The Boys

By: Katie Hafner.

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau, 256 pages, $27.

Hafner, a journalist and nonfiction author ("Mother Daughter Me," "A Romance on Three Legs"), makes a splash with her debut novel thanks to one stunning twist. No spoilers here, but this story about the bubbly Barb, her wallflower husband, Ethan, and the 8-year-old twins they decide to foster is a funny, poignant meditation on a timely topic: loneliness. It's also nearly impossible to put down.

Bronze Drum

By: Phong Nguyen.

Publisher: Grand Central, 400 pages, $17.99.

In 40 A.D., two sisters in what is now Vietnam defended their homeland against the Han Chinese. One sister, Trung Tac, would become the first female Vietnamese monarch — though her reign wouldn't last long. Ngyuen's historical novel vividly explores the sisters' lives as well as the ways their female-empowered society ran counter to the patriarchal norms of a Chinese culture constantly threatening their freedom.