. But then Kate is blindsided by the loss of her job, her house and her grandmother. She's grieving and broke when she's offered the chance to write a freelance article about marrying for money. In Jane Austen's day, women frequently married to better themselves, so why not now? Is Kate too old, or can she still marry for money?

This sends Kate (now known as "Lady Katherine Billington Shaw" thanks to some scheming by her best friends) jetting off around the world, using the remnants of her dwindling retirement fund. She gets in with an international polo crowd and meets a handsome billionaire named Scott. Kate decides Scott is the man for her--only he can provide her and her family financial security--and pursues him from Palm Beach to St. Moritz to London, to the disapproval of her friends and family. But there's a flaw in Kate's plan: handsome, irritating Griff Saunderson, who works at a bed and breakfast and keeps cropping up in Kate's life in unexpected ways.

Kim Izzo makes this extravagant tale surprisingly believable, grounding Kate's story in the financial meltdown of 2008. And, in spite of Kate's occasional snarkiness and undeniable avariciousness, she remains likable; her antics to preserve the character of "Lady Kate" and worm her way into Scott's life are downright funny. The themes may not be new, but The Jane Austen Marriage Manual puts a timely, entertaining spin on the classic "love or money?" debate. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Discover: A Jane Austen devotee sets out on a mission to marry for money--but will love get in her way?

Peter Farris's debut novel, Last Call for the Living, is an in-your-face crime thriller that starts out with a simple heist: Hobe Hicklin, a violent ex-con, hits up an isolated bank branch in rural Georgia. For reasons that Hicklin can't quite explain, though, he takes one teller hostage, and the life of Charlie Colquitt, a quiet and nerdy college student, life will never be the same.

Hicklin takes Charlie to his hideaway in the woods, where Charlie lives in fear of his life, and yet is undeniably fascinated by the enigmatic Hicklin and his meth-head girlfriend, Hummingbird. As the days pass, the three of them fall into uneasy patterns of familiarity, and Charlie begins to feel a surprising bond to Hicklin. But Hicklin's Aryan Brotherhood pals, who set up the robbery, are very unhappy that he jumped the gun and took the cash for himself. They're torturing anyone who knew Hicklin to find out where he is, and the cops and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are on Hicklin's heels too. Suddenly the hideaway is a lot less hidden, and Hicklin must run for it again.

Gritty and real, Last Call for the Living shows the dark side of rural Georgia's sketchy bars, trailers and snake-handling charismatic churches. As the cops and the villains work equally hard to find Hicklin, they showcase two very different sides of southern society. Readers along for the ride may be shocked and horrified, but never bored. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Discover: A bank heist gone awry leads to shocking violence and murder in rural Georgia.

Randy Pausch was the Carnegie Mellon professor whose The Last Lecture, based on a farewell address to students and colleagues after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, became a smash bestseller. Now his widow, Jai Pausch, tells her story: Dream New Dreams is an exceptionally written memoir that details her struggle with watching the love of her life painfully slip away while she was left to rebuild.

Jai's memoir is not a tell-all, nor does it sugarcoat the reality of living with Randy--a brilliant and loving, yet stubborn, dying man. What's clear, though, is Jai's utter love and devotion to her husband and devastation at his death. What's also clear is that Randy, who became a inspiration to many readers in his final days, was no saint. She reveals that he had the audacity to suggest that she give up their infant daughter for adoption--it was his attempt to make her feel less overwhelmed by raising their other two children after his death. He also left a list of eligible bachelors for Jai if she ever considered remarrying.

Although startling, it's perversely comforting to hear these humanizing things about Randy, because they make the unfair death of a man in his prime with a young family somehow more palatable. Jai's voice is so heartwrenchingly real that Dream New Dreams will resonate with anyone who has ever acted as a caretaker, lost a loved one or loved deeply. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend

Discover: A powerful memoir from the widow of Randy Pausch, the co-creator of the inspirational bestseller The Last Lecture.

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, in Our Divided Political Heart, offers a plea for thoughtful Americans to reject false choices between the individualistic and communitarian strains in our nation's history and instead restore them to their proper balance.

Whether discussing Alexander Hamilton's expansive conception of federal power, how that vision was pursued by Henry Clay and the Whig Party or the rise of the Populist and Progressive movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Dionne displays an impressive familiarity with the broad sweep of American history and of the work of Gordon Wood, Richard Hofstadter and other key scholars.

