Refresh, Refresh by Benjamin Percy
Jonathan Cape, £12.99 Buy the book here

Tumalo, Oregon, is a small US town where the kids do not have fathers. The men of the town signed on as auxiliaries at the local Marine camp for beer money and male-bonding weekends. Unfortunately, the US is now at war, and the part-time Marines have been posted to Iraq. The Refresh, Refresh of the title refers to young Josh's hitting of the “refresh” button on his computer as he waits for a message from his dad. To prepare for his return, he engages in bloody fights with his best friend. A powerful, assured collection of short stories - Percy cuts deep into his characters.

Kieron Smith, Boy by James Kelman
Hamish Hamilton, £18.99 Buy the book here

Kelman's brilliant, challenging novels are sometimes hard to love, but this one blends his pitiless observation with a reckless, warm energy. It is told from the viewpoint of a small boy, Kieron. He is too young to understand the emotional emptiness of his family life or the squalor of its surroundings. His parents are indifferent, his brother a bully, and all his comfort comes from his grandparents. Kieron is thrown into confusion when his family moves into a new estate. There is not one speck of sentimentality here, nor one hint of submerged self-pity. A vibrant, beautiful portrait of childhood.

Tell Me Something by Adele Parks
Michael Joseph, £12.99 Buy the book here

Adele Parks's brand of rom-com is deliciously down to earth. Elizabeth, our heroine, is in love with all things Italian. She has known for years that her destiny is to marry an Italian and pop out bambini. But Parks isn't allowing anyone's dreams to come true without a hilarious dose of reality. Elizabeth duly falls in love with Roberto, but she can't get pregnant, and when they return to Italy, the family “vineyard” of her imagination is a run-down provincial bar. She can't speak Italian and her mother-in-law is a witch. Roberto's gorgeous ex-squeeze lives on the doorstep. Now read on.

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