Lovers of fiction will enjoy plunging headfirst into an offbeat collection of thought-provoking short stories. This tapestry of vignettes by Monica McFawn, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction, is an alluring debut: the 11 stories are simultaneously quirky and achingly resonant.

"Out of the Mouths of Babes" packs a creepy, revelatory wallop, as a wise-beyond-his years kid manages to solve various crises via telephone for his whiskey-swilling, debt-ridden babysitter. The skillful role swap of child and adult is a reminder that children's cleverness cannot be underestimated, and the ending is equal parts startling and satisfying. In "Key Phrases," a manager struggles with his inability to fire Mol, his terrible employee who skips work and stockpiles mounds of dead flowers in her office. Another memorable story, "Line of Questioning," introduces a lonely poetry professor delighted by the attention he gets from local police when he's suspected of murdering a former student. "The Chautauqua Sessions" finds a once-great songwriter's life upended by the invasion of his drug addict son.

McFawn stitches these pieces together with the thread of human failing and our universal desire for connection. Her realistic characters face strange dilemmas (an innocent game of Scrabble doesn't usually end with a man unjustly accused of a crime), and this intriguing collection leads readers to strange places in which they'll want to linger. Occasionally, McFawn leaves the reader with more questions than answers, and there's much here to consider after the last page is turned. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend

Set in bohemian Greenwich Village in the mid-'70s, Dylan Landis's debut novel will transport readers through time to witness young artist Rainey Royal's haunting coming-of-age. Possessing a captivating sexuality, 14-year-old Rainey hits on her teachers, torments her fellow students and attracts attention wherever she struts. Home is no refuge since her mother skipped town, leaving her with Rainey's eccentric yet charismatic father, Howard, and his lecherous best friend, Gordy, who sneaks into Rainey's bubble-gum-pink room each night. Their brownstone is a revolving door of young musicians who share Howard's love for music... and his bed. This is hardly a stable upbringing for a love-starved teen, but in Landis's deft hands it's the perfect setup for a riveting story.

Rainey takes comfort in a passion for art and two female friendships that are no more functional than her home life. Her best friend, Tina, may or may not be sleeping with Howard, and the controlling Leah is desperate to rescue the troubled Rainey from herself. Still the three navigate (and sometimes flounder in) the murky water of their adolescence and young adulthood with surprising results.

This stark and fascinating book traces nearly a decade of the unforgettable Rainey's life--as a struggling young artist whose magnetism is both her greatest asset and most terrible curse. The hundreds of little tragedies painted across the page will leave readers deeply affected as Landis perfectly captures a time period of mad exploration during which lines blurred for young people trying to find themselves. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend

James Ellroy's Perfidia is a re-creation of Los Angeles during the weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack, when racial tensions were at a high boil and chaos raged in the streets. The novel begins with the grotesque crime scene of a dead Japanese family on December 6, 1941, the result of either actual or staged seppuku. A number of cops converge on the scene: Captain William H. Parker, a sin-obsessed Catholic and rank careerist; Sergeant Dudley Smith, a homicidal Irish tough guy (known to fans of L.A. Confidential); and brilliant police chemist Hideo Ashida, who is held in low regard by the others because of his race and the hidden nature of his sexuality. They all try to solve the crime while simultaneously fighting each other as Los Angeles explodes around them in an incendiary mix of racial loathing, war fever and the lurid vice that Ellroy excels at portraying.

The World War II backdrop gives Ellroy a vast canvas on which to showcase his gifts. He demonstrates in raw prose and precise scene-setting the moral wrongs and mistreatment imposed on the Japanese of that era, while also demonstrating compassionate understanding of both the personal demons that drive men and women and the vast chasm between our private selves and what we must present in our daily lives. With Perfidia, Ellroy proves he's a fine novelist at the top of his game, demonstrating his own capacity for growth and ambition even at this advanced stage of his career. --Donald Powell, freelance writer

Fans of Mexican fare may want to dive right in to the nearly 100 recipes in Tacolicious, but they should savor the introduction by San Francisco food writer Sara Deseran, who nervously opened a taco stand with her husband, Joe Hargrave, in 2009. Four Bay Area restaurants, one tequila bar, and a still-thriving food truck later, she celebrates their success with Tacolicious, transporting the unusual flavors of their restaurants beyond California. With Deseran's clear instructions, it's fiesta time in any kitchen.

