How to Be a Good Wife, Emma Chapman's debut novel, is sure to appeal equally to thriller fans and readers who love Kate Chopin's The Awakening with its portrait of a housewife on the brink of sanity or madness, depending on whom you believe.

Middle-aged housewife Marta has few memories from before her marriage to Hector. She has spent her adult life focusing on her husband as instructed by her mother-in-law's wedding gift, a manual entitled How to Be a Good Wife ("Catering to his comfort will give you an immense sense of personal satisfaction"). On the surface, Marta is the picture of domesticity, loyal to Hector and devoted to their grown son, Kylan. However, as the reader learns more, Marta appears increasingly unstable, forgoing her prescription medication--allegedly in hopes of regaining more of her memory--in favor of blackouts and the hallucinations of a little girl who is sometimes clean and cheerful, sometimes filthy and violent. Is Hector a long-suffering husband who protects Marta, or a master manipulator hiding a secret so terrible it would shatter their family forever? Has the absence of pharmaceuticals cleared the fog obscuring a more sinister truth in their marriage?

Chapman keeps readers firmly planted in Marta's point of view, unable to distinguish truth from delusion. Readers will find themselves confronting their own biases about mental illness as they struggle along with Marta to make sense of her tense, troubled world in this subtle feminist thriller. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager at Latah County Library District and blogger at Infinite Reads

Puppies, romance and Christmas help make The Dogs of Christmas a heartwarming novel, but the book includes enough tension to balance its sweetness. As in his earlier "dog books," W. Bruce Cameron suggests readers will be smiling on the last page, but still keeps them guessing.

In A Dog's Purpose and its sequel, A Dog's Journey, canine narrator Buddy and his reincarnations tell the story of a good dog's role in the lives of his humans. The Dogs of Christmas opens with no dogs in the picture; instead, a lonely young man firmly rejects his neighbor's attempt to "dump a dog on him." Knowing Lucy will be abandoned along a Rocky Mountain road, Josh relents, realizing too late that she's pregnant--and her current caregiver is not likely to be seen again.

Sweet, undernourished Lucy thaws Josh's heart, and by the time she loses her litter, he's committed to her. Then a box of newborn pups shows up in Josh's truck, Lucy becomes a foster mom, Josh becomes Lucy's advocate, and that's when the beautiful and kind Kerri, of the Animal Shelter, enters their lives.

Puppy care and "foster failure"--the inability to relinquish pups to permanent adoption--are two of the lessons Cameron adroitly weaves through the tale of Josh and Kerri's romance. And while Lucy is the dog star of the book, the pups she nurtures are equally engaging. A Christmas Eve twist threatens a happy conclusion, but like Josh's "Away in a Dog Box" puppy carol lullaby, all ends harmoniously. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, bookseller, Book Passage, San Francisco

In Sara Paretsky's Critical Mass, the 16th V.I. Warshawski novel, the private investigator's closest friend, Lotty Herschel, asks her to find Judy, the daughter of an acquaintance from her Viennese childhood who's left a terrified message saying someone was going to kill her. When Vic investigates, she finds a dead drug addict in a cornfield, but no sign of Judy. Then Judy's son, Martin, a lonely child with a passion for science, also disappears, drawing Vic into a sad, ugly saga involving old family secrets dating back to World War II--and their repercussions in the present.

Paretsky successfully weaves flashbacks into a complex tale touching on the plight of Jews under Nazi rule, the lingering effects of war wounds, the history of the atomic bomb and corporate greed and arrogance, with a brilliant female physicist at the center of the mystery. (The author's note indicates this character was inspired by the real-life Austrian physicist Marietta Blau, who did not receive recognition for her work). Judy's grandmother, Martina Saginor, is a haunting figure, a woman more in love with science than with her own child and yet sympathetic, doing groundbreaking work in a male-dominated field at an atrocious time in world history. Paretsky includes just enough physics to make readers feel smarter without bogging down the narrative. She writes that Martina doesn't want to describe the stars; she wants to be "inside the light." Readers don't have to understand all the physics to get inside this riveting story. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, crime-fiction editor, The Edit Ninja

Rhoda Janzen's 2009 memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress explored her return to her cultural and religious roots after the end of her 15-year marriage and a serious car accident in the same week. As Mennonite Meets Mr. Right--previously published as Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?--begins, Janzen has moved on from those crises and is in the early stages of a new relationship when her mammogram reveals an especially large, invasive tumor. It's a crisis that would test an established couple; Rhoda and Mitch met just a few months earlier, so she has no expectations he'll stick with her through it.