What he does most effectively is challenge the Tea Party's contention that so-called strict constructionist judges can discover the intent of the Founders under the rubric of "originalism," which led to decisions like Citizens United, signaling the "collapse of any controls over the campaign finance system" and distorting the Founders' republican ideals by opening the electoral system to the "intrusion of large sums of money."

Dionne suggests we should "turn to the past for enlightenment and encouragement," but his hope ultimately is that America will return to the relative stability of the Long Consensus--a period that extended through most of the 20th century--when the country succeeded in balancing "an irrepressible and ongoing tension between two core values: our love of individualism and our love for community." It's an argument he advances with both subtlety and quiet passion, and well worth contemplating as the political debates of 2012 become ever more shrill. --Harvey Freedenberg

Discover: An NPR and Meet the Press regular looks back at American history, with a plea to return a thoughtful balance to our political conversation.

Jimmy Burns has an emotional relationship to the soccer teams and the legacy of his native Spain. He's written several books on the sport, culminating in La Roja, which sets out to tell the story of Spanish soccer, from the moment when the British introduced the nation to the sport in the 1880s to the present day, when the sport has become ubiquitous. Soccer acted as a major propaganda tool in the Spanish Civil War; Franco used it to maintain control of local populations, installing loyal political figures as club presidents and managers. During his rule, Spanish club teams fought fiercely amongst themselves, with regional politics playing a heavy role; in international play, Franco's politics were at the forefront of every interaction. These were underachieving, frustrating years for Spanish soccer. Only in the late 20th century did Spain begin to come into its own, winning Olympic gold in 1992 and, finally, the pinnacle of a World Cup championship in 2010.

Burns relates nearly 150 years of Spanish soccer history, capturing its roots, the regionalism, the racism, the politics, the bullfighting connections and even a cultural reminiscence of Don Quixote. He portrays personalities, rivalries, strong emotions--including his own--and moments of shining success for a much-beset nation. Often heavier on history than on sport, La Roja is a window into Spain and its component cultures, regions and histories as well as a celebration of soccer and its most recent champions. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pages of julia

Discover: An examination of Spanish history through the filter of the beautiful game.

Chernobyl, the Chinese city of Linfen and the Yamuna river in India aren't must-see destinations for most of us. So why would journalist and filmmaker Andrew Blackwell spend his vacations in polluted places like this? Visit Sunny Chernobyl is hard to categorize--part travelogue, part memoir, part environmental exposé--but it is not hard to praise. It's wonderfully engaging, extremely readable and, yes, remarkably informative.

Blackwell purposely vacations in some of the world's most polluted places, informing readers of the relevant environmental issues as he reflects on his travels. In each of the disaster areas he visits, Blackwell immerses himself in the befouled environment (though he wisely chooses to avoid a bath in the sewage-filled Yamuna river), yet always manages, with a slightly irreverent wit, to find something worthy of his appreciation. As Blackwell notes while tracking giant floating masses of garbage at sea, "instead of finding degraded ecosystems that I could treat as though they were beautiful, I was just finding beauty. The world had gotten there first. I went looking for a radioactive wasteland and found a radioactive garden. I went looking for the Pacific Garbage Patch and found the Pacific Ocean." --Roni K. Devlin, owner of Literary Life Bookstore & More

Discover: An engagingly honest reflection on travel to some of the world's worst environments by a guide with considerable knowledge to share.

Have you ever wondered why your cat nips you unexpectedly? Has she suddenly decided that she doesn't want to use her litter box? Or are you wondering how to add a second feline to your household without a bona fide catfight? In her 11 years as a "pet agony aunt" for the Daily Telegraph, cat expert Celia Haddon (The Joy of Cats) gave answers to these predicaments and many more; her wisdom has now been collected in Cats Behaving Badly.

Despite the title, accusing your cat of behaving badly will not get you far with Haddon, who explains that most cats who misbehave from the human point of view are, from the feline perspective, doing exactly what they feel is right. The trick to modifying their behavior lies in understanding its triggers and motivations. With a knowledgeable, approachable voice, Haddon shows readers the cat's view of the world and gives simple solutions for common dilemmas as well as explanations. Beyond problem solving, Haddon also addresses issues such as the proper socialization of kittens, whether shy cats can ever become outgoing and how to make life easier for older cats. Sidebars offer humorous real-life anecdotes about the exploits of cats Haddon has known.

While this British book does not always reflect American sensibilities--for example, a strictly indoor cat is considered a deprived individual in the U.K.--cat owners of any nationality are sure to enjoy Haddon's friendly words of wisdom. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger, Infinite Reads

Discover: The secrets behind your cat's perplexing behaviors--and how to resolve them.