Divided into four sections of salsas, snacks, tacos and drinks, this cookbook will inspire even those new to homemade Mexican food. Conversational lessons on basic techniques and insights into Mexican food traditions give the sense that the successful restaurateurs really want to help the reader.

"Feel liberated to adapt the recipes to your own taste," the author advises, which should encourage any vegetarians wandering into Tacolicious territory. Recipes are generally meat heavy--lamb, goat and beef tongue are among the suggested taco fillings--though the squash tacos with kale and pumpkin seeds, the "Spring booty" tacos and the potato empanadas are all meatless yet zesty. Any roasted vegetable would welcome a topping of the pickled jalapenos and carrots, or one of the salsas: chunky, smoky, spicy and always made with fresh ingredients. A feature on heirloom beans, a primer on tortillas, and a step-by-step guide to "La Tequiza"--the ultimate DIY taco party--guarantee Tacolicious a place in the creative cook's kitchen. Recipes for hibiscus tea, a range of juices (including kid-friendly beverages) and "Tequila: The Cliffs Notes" assure ample drinks are on hand to wash down those tasty tacos. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco

Unflinching, tragic and compassionate, Her Beautiful Brain is a memoir about how Ann Hedreen's life changed when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She opens in 1969 with the image of the typing class she took at age 12--the mandatory "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" exercise burned into the mind and fingers of anyone who's ever taken a typing course. This flashback transforms into an extended metaphor for gender, class and identity as Hedreen muses about the secretarial path she and her mother shared at the start of their lives before they found their own vocations: "For all the generations of women who typed to feed their children, to get through college, to survive, the words Quick Brown Fox said struggle and survival. They said that this life does not deserve to end in the jammed keys and black ink of Alzheimer's disease."

Hedreen then flashes forward to 1987, when she and her sister, as well as her mother, begin to realize during a trip to Haiti that her mother's brain may not be working as well as it should. Haiti becomes another metaphor of the "fourth world" Alzheimer's forces her mother--and the entire family--to inhabit. As Hedreen guides the reader through her mother's illness, her use of metaphor and imagery is heartbreaking and powerful. Hedreen primarily tells her own story, but includes many vignettes from her mother's early life, so the reader ends with a lasting and intimate portrait of her mother as well as a poignant look at the injustice of this devastating disease. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics

At 23, Caitlin Doughty had an undergraduate degree in medieval history and a lifelong fascination with death. Interested in turning her preoccupation into a profession, she eventually secured a position as crematory operator at Westwind Cremation & Burial in Oakland, Calif. In just a few months, she learned how to cremate bodies (do the larger people early in the day, babies at the end), what exactly happens after the oven (bones have to be ground down in a special blender to create the uniform ashes the family expects) and how to pick up a recently deceased body from a family at home (mostly, keep your mouth shut). She learned that dead people aren't really scary, once you get used to them, and came to believe that wired jaws and copious makeup are less attractive and less respectful than simply letting the dead look--and be--well, dead.

In her debut memoir of "lessons from the crematory," Doughty also shares her research into the death rituals and mythologies of other cultures throughout history, and points out how they differ from contemporary Western practices: while other practices conform to a system of beliefs, our so-called modern death-disposal techniques arise from a fear of mortality and a need to hide dead things away. By contrast, Doughty believes in having a more accepting attitude toward mortality. Her earnest, playful coming-of-age tale encompasses love and life (and death), and her appeal for a new cultural approach to the end of life is refreshingly frank and simple at the same time that it is profound. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

The Plantagenet family ruled England for more than three centuries, and its historical legacy continues to mark English history, literature and the popular imagination. William Shakespeare immortalized six Plantagenet kings in his history plays, and the recent discovery of the remains of the last Plantagenet monarch, Richard III, has rekindled interest in the redoubtable family and its history.