Mitch defies Rhoda's expectations, however, not only seeing her through the cancer treatments, but accompanying her on a new journey of faith ... and into a married life. The two seem oddly matched--she's a poet and a professor; he's a blue-collar recovering addict--but they're heading in the same direction on their spiritual journey, so why not go together? And as Mitch brings Rhoda into his church home, she learns how to weave her Mennonite traditions into a different form of faith.

Readers who enjoyed Mennonite in a Little Black Dress will find Janzen's humor and sharp observations have come through chemotherapy undiminished, and may especially appreciate the compare-and-contrast between her formative Mennonite church and her newly chosen Pentecostal one. Mennonite Meets Mr. Right is an inspiring story that doesn't feel "inspirational," equally appealing to readers seeking their own spiritual way and to those seeking honesty and a few good laughs. --Florinda Pendley Vasquez, blogger at The 3 R's Blog: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness

Human rights activist Holly Burkhalter seemed to have it all--a successful, satisfying career, a wide circle of friends and a loving husband. Yet, following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, she found herself unable to answer the question that had motivated her personally and professionally for years: Why, in the face of evil and suffering, are there always those willing to do good deeds? Her search for the answer led to a gradual re-embrace of a spirituality and faith left behind in her childhood. Burkhalter's journey, as she recounts it in Good God, Lousy World & Me, provides a thought-provoking and uplifting perspective on faith sure to engage believers, nonbelievers and those somewhere in-between.

While Burkhalter occasionally jumps from anecdote to anecdote, her asides provide a rich context for her growing engagement with the Christian faith in a range of contexts. Whether recounting her family's generations-long struggle with mental illness or her initial reluctance to care for an elderly neighbor in poor health, Burkhalter skillfully weaves her changing inner world with her experience of her external world, and her struggle to balance the existence of the evil she encounters daily in her work with her growing acceptance and recognition of a loving deity is especially poignant. Good God, Lousy World & Me is an entertaining and eminently readable account of one woman's personal growth. --Benji Taylor, freelance writer, student, blogging at Destructive Anachronism

From the destruction of Jewish life in Eastern Europe to the establishment of the state of Israel and the extraordinary prosperity and influence of American Jews, the past century has been one of the most eventful, for both good and ill, in the history of the Jewish people. In The Family, journalist and popular historian David Laskin deftly employs the story of his own maternal ancestors as a proxy for the millions who experienced those momentous events, in the process offering some hints at the reasons for Jewish survival.

The most gripping portion of Laskin's book is his excruciating account of the extermination in early 1940s of the family line in Europe, the majority victims of Nazi Aktions against the Jews preceding the establishment of the death camps. Yet, even as his European relatives were being wiped out, two family businesses--a housewares company and his great-aunt Itel's Maiden Form (later Maidenform) Bra Company--flourished. The story of the family's Israel branch, established in 1924 by Chaim Kaganovich, reveals the harsh life that greeted Jewish pioneers in Palestine and illuminates some of the early struggles between Jews and Arabs that have become only more bitter and intractable today.

Many in the family, including Laskin, have abandoned religious practice while at least clinging to some form of Jewish cultural identity. Though Laskin doesn't confront it, the question of whether that identity will be enough to sustain the Jewish people for another century lingers over this work.

Despite that omission, The Family succeeds in transforming the intensely personal account of how "[h]istory made and broke my family in the twentieth century" into a powerful rendition of the tragic and triumphant history of the Jewish people. --Harvey Freedenberg, attorney and freelance reviewer

More than any other sport in the U.S., baseball has a certain quirkiness, even all-out bizarreness. Larger-than-life characters and iconic ballparks aside, it's the minutiae associated with the sport that contribute to this quality: the seventh-inning stretch, pine tar, chewing tobacco, bobblehead dolls, hot dogs and more, says Sports Illustrated's Steve Rushin, are just as integral to baseball's history as Louisville Slugger bats or the ball itself. In The 34-Ton Bat, he explores the origins of these and other artifacts and traditions for a rollicking account of baseball's past.

