'THE HOURS COUNT: A NOVEL' by Jillian Cantor; Riverhead, 368 pages, $16
By meshing fact with fiction, Jillian Cantor re-creates the life of a woman who befriended Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the couple convicted and executed on June 19, 1953, for conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets. In 1950, before being arrested, Ethel drops off her young sons with her neighbor and close friend, Millie Stein. Stein has a secret of her own, her relationship with Jake, a psychologist, who is trying to help her toddler, David, to speak. Stein also begins questioning her own husband's political loyaltys.
'THE SMALL BACKS OF CHILDREN: A NOVEL' by Lidia Yuknavitch; Harper Perennial, 256 pages, $14.99
The photo of a young girl running away from an explosion in her war-ravaged, Eastern European village forever changes the life of a depressed writer, the photographer's best friend. In an attempt to help his wife get back her sanity, the writer's husband rallies a group of artist friends _ filmmaker, poet, playwright, performance artist and painter _ to rescue the mysterious girl and bring her to the United States. But it becomes unclear what their real mission is and who is controlling it.
'FINDING CALM FOR THE EXPECTANT MOM: TOOLS FOR REDUCING STRESS, ANXIETY, AND MOOD SWINGS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY' by Alice D. Domar and Sheila Curry Oakes; TarcherPerigee, 288 pages, $17
Alice D. Domar, an associate clinical professor of obstetrics, and Sheila Curry Oakes, a writer specializing in women's health and wellness, team up to debunk the myth of "glowing moms-to-be," the idea that pregnancy is an effortless, rejuvenating journey. Domar and Oakes argue that pregnant women often undergo a stress-ridden phase and offer tools to cope, from fun quizzes to mind-body techniques to release anxiety.
'The Darkest Secret: A Novel' by Alex Marwood; Penguin, 400 pages, $16
As wealthy friends and family gather to mourn Sean Jackson at his funeral, they are brought back to the fateful summer night, 12 years ago, when Jackson's 3-year-old step daughter vanished during Jackson's 50th birthday party at a seaside vacation home. The only witness? Her identical twin Ruby. Jackson's death threatens to unveil the dark secrets everyone has tried so hard to hide.
'ANGELA'S ASHES: A MEMOIR' by Frank McCourt; Scribner, 368 pages, $17
Frank McCourt documents his desolate childhood in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. His mother, Angela, scrambles to feed the family and the only thing his alcoholic father, Malachy, can provide is a good story, like the tale of Cuchulain, one of the greatest heroes of Irish mythology. It's stories like this that keep McCourt going as he struggles with extreme poverty _ he begs for a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathers coal from the roadside to light a fire. McCourt manages to find humor in the midst of this troubled existence.
