They couldn’t find Mick

This is a moving first novel, "The Given World," by Marian Palaia. It takes place during the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's in the life of a woman whose brother goes missing in the Vietnam War. Palaia perfectly captures how the war changed the lives of the loved ones back home.

Everything happened. Everything fell.

Here's a book that's received a lot of well-deserved attention, a novel about two soldiers in Iraq in 2004 written by one who was there. Author Kevin Powers, however, is not only an Iraq War veteran, he also holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Michener Fellow in Poetry. These life experiences combine to create a powerful, unforgettable book, "The Yellow Birds."