Rushin has unearthed a panoply of riches in baseball's history. For example, American doughboys in World War I were the most prized grenadiers thanks to their experience throwing baseballs; ball park grandstands functioned as open-air speakeasies during Prohibition; and baseball played an important role in ushering in the end to Jim Crow laws during the civil rights movement. He expertly shows baseball's omnipresence at every turn of modern American history with an eye for the eccentric and flowing anecdotal prose. The 34-Ton Bat is a sheer delight, tailored to the sports fan but sure to enthrall any reader with a taste for the weird, wacky and wonderful. --Benji Taylor, freelance writer, student, blogging at Destructive Anachronism

"Knitted slippers possess a... kind of magic," Katie Startzman writes in the introduction to her colorful, diverse collection of slipper patterns. "They are nothing more than yarn, time, and skill, combined to make something lovely and useful." From froufrou pom-pom flats to rugged lace-up boots, adorable "sleepy friends" (a fox and rabbit) to foldable travel slippers, The Knitted Slipper Book provides that magic, along with a hefty dose of practicality.

The Materials and Basic Techniques section provides helpful instructions on many aspects of slipper-making, from pattern choice and sizing to felting by hand and tips for slipper care. Startzman also demonstrates four options for soling, with photos, and two options for lining, which can be adapted to many of the patterns in the book.

The collection runs the gamut from practical to funky, from plain to fanciful (the "Genie Folk" slippers boast colorful embroidery, the recycled fringe slippers a Fraggle-like top). Startzman designed many patterns with little ones in mind, from felted Mary Jane baby booties to inside-out slipper socks (with non-slip suede soles) and whimsical ballerina slippers with wrap ties. For adults, there are also many options: sturdy house shoes or cloud-soft slippers meant for lounging; backless scuffs or jute-soled loafers; unisex two-tone clogs or tall felted mukluks.

For holiday gift knitting or simply the perfect replacement for a pair of worn-out slippers, The Knitted Slipper Book truly has something for everyone. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Veronica Roth's brave finale captures the spirit of her Dauntless heroine. Insurgent concluded with an old recording from Edith Prior--an ancestor of Tris discovered in those final pages--saying that once Divergents are in abundance, it will be time for the five factions to be released from their isolated lives in Chicago, out into the unknown world to rebuild it. Caleb Prior, Tris's brother, betrayed his sister in the last book when he allied with former Erudite faction leader, Jeanine Matthews, to withhold Edith Prior's recording from everyone--an action for which he faces dire consequences in Allegiant. Tris and Tobias alternate as narrators in this final installment, and their respective world views and choices often splinter the peace between them. They agree, however, that they must leave the city and go beyond the fence where all the divisions fall away for a chance at a better life. Others wish to leave, too, but out of fear want to maintain the established factions; they call themselves the Allegiant.

Themes of discord and unity challenge the faction ethos on a grander scale, and even Tris and Tobias constantly wonder how they'll define themselves once the fight ends. Roth digs deeper into Tobias's childhood and inner torments in his chapters. The transformations these characters have undertaken since Divergent have prepared them for war, but many surprises await them on the battlefield. This solid ending upholds the high standards established with the first two volumes in the series. --Adam Silvera, children's bookseller

This evocative picture book, dedicated to the people of Newtown, Conn., and the village of Sandy Hook, may be appreciated as a loving homage to the seasons of childhood as well as a way to cope with fear and loss.

Patricia MacLachlan (What I Knew First) and Steven Kellogg (Clorinda) move fluidly through an array of emotions without ever seeming maudlin. "After the flowers are gone/ Snowflakes fall./ Flake/ After flake/ After flake/ Each one a pattern/ All its own--/ No two the same--/ All beautiful." These poetic opening lines accompany an image of children catching snow on tongues and mittens. White crystals on a swirl of blue could be ice or air, populated by earthbound children or spirits in the sky.

Laughing children and loyal dogs dominate the scenes. One shows them rolling downhill toward an idyllic valley. Kellogg zeroes in on a church, a library, a flagpole, then one boy's bedroom. MacLachlan and Kellogg suggest that children must experience their feelings in their own way ("Wailing winds may blow/ And frantic, icy snowflakes/ scratch the window glass"), yet the boy has the company of his Teddy bear, pup and kitten. When the sun rises, they make snow angels. Snow melts into the rushing waters of spring, and "when the flowers bloom/ The children remember the snowflakes/ .../ No two the same--/ All beautiful."

Words and pictures bring the book full circle, as Kellogg depicts 20 snow angels taking flight, the impressions of children becoming spirits in the sky. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness