What's new: 'Love, Queenie,' 'Julian's Debut,' 'My Life in Pieces'

LOVE, QUEENIE by Mayukh Sen. Merle Oberon lit up the screen in such classics as "These Three" (the first screen version of "The Children's Hour") and "Wuthering Heights" and made history as the first Asian performer to earn an Oscar nomination (for 1935's "The Dark Angel"). But Oberon's story is far richer than any of her screen roles. Born to a South Asian mother and a white father in India, she created a persona that she was born to European parents. The book is a fascinating portrait of a woman of ambition as well as a look at Hollywood's color barriers. (W.W. Norton & Co., $29.99)

MY LIFE IN PIECES by Ambrose Clancy. The longtime editor of The Shelter Island Reporter has had his work published in The Village Voice, The Washington Post and others, and has been just about everywhere around the world. He writes about those global adventures in this lively collection of essays and articles, which cover byways from Montauk Highway, where he test drove a DeLorean, to the canals of Amsterdam. And don't miss his chapter covering the unsolved 2018 Shelter Island homicide of the Rev. Paul Wancura. ($42)

JULIAN'S DEBUT by Brian Alessandro. "If murder were legal, my family would have killed me." With an opening line like that, it's hard not to be drawn into this wild and raucous dysfunctional family portrait. You can't totally blame Julian's family for wanting to off him after he pens a magazine article painting them as the insufferable clan they are. Then again, after meeting his family, you can't help but feel for Julian. This sharp-as-a-razor novel might just make you appreciate your own dysfunctional clan. (Rebel Satori Press, $21.95)