In The Demon's Brood, Desmond Seward (The Last White Rose: The Secret Wars of the Tudors) provides an introduction to the Plantagenet line--and he does so with a vengeance. The "wolfish, half-crazy" King John is "arguably the worst king in our entire history." Henry III is "amiable but disastrously inept," Richard II "effete" and "narcissistic," and Edward II summed up in a single word: "abysmal." Seward mingles his own evaluations of each monarch with equally colorful reports from their contemporaries, injecting humor and verve into a past that is anything but dusty in his hands. At the same time, Seward never loses sight of historical context. Included in the "colorful" accounts are careful evaluations of both contemporary and secondary sources. Seward notes, for example, that historical opinion on King John has varied widely over the centuries, from "worst king ever" to "not so bad, actually" and back again.

Keeping the prodigious Plantagenet line straight can be a challenge, and the Wars of the Roses--which Seward also addresses--complicate the task. Seward eliminates the hardship for those new to English history, placing each king in the context of his time, his contemporaries and his family. The result is a delightfully incisive introduction to early English history. --Dani Alexis Ryskamp, blogger at The Book Cricket

The thousands of years of traditions, culture and history of the indigenous peoples in what is now the United States are not widely told. Even in his bestselling attempt to tell the history of the U.S. through the eyes of the common man, Howard Zinn failed to give the same weight to the experiences of the Native people as he did to those of the settlers. Drawing on historic documentation in addition to years of research and interviews, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States reframes textbook U.S. history--written by European settlers and their descendants--and gives a voice to those who lived here first.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Blood on the Border), a Native American activist, scholar and historian, presents a revised treatment that is frank, accessible and much needed. She presents a balanced perspective, noting that while there is no one history for all indigenous groups, what has been shared among them is the history of settler colonialism. Most histories present the colonizers in a positive light, as in the story of Thanksgiving, and obscure the realities of land theft and genocide. Dunbar-Ortiz identifies the implicitly biased way in which the nation's history has been told and deconstructs the concept of multiculturalism, explaining how it disempowers indigenous peoples through its inherent assumptions of settler superiority while hiding any implicit racism behind a screen of cultural tolerance. This valuable work will push some readers outside their comfort zones to help them consider a broader perspective. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle

Pacifism and the "plain" lifestyle are hallmarks of the Amish for most Americans, but in 2011, violent Amish-on-Amish terror shook one corner of Ohio, leading to a 2012 federal criminal trial and convictions based on the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Ohio is home to the lion's share of the U.S.'s 2,100 Amish congregations. Levels of conservatism vary, but beard-wearing (for men) and concealed long hair (for women) are standard, based on biblical principles. Convincing a handful of followers to join him, Bishop Samuel Mullet founded the ultra-conservative Bergholz community about 100 miles southeast of Cleveland in 1997. After church elders decried his stern, controlling behavior in 2006, Mullet became increasingly vengeful. He was convicted by the federal courts in 2012 for fomenting hate crimes: directing followers to cut the beards and hair of those who rejected his leadership.

Scholar Donald B. Kraybill (The Riddle of Amish Culture) provides the background of Amish history and tradition and national legal precedent that led to the convictions of the autocratic leader and 15 of his followers. His thorough research details the splintering of the Amish community that led to the attacks, the investigations and ultimately the trial.

