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Ron Hansen's latest novel, A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion, fictionalizes an infamous crime of sexual transgression. In 1927, Ruth Snyder killed her husband, Albert, after falling in love with a lingerie salesman. Hansen's sexy fictionalization of the real-life murder sizzles with the spirit of the Roaring '20s.

Rachel DeWoskin's novel follows a gutsy 16-year-old girl navigating her way at a new performing arts high school. The book is a distinctive addition to the already packed library of coming-of-age stories.

The writer and filmmaker known for the cult classics Pink Flamingos, Cry-Baby and Hairspray reflects on the many people who have inspired him throughout his life — from playwright Tennessee Williams to the crazed martyr Saint Catherine of Siena — in his memoir, Role Models.

In his new novel, Emily, Alone, Stewart O'Nan explores the topics of widowhood and old age — but the book never feels stale, says Fresh Air's Maureen Corrigan. Instead, it is a charming, quiet meditation on getting older.

After ten years, author Francine Pascal has written an update to her classic Sweet Valley High series — and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is writing a movie about the original Sweet Valley books. Rachel Syme reports on the continuing phenomenon that is the Wakefield sisters.

Kamila Sidiqi braved Taliban restrictions and an oppressive environment to open a dressmaking shop in her home, eventually employing over 100 women. Journalist Gayle Tzemach Lemmon wrote about Sidiqi's business and social venture in her book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana..

In his new book, Pym, fiction writer Mat Johnson plays with the premise of Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Poe's novel was a "master text of anxious white fright," says Maureen Corrigan, and Johnson's clever book shines new light on the material.

For nearly eight years, married journalists Jennifer Griffin and Greg Myre covered the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. During that time, their life was about reporting on street violence, suicide bombings — and starting a family.

In 2008, the faltering economy sent Starbucks a wake up call. Former CEO Howard Schultz returned to the company's helm, and led the coffee giant in some corporate soul searching. He describes the process in his new book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul.

Steven Levy, author of In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, says the Internet giant's new CEO, Larry Page, will do things differently from his predecessor. But Page's values have always been the core values of the company he co-founded as a young Stanford postgraduate, Levy says.