Already an internationally recognized, award-winning art historian and filmmaker, Nana Oforiatta Ayim makes her literary debut with The God Child, a compelling and ambitious novel. It is a dynamic exploration of young Maya's shifting, peripatetic coming-of-age--from her Ghanaian origins and through multiple back-and-forth crossings between Germany and England, with returns to her homeland.

As a rare African immigrant living in a homogeneous unnamed German city in the 1980s, Maya is repeatedly warned by her parents: "You must always be better than them in everything you do, otherwise they will think you are lower." She's the "immaculately groomed" daughter of a respected doctor and his ostentatiously shopaholic, gregariously gorgeous wife, but her German fluency still surprises the locals.

Maya's detached, othered existence finds reprieve when her mother's godchild--her cousin Kojo--arrives from Ghana to become Maya's brother, bringing with him secrets and divulgences about their extended--and extensive--royal heritage. Stability proves brief as her immediate family implodes when her father leaves, and her mother moves both children briefly to England, at least until circumstances return them each to separate German boarding schools. Eventual adulthood brings further distancing: Maya retreats to London; Maya's mother and Kojo resettle permanently in Ghana.

Through Maya's disjointed experiences of wandering-searching-leaving-returning, Oforiatta Ayim adroitly navigates the lasting consequences of family dysfunction (instability), immigration (to be less than), colonial legacy (erasure), and political upheaval (indiscriminate destruction). Part parable, part history, part warning, The God Child is a resonant, intimate drama of family gone awry across a shrinking global stage. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

With Barn 8, Deb Olin Unferth (Wait Till You See Me Dance) delivers a most unusual tale. Janey Flores, 15, lives a comfortable life with her mother in Brooklyn, N.Y. When Janey learns that the father she never knew is alive, she flees, leaving "the old Janey" behind and starting anew in Iowa. "The new Janey" finds nothing but disappointment with her dad and pines for her old life, but her mother's sudden death extinguishes the old Janey forever. When she gets a job as an auditor for the egg industry inspecting barns that house chickens, Janey and her officious female boss, Cleveland Smith, forge an unlikely bond and concoct an unbelievable scheme: "Cleveland," the new Janey says, "let's take them all."

Janey and Cleveland scheme to steal a million chickens from Happy Green Family Farm, where tiers of birds and walls of hens as far as the eye can see live in squalor. The women join forces with Dill, a former animal rights investigator who's been waiting for years for his husband to dump him, and Annabelle, who's been living on contaminated land. They enlist a group of activists, vegans and assorted disillusioned misfits--"an assembling army called out of reserve. For what, they didn't know, but they believed in their cause and, despite everything, they'd been waiting for the summons."

While Unferth places the ethical and political implications of industrial agriculture front and center--"these days animal activism was less revolution, more capitalism with a conscience"--the novel is never strident, often hilariously funny, and sympathetic to the earnest loners who would be mocked by a less assured writer. Sobering but a ton of fun, Barn 8 is strange and wonderful. --Frank Brasile, librarian

As World War II rages on, an international team of brilliant scientists is developing a top-secret bomb in the lab at Los Alamos. Among them is Dr. Hannah Weiss, a gifted Jewish physicist who fled Berlin to escape Nazi persecution. Major Jack Delaney, an intelligence agent sent to Los Alamos to catch a spy, has set his sights on Hannah: he believes her correspondence with her colleagues back home may contain vital nuclear information. Screenwriter and director Jan Eliasberg unravels Hannah's complicated story in the compelling debut novel, Hannah's War.

Eliasberg's narrative begins with Hannah, chained in an American prison transport, en route from Los Alamos to Fort Leavenworth for interrogation. After setting the scene at Los Alamos and introducing readers to Jack, Hannah and their colleagues, Eliasberg takes readers back to Hannah's girlhood. Diligent and gifted, she becomes a physicist at a prestigious institute in Berlin, but is often overlooked by her colleagues since she is female and Jewish. Her work attracts the notice of Stefan Frei, a talented but lazy physicist and the son of the institute's director. Together, Hannah and Stefan pursue a series of experiments that lead them ever closer to splitting the atom--only to have their work interrupted when Hannah must flee.

