The third (or even 15th) time is the charm this month, as some of fiction's brightest stars publish their latest. First up: Believe the hype surrounding Don DeLillo's Falling Man (Scribner), his first novel since 2003's Cosmopolis. DeLillo's new book explores 9/11's domino effect on a cluster of relationships in a powerful, provocative summer must-read that is far from beach fare.

Another highly anticipated release is Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns (Riverhead), his follow-up to the international sensation The Kite Runner. In his second novel, Hosseini returns to his native Afghanistan for another searing look at life amidst political and social upheaval. The unforgettable story, set against the backdrop of three decades of war-from the Soviet invasion to the post-9/11 U.S. invasion-explores the universal need for love and family.

And just in time for Father's Day, photographer Joyce Ostin celebrates the art of fatherhood in Hollywood Dads (Chronicle Books), a gorgeous collection of photos (with an introduction by Paul Reiser) featuring famous men and their luminous offspring and/or stalwart dads, including the Dustin Hoffman clan, the Hefner boys, the Michael J. Fox brood, and three generation of (Tom) Hanks men.

From patriarchal purgatory to maniacal motherhood-a troubled mother-daughter relationship is explored in Dani Shapiro's masterful novel Black & White (Knopf), a gripping, intimate story that raises the questions: Where does the artist end and the mother begin, and to which calling does a woman owe the greatest responsibility? Shapiro offers no easy answers.

A lighter take on the malignant side of motherhood can be found in Jill Kargman's sharp, funny Momzillas (Broadway), a fictional look at ultra-competitive Manhattan moms. The book illuminates a world of pre-school applications more daunting than those for Harvard, of "nursing Nazis" and toddler birthday parties consisting of seated dinners for 200. This witty and dishy read is ultimately a heartwarming tale of finding your footing as a mother-and as a woman.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares pens her first adult novel in The Last Summer (of You and Me) (Riverhead), traversing the slippery slope between adolescence and adulthood. This well-crafted story, set amidst the sand and sea of idyllic Fire Island, explores the increasingly complex triangle between twentysomething sisters Alice and Riley, and their childhood friend Paul. After years of sheltered innocence, their relationships face the sort of grown-up problems from which even their summer haven cannot protect them.

Lightning strikes for the third time with Jennifer Belle's brilliant Little Stalker (Riverhead). The author of Going Down and High Maintenance returns with another dose of acrid humor and a wholly original heroine. Rebekkah Kettle is a 33-year-old novelist obsessed with a reclusive, legendary New York filmmaker. In a distinct, relentlessly quirky world only Belle could create, Rebekkah's greatest book to date collides with the cinematic masterpiece of her idol. The intelligence and creative abandon on display in this book will make readers laugh and think more than they will ever want to admit.

Belle's fictional film genius might remind readers of Woody Allen, whose new book Mere Anarchy (Random House)-his first in 25 years-brings us 18 essays, many of which have never before been published. With topics ranging from nanny tell-alls to the laws of the universe, Allen fans will not be disappointed.

Passion, privilege, art, and ambition collide in Danielle Ganek's debut novel Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him (Viking), an insider's look at the contemporary art scene in Manhattan.

Creative inspiration is also explored in Cynthia Rowley's Slim: A Fantasy Memoir (Rizzoli), a whimsical personal collection of stories and hand-drawn illustrations that hover somewhere between fact and fiction. Rowley's tales capture the spark of her childhood and the subsequent path to her fashion career.

The glamorous and philanthropic life of New York grande dame Brooke Astor is explored in Frances Kiernan's biography The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story (Norton). Kiernan captures the essence of a legendary New Yorker with years of research and firsthand interviews with Mrs. Astor.

"It wasn't as if I intentionally set out to work for one of the lowest forms of media," writes Marlise Kast in the opening pages of Tabloid Prodigy: Dishing the Dirt, Getting the Gossip, and Selling My Soul in the Cutthroat World of Hollywood Reporting (Running Press). Yet by age 21 she was tailing celebs for Globe magazine. In her compulsively readable memoir, this aptly named "tabloid prodigy" turns the tables on the gossip rags, revealing an industry that is more outrageous than any checkout-counter headline.

Fans of Katherine Hepburn know that May 12 marks what would have been her 100th birthday. In celebration, Karen Karbo brings us How to Hepburn: Lessons of Living From Kate the Great (Bloomsbury). Part guidebook, part biography, How to Hepburn reminds women to live life on their own terms in the tradition of iconoclastic, free-spirited, one-and-only Kate.

Also noteworthy in nonfiction: The childhood demons and addiction struggles of a legendary funnyman are revealed in Rena Fruchter's I'm Chevy Chase ... and You're Not (Virgin Books); Tina Brown stirs up controversy with her inflammatory look at Princess Diana, The Diana Chronicles (Doubleday); and music mogul Russell Simmons (with coauthor Chris Morrow) shares his secrets of success in Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success (Penguin).