This page-turning debut involves a three-pronged mystery as steeped in Southern culture as a pitcher of sweet tea--and just as refreshing.

Eleven-year-old narrator Moses "Mo" LoBeau loves her life in Tupelo Landing, N.C., with the Colonel and Miss Lana, where she helps to run the Colonel's café. But she does wonder how she came to be rescued by the Colonel, as a baby floating down the river in a hurricane (hence her name). And the Colonel likewise has no recollection of anything before that night. But Mo, the Colonel and Miss Lana make a family, and with a best friend like Dale, Mo needs little more. She considers herself "three times lucky" for surviving the hurricane, for the Colonel snatching her from the flood, and for Miss Lana taking her in "like [Mo] was her own." But that doesn't stop Mo from sending out messages in a bottle to her unknown "Upstream Mother" in hopes of discovering her identity.

One day, the Colonel returns from a trip with a '58 "Underbird" (as Mo calls it, due to the missing "Th" on the front), and soon after, a stranger named Detective Joe Starr strolls into the café searching for clues to a murder case in Winston-Salem. Next, Mr. Jesse, a regular at the Colonel's café, turns up dead. The mysteries may drive the plot, but Mo's friendship with Dale and her bond to her foster family form the backbone of the novel. Sure to be a hit with middle-graders. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness

Discover: A narrator that readers will take to heart, and a trio of mysteries she's determined to solve.

Debut author Anna Banks combines adventure, romance and an ocean backdrop in her first book, Of Poseidon.

When Emma literally runs into Galen, they both sense something different ("My pulse feels like electricity," Emma thinks), but neither is exactly sure why. Emma doesn't know that Galen is the prince of Syrena, an underwater world, and Galen is wondering if Emma is of Poseidon--someone who can communicate with fish. A terrible shark attack on Emma's best friend results in more Poseidon-like behavior, which Emma isn't even aware she has. Galen, however, is determined to find out if she's the one he has been looking for. Emma grows suspicious when Galen shows up at her high school, on the opposite side of the country from the beach where they met. After several encounters and with Galen there to help, Emma discovers there may be more to her than she ever knew.

Told in alternating chapters, Of Poseidon allows readers to follow along with both Galen and Emma as their relationship progresses and secrets come to light. Readers will quickly see why the narrative switch is invaluable once Galen's chapters start to explain the Syrena world and how it could be connected to Emma. Emma's chapters, told through her first-person narration, brim with humor: "I'm betting Cinderella didn't feel this foolish, but then again, Cinderella wasn't as clumsy as an intoxicated walrus." Combining mystery, romance and an undersea world, Anna Banks creates a solid opening to a series, leaving just enough unanswered questions to keep readers clamoring for more. --Shanyn Day, blogger at Chick Loves Lit

Discover: A magical underwater setting that mixes with mystery and romance, as a girl discovers she may be able to communicate with fish.

Rebecca Wade's follow-up to The Theft and the Miracle revisits heroine Hannah Price, as well as the familiar theme of the haunted house--and adds some fresh twists.

Hannah Price and her parents move into old Cowleigh Lodge (modeled after the author's childhood home in England) while their home is being repaired. It's the ideal setting for a ghost-hunting adventure with her friend Sam Fallon. The story accelerates in no time from innocent discussions over homework to unraveling the mystery of 11-year-old Maisie Holt, who died in Cowleigh Lodge in 1877. First, the duo comes across a book of fairy tales inscribed to Maisie. Then they explore the attic and find a disfigured doll with human hair and "mad, staring eyes." These discoveries seem eerily timed to the anniversary of Maisie's death, and the suspense builds.

Wade spins the traditional spook story with fun devices, such as Maisie's ghost rearranging magnetic letters on the fridge, and a Scrabble set that functions in lieu of a Ouija board to get messages to Hannah and Sam. The author builds an intimacy among the characters quickly, and readers will likely appreciate the talents of the investigative heroes as they try to solve the mystery of Maisie's killer--comic-relieving Sam and artistic Hannah who is "quick, confident, scarily accurate" whenever she draws.

The Whispering House is a stirring story with an original supernatural flair that may well satisfy both mystery fans and horror-savvy readers. --Adam Silvera, assistant, Books of Wonder, New York

Discover: Two teens attempt to solve a long-ago murder mystery in a haunted house story refined with imaginative twists.