The true strength of this novel lies not only in its vivid characters and fast-paced narrative--though both of those elements are notable--but goes deeper by forcing its protagonists to reckon with complex questions of political allegiance, personal loyalty, vocation and love. Inspired by true events, Hannah's War is a stunning story of a brilliant woman fighting her own war on several fronts. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

In Oona Out of Order, the high-concept second novel by Margarita Montimore (Asleep from Day), its heroine experiences her life non-sequentially, which makes for a smart, funny journey around the last four decades.

On New Year's Eve in 1982, 18-year-old Oona Lockhart faces a life-changing decision: take a semester off from college to tour with boyfriend Dale and their band, or seize an amazing opportunity to study abroad in London. When midnight strikes, marking both a new year and Oona's 19th birthday, the choice becomes the least of her worries. Instead of 1983 and her 19-year-old body, Oona finds herself in 2015, trapped in a world and body she doesn't recognize. As her personal assistant Kenzie tells her, "You're fifty-one on the outside, but on the inside, you still have the mind and memories of yourself at nineteen. So it's like you've swapped bodies. Only with yourself. At a different age."

Oona will go on to live her life out of chronological order, leaping forward and backward through time each birthday. Anchored in its disparate time periods by pop culture, fashion and a few historical references, this coming-of-ages tale focuses purely on the personal. Like the average person, Oona spends too much time managing her closest relationships to influence world events. Despite her frequent at-sea moments, though, Oona repeatedly manages to take control of the time she is given and make a home for herself in any year. Montimore's meditation on what always changes and what never will sparkles with hope and heart, perfect for readers who love a quirky, thought-provoking tale. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries arrive with the regularity of holidays and are perhaps as eagerly anticipated. Trace Elements, the 29th Commissario Brunetti novel, appears just as the ink of its predecessor, Unto Us a Son Is Given, has dried.

Trace Elements finds the detective and his colleague Commissario Claudia Griffoni called to the hospital bed of 38-year-old Benedetta Toso, who is dying of cancer. Toso speaks in snippets: "It was bad money. I told him no." "They killed him." The "him" is her husband, Vittorio Fadalto: a week after Toso came to the hospital, Fadalto, a water distribution technician, died after his motorcycle was hit by a car. The detectives dig around and learn that Toso had been transferred to the hospital from a private clinic because she couldn't pay her bill. Had Fadalto been using "bad money" to keep her in the private facility? As Trace Elements proceeds, readers may have an inkling about the kind of wrongdoing that's afoot, but they won't foresee Brunetti's agonizing quandary at book's end.

The languorous pace of Trace Elements allows readers to meander with Brunetti through his life in Venice, as he travels by vaporetto, seeks insights from literary classics and grouses about the United States. (Donna Leon is from New Jersey, and now lives in Venice and Switzerland.) Brunetti jabs: "A dying woman put out on the street because she couldn't pay for the hospital. Where were they, for God's sake, America?" --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer

What people mean to do, and the result of those actions, creates a life-altering tailspin of consequences for one family in No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez.

On her way home one night, Dr. Cassie Larkin sees a man attacking a woman on the side of the road. The scene triggers a moment in her past in which Cassie saw something wrong but did nothing. She pulls over, calls 911 and gets out of her vehicle to try to intervene. Cassie struggles with the man over his victim's body. Police sirens are heard. Before escaping in Cassie's car, the man, Carver Sweet, tells Cassie, "Let her die, and I'll let you live." She doesn't hesitate to stabilize the woman until help arrives, though. The woman survives. Carver mercilessly targets Cassie, her husband and their two kids: he hacks the family's social media account and clones their cell phones; the family is assaulted, kidnapped and poisoned. Yet the police seem to suspect Cassie is behind it all. Unable to trust the authorities, Cassie must keep herself and her family alive while facing down the hard truth that everything happening to her and her family was set in motion long ago.

