18 Books to Watch for in May 2012

Delia Ephron's latest novel, The Lion Is In (Blue Rider), is a gentle fable that finds three women traveling on a dusty North Carolina highway, all desperately trying to escape something. When their car breaks down, Tracee, an unsophisticated kleptomaniac, and Rita, a minister's wife, follow boisterous ringleader Lana into The Lion—a lowly tavern named for Marcel, a retired circus lion, kept in a cage. As the three runaways settle into waitressing jobs at the bar, they begin creating new worlds for themselves, thanks to Marcel and his anthropomorphic wisdom. Of course, their former lives eventually catch up with them, but not before this sleepy town and the people in it somehow manage to jump-start their hearts.