Confi-dence Is Queen By: Susie Castillo
(Celebra)
The former Miss USA offers confidence-building tips for teen girls using positive thinking.

The Seamstress By: Frances de Pontes Peebles
(HarperCollins)
This novel follows sisters who are linked by a love of sewing but take sep-arate paths in life.

The 19th Wife By: David Ebershoff
(Random House)
A Mormon sect provides the backdrop for a modern-day murder mystery with a historical context.

The Night of the Gun By: David Carr
(Simon & Schuster)
Journalist David Carr investi-gates his dark past as an abusive crack addict in this gritty memoir.

LoveHampton By: Sherri Rifkin
(St. Martin’s Griffin)
Broken-hearted Tori joins a group of thirty-somethings in a Hamptons summer home.

Illegal Action By: Stella Rimington
(Knopf)
This espionage thriller is written by the former head of Britain’s MI5, lending it a great authenticity.

The Lace Reader By: Brunonia Barry
(William Morrow)
Towner Whitney returns to Salem looking for tranquility and finds a mystery in a relative’s death.

Mistress of the Sun By: Sandra Gulland
(Touch- stone)
Gulland paints a fascinat-ing portrait of Louise de la Vallière, mistress to Louis XIV, the Sun King.

The Red Scarf By: Kate Furnivall
(Berkley Trade)
Two young women fight to survive and escape the treacherous labor camps of the Communist Revolution in Russia. Along the way they find love and freedom, and build an indestructible friendship.

Emma’s Table By: Philip Galanes
(HarperCollins)
Inspired by the life of Martha Stewart, this entertaining novel centers on  a former media darling who returns to the high life after serving time in prison.