Debut author Heather Chavez takes a vicious swipe at the Good Samaritan concept with a tumultuous story of the consequences of best intentions. Her prose has a strange and quirky obsession with plants and bugs, but her scrappy female heroine and the breakneck speed in which Chavez unfolds her story make No Bad Deed an exceptional read. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer

Ranging from 20th-century Hong Kong to the far reaches of the universe nearly a million years in the future, award-winning author and translator Ken Liu's second collection of short stories follows the progression of the human race with acute insights.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu (The Paper Menagerie) includes 18 science fiction and fantasy stories (including a novelette), plus an excerpt from The Veiled Throne (the third book in Liu's the Dandelion Dynasty series). It offers a penetrating exploration of themes like individualism, morality, racism, legacy and human identity. In "Maxwell's Demon," a Japanese American scientist during World War II, forced to spy to keep her family safe, finds that she can teach dead spirits to sort uranium molecules for weapons. In "The Reborn," a human law enforcer on alien-colonized Earth tracks down insurgents to erase their memories of lawbreaking, to "remove those parts... that are truly responsible for the crime--the mens rea, the evil will.'" In "The Gods Will Not Be Slain," humans across the globe leave the physical world as they upload their minds to a digital realm and "the last generation of humans in the flesh [depart], carried away by death or into the Data Center."

Each story begins in concrete certainty around a moral dilemma, only to be shaken apart as Liu incorporates new layers of context. Like much good science fiction, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories challenges the status quo with each story, offering a different view of humanity's past, present and future with two overarching questions throughout the collection: What makes us human, and what does it mean to be alive? --Jennifer Oleinik, freelance writer and editor

Perhaps the most fascinating revelation contained within Kate Winkler Dawson's (Death in the Air) riveting story of forensics pioneer Edward Oscar Heinrich is that her subject's name isn't already world famous. Unlike the fictitious detective who once lived at 221B Baker Street, Heinrich was a real scientist in Berkeley, Calif., who introduced new methods for analyzing blood splatter, ballistics and fingerprints, and worked on several of the 20th century's most infamous cases.

A journalism instructor, Dawson offers an account of the late scientist's methods, including the questionable conclusions he reached in a murder trial involving actor Fatty Arbuckle. Indeed, Heinrich is portrayed as both a pioneer and a man obsessed, as his frequent spats with rival experts and perennial exhaustion over juries unconvinced by his evidence makes clear. By contrast, Dawson also celebrates some of Heinrich's greatest achievements, which include using scraps of evidence to find the men responsible for the Siskiyou train robbery of 1923.

Ultimately, American Sherlock's greatest strength comes from Dawson's willingness to examine Heinrich's forensic accomplishments by grounding them in modern research that shows the serious flaws in methodologies ranging from lie detectors to hair sample analysis. By understanding why these areas of forensic science sometimes falter, it is possible both to appreciate all that Heinrich accomplished while also proving the discipline still has a long way to go. Furthermore, American Sherlock also serves as a richly detailed overview of how the U.S. justice system and proof of guilt standards have changed--or failed to evolve--during the past century. --Zack Ruskin, freelance reviewer

An international bestseller, Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir by Dolly Alderton is a rapturous and moving chronicle of a young woman having fun, battling personal demons and surviving early adulthood with steadfast female friends at her side.

Alderton, a former Sunday Times columnist and co-creator of pop culture podcast The High Low, relished adulthood when it came. She pulled "hedonistic all-nighters" in search of the "pots of experiential gold hidden on every street corner." Alcohol precipitated reckless adventures with "anecdotal mileage," like bankrupting herself for a 90-minute cab ride to a 5:30 a.m. afterparty. Decreasing her "blackout benders" allowed her to focus on jobs in TV and later as a dating columnist. What Alderton most wanted, however, was love. Once she found the right man, she believed she'd feel "centered and calm." But as her best friend prepared for marriage and her flatmate moved out, Alderton became unmoored. Through therapy, she began to vanquish her mounting anxiety over adulthood, discussing her obsession with men and alcohol, her need to be the best person for everyone else, and the years she starved herself to gain control.

Readers can identify with Alderton's search for a sense of self. With wisdom and humility, Alderton imparts, via turbulently fun essays, a vital life lesson: being oneself is enough. Even through episodes typifying Alderton's "rambunctious, restless and ramshackle" 20s, the exuberant spirit of a woman brazenly expressing her individuality emerges. Her journey of breathtaking escapades--and the women who see her through them--will rally readers to both seize the moment and cultivate love for themselves. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer

In Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World, Emily Balcetis offers a refreshing, interactive approach to setting and achieving goals such as losing weight, running a marathon, learning a musical instrument or even saving for retirement.