Kraybill, who served as an expert witness, clearly describes the anguish of the Amish, known for their peaceful philosophy, and draws parallels between Bergholz and cult leaders. Renegade Amish encourages readers to consider the dangers of religious intolerance. [On August 27, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned the hate-crime convictions. The 16 could receive new trials.] --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco

Former Yale professor William Deresiewicz's Excellent Sheep is a cutting and timely critique of post-secondary education in the United States. His argument: universities are broken. The breadth of attendees' socioeconomic backgrounds is narrowing, leading to an elite class of cookie-cutter graduates, scrambling to please others instead of developing the ability to think independently. Deresiewicz (A Jane Austen Education) believes universities produce people who have academic degrees but lack a sense of self and a foundation for learning later in life. This book provides a thorough overview of how the modern use of scores and grades to find qualified students is related to (and as harmful as) historical exclusionary admissions practices. Furthermore, Deresiewicz maintains that the current focus on high test scores and correct answers not only damages an individual's ability to live a meaningful life but also perpetuates a class-based meritocracy that is detrimental to society as a whole.

Coupling research with illuminating anecdotes, Deresiewicz shows how students are taught to move through school projecting façades of confidence and control, an illusion that can result in mental-health concerns. Graduates often pursue jobs that require neither creativity nor innovation but feel safe. The future Deresiewicz paints is bleak, and the solutions he offers--ranging from mitigating current socioeconomic disparities to funding education fully--are not easily accomplished. This book is both a plea to educators and administrators as well as a collection of the advice he wishes he'd received as a student. Change is needed, revolution may be necessary, but in Deresiewicz's mind, the onus is on students themselves to start demanding a system that adequately develops their minds. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company

Can the man behind Press Here match the pure genius of that book's simplicity? Yes! "Right again!" as the returning narrator-coach might say.

"Tap that gray spot. Just a little, to see what happens," the book begins. With a turn of the page, readers see that tapping has released a flurry of dots, moving so rapidly that the blue, red and yellow spots leave tails behind them. Yet the gray dot remains placidly in the center of the right-hand page. "There they are!" exclaims the enthusiastic unseen narrator. "But don't they seem a bit shy? Tap it again." A turn of the page reveals a fireworks display of dashing dots in an array of colors. Hervé Tullet always knows when to alter the conversation. He asks children to place a hand on that densely populated page and "count to five," eyes closed. A child-size handprint appears, like a tree, with the colors emanating from it like rainbow-colored leaves: "Yes! You've got the magic touch! Let's mix it up!" Tullet turns orderly as he teaches children that blue touched with yellow and rubbed "gently" makes (with a turn of the page) green, and follows with other secondary colors, and the effects of adding white and black. The hand print ("count to five") serves as a farewell refrain.

With a narrator as playful and uplifting as the cause-and-effect of the colors on these pages, this book is sure to be as popular as Press Here. It's clear that Tullet believes everyone has what it takes to be an artist. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness

In Kelly Light's energetic first picture book, she introduces a young artist who's driven to draw.

Louise notices everything and wants to capture it on paper. Sprawled on the floor, she uses her trusty pencil to create her masterpieces, while her younger brother, Art, takes up a red crayon as well. Sometimes he gets carried away (initially, only the cat notices his changes to Louise's "pièce de résistance"). This frustrates his big sister at first, but, eventually, Louise encourages her brother’s artistic endeavors alongside her own. The color palette (mostly black, white and red) and clever use of white space direct readers' focus to the important details and move the story along quickly. Readers will enjoy the playful visual references to a cat posing like Rodin's The Thinker, which appears in a two-page spread as Louise explains to readers the importance of noticing every detail. (Adults may note that Louise is named after the sculptor Louise Nevelson.) Light manages to create a character that seems a product of an older time (check out the kitchen images) but also freshly contemporary with her layered shirts, leggings and mod red glasses.

This tribute to the artist in all of us will motivate readers to go forth and draw. It will be well loved by teachers (especially art teachers), parents and kids who love the The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. It is about doing what you love and letting your imagination show, as Louise says, "on the outside." --Susannah Richards, associate professor, Eastern Connecticut State University