SUMMER BOOKS

Visible Empire

By Hannah Pittard

In the emotional aftermath of the June 1962 Paris plane crash that killed 120 of Atlanta's leading citizens, a chorus of grieving survivors tell tales of love and loss, even as their city — often divided by class and race — seeks to cope with change and uncertainty.

(Houghton Mifflin, $25)

The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers

By Terri-Lynne DeFino

Alfonse Carducci arrives at a home for writers and begins a story that is picked up by his fellow residents. Chapters are passed around, the story goes in unexpected directions, and readers get two books in one.

A Place for Us

By Fatima Farheen Mirza

This poignant first novel chronicles an Indian Muslim family living in California, caught between tradition and change. Prodigal son Amar's return for his sister's wedding exposes generational fracture lines and secrets. Is forgiveness possible?

(Hogarth, June 12, $27)

Number One Chinese Restaurant

Family drama is on the menu at the Beijing Duck House, where Johnny Han wants to keep the traditional restaurant his father founded, but his brother dreams of upscale Asian fusion. A mysterious fire may decide the restaurant's fate. A delicious debut.

(Holt, June 19, $27)

The Dying of the Light

By Robert Goolrick

Every Southern Gothic novel needs a mansion in decline. This one's called Saratoga. In 1919, debutante Diana Cooke marries for money and soon regrets her sacrifice. Scandal begins 20 years later when her son returns from Yale and brings a friend.

The Garden Party

By Grace Dane Mazur

A garden in a midsummer night. A table set for 25. Bohemian Cohens and conservative Barlows celebrate the wedding of Adam and Eliza. As the evening unfolds, so do memories from both families. Mazur casts a spell of surprise and delight.

(Random House, July 10, $27)

Give Me Your Hand

How does a secret define a friendship? Kit Owens and Diane Fleming bond in high school until a revelation changes everything. Years later, the two find themselves competing for a position in a research study. Memory dies hard.

(Little, Brown, July 17, $26)

This Mournable Body

By Tsitsi Dangarembga

Tambudzai's college degree isn't helping her get a good job in Zimbabwe, as colonialism lingers. She becomes an ecotourist guide, but her past and present collide when her family homestead auditions to become part of the tourist experience.

The Distance Home

By Paula Saunders

Sibling rivalry takes center stage in a family saga set in 1960s South Dakota. Rene and Leon are dancers, but their father favors his daughter while disparaging his son. The siblings dream of escape, dealing differently with notions of failure and success.

(Random House, Aug. 7, $27)

A River of Stars

Pregnant Chinese factory worker Scarlett Chen is sent by her married boss/lover to a Los Angeles maternity home so their son will be born in the U.S. Hua's tale takes a turn as Scarlett and another unwed mother run away to pursue their version of the American dream.