Balcetis is a social psychologist and scientist at New York University with more than 15 years of research experience on motivation and the brain-eye connection. She explains that there is a gap between reality and our subjective perception of it, such that the brain's determination to "see" something in a particular manner can alter the way people view challenging tasks and activities. While studying how people best pursue goals, she developed four strategies that harness the power of vision to help achieve successful outcomes.

Which strategy works best depends on the challenge at hand. At the launch of a daunting project, Balcetis recommends a "wide bracket" approach, considering the whole picture and identifying patterns to optimize results. At the end of a project, a "narrow lens" works best to bring the goal into sharp, concentrated relief. "Visual framing" involves consciously placing items within one's context and removing anything that might derail progress; it works well when trying to avoid unhealthy foods. "Materializing" one's goal, by documenting every step of the process, is a particularly helpful strategy when it comes to weight loss.

Balcetis herself experimented with these strategies in pursuit of her goal to master the drums. In Clearer, Closer, Better, she shares her journey, with entertaining anecdotes on how she eliminated obstacles to her progress, and argues persuasively for how the same tools can be applied to any task. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer

In Mañanaland, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Newbery Honoree (Echo) and Pura Belpré Award winner (The Dreamer), creates a richly satisfying novel that is both contemporary and timeless. Almost 12, Maximiliano Córdoba is ready for a summer full of fútbol--instead, he explores family history and tests his courage as he rescues a small girl from horrible conditions.

There is a cruel dictator in Abismo from whom many have fled. In the neighboring country, Santa Maria, several of Max's family members have worked to rescue the refugees--"Los Guardianes de los Escondidos, the Guardians of the Hidden Ones." In fact, his papá was a rescuer who met his mother when she was fleeing, helping her to become a "hidden one" in Santa Maria; she later selflessly decided to flee again because her family could be persecuted for harboring a refugee. When Max's father briefly leaves their village, a priest shows up with Isadora, a young girl who must be brought to the "next safe place." With his father away, the priest asks Max to guide the girl. He agrees, with a secondary aim of finding out about his mother and the place where Max thinks she has gone: Mañanaland.

Ryan's portrayal of Max's village life and the children's perilous three-night trek is realistic, but there is also a hint of magic to the work, including an imposing tower, a peregrine falcon, a guardian whom some "think [is] a troll or a witch" and even Mañanaland itself. The author seamlessly weaves into Max's journey important themes about asylum seekers and the people who help them. --Melinda Greenblatt, freelance book reviewer

A snow queen has cursed a magical land into endless winter; only a chosen warrior can remove a sword from a stone; the last of a royal line is in hiding; and a group of elderly Filipino aunties and uncles are magical warriors known the world over for their lethality. In Wicked as You Wish, Rin Chupeco (The Bone Witch trilogy) boldly mixes fairytales, myths and contemporary culture into unusual, exciting and oddly familiar combinations.

Tala, a "spellbreaker" who negates magic, was born in Avalon. Her Scottish father and Filipino mother were among the protectors of the kingdom until the Wonderland Wars 12 years ago, which led to the total destruction of Wonderland and Avalon's encasement in ice. Now refugees living in the Royal States of America, Tala's family agrees to harbor Prince Alexei Tsarevich, the exiled prince of Avalon. When the legendary firebird arrives, it both verifies Alex's right to take the throne and totally blows his cover. Helped by a group of trained warrior teens sent by a mysterious figure known as the Cheshire, Tala and Alex escape the Royal States and begin a dangerous trip to recover Avalon.

Chupeco's fusing of myths and fairytales with the contemporary doesn't simply take known stories and translate them into the 21st century, it blends the familiar with the made-up until her entire world has a feeling of the uncanny about it. Cellphones have "spelltech" on them, ICE seeks out immigrants from magical countries, Yamato Takeru wielded the same sword as Alice Liddell and the Nottinghams are rumored to talk to wolves. In the end, it all makes glorious sense. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness