Books: New and Noteworthy

USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. The Marvels by Brian Selznick (Scholastic, fiction, for ages 10 and up, on sale Sept. 15)

What it’s about: Selznick’s latest illustrated wonder for young readers uses pictures and text to tell two stories: one set in 1766 with shipwreck survivor Billy Marvel, the other in 1990 as a boy named Joseph runs away from school to his uncle’s house.

The buzz: Selznick won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which became the Martin Scorsese movie Hugo.

2. Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story by Jewel (Blue Rider Press, non-fiction, on sale Sept. 15)

What it’s about: Memoir about the singer's hardscrabble life and climb to stardom arrives along with a new folkie album, Picking Up the Pieces.

The buzz: “Moving …should strike all the right notes with a wide selection of readers,” says Kirkus Reviews.

3. The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr (Harper, non-fiction, on sale Sept. 13)

What it’s about: The best-selling memoirist explains what makes the form tick in this book based on a graduate seminar she teaches at Syracuse University.

The buzz: Karr’s memoir The Liars’ Club will be celebrated with a 20th anniversary edition from Penguin Classics on Nov. 10, with a new foreword by Lena Dunham.

4. Yes, My Accent Is Real by Kunal Nayyar (Atria, non-fiction, on sale Sept. 15)

What it’s about: Raj from The Big Bang Theory takes a spin in the actor-writes-humorous-life-story genre.

The buzz: TV’s top-rated comedy returns for its ninth season on CBS on Sept. 21.

5. House of Thieves by Charles Belfoure (Sourcebooks, fiction, on sale Sept. 15)

What it’s about: In Gilded Age New York City, a society architect plans robberies of buildings he’s designed so he can pay off his son’s gambling debts; by the author of The Paris Architect.

The buzz: It’s an Indie Next pick of independent booksellers. “A great read,” says Stephanie Crowe of Page & Palette in Fairhope, Ala.