AUBURN – Some of the new acquisitions for December at the Auburn Public Library are announced.

Fiction

“Stone Cold,” David Baldacci. Led by former Triple 6 member Oliver Stone, the Camel Club is back, and busy, trying to protect an associate from a lethal casino owner while they investigate the murders of Stone’s former operatives.

“Week from Sunday,” Dorothy Garlock. Adrianna Moore receives a double whammy: not only has her father just died, but his entire estate has been left in the control of his repulsive lawyer, who takes advantage of the situation by pressuring her to marry him.

“A Free Life: A Novel,” Ha Jin. Deeply shaken by the events of Tiananmen Square, Nan Wu, a Chinese graduate student at an American university, finds himself conflicted between his duty to provide for his wife and son and his desire to find his voice as a poet.

“Last Night at the Lobster,” Stewart O’Nan. Although his restaurant has been slated for closing and he is being busted to assistant manager of another location, Manny DeLeon, manager of New Britain’s Red Lobster, is resolved to make his last night open a perfect one.

Nonfiction

“Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life,” Steve Martin. Martin quit stand-up comedy in 1981. But in this insightful new memoir, he explains what his long, determined struggle for success in that arena taught him about comedy and about life.

“You: Staying Young: The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty,” Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz. In their vivid, humorous style, Drs. Mehmet and Oz describe 14 of the body’s major agers and how they can be forestalled.

“A Skating Life: My Story,” Dorothy Hamill. Hamill’s familiar charm stays intact even as she recounts her struggles after her Olympic triumphs to honor the sacrifices of her parents, launch a then-uncharted professional career in skating and build a family of her own.

“Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the ’60s and Today,” Tom Brokaw. After extolling the virtues of the World War II era in his Greatest Generation, Brokaw turns his attention to a decade that was, in many ways, its antithesis.

Teens

“The Road of the Dead,” Kevin Brooks. Ruben Ford senses things. When he senses his sister’s pain, fear, and then … death, he and his brother Cole set out to find her body and uncover the mystery behind her murder.

“Vampire Hunter D,” Hideyuki Kikuchi. In the year 12,090 AD, the world as we know it has ended, ravaged in a firestorm of wars and madness. But from the wreckage a few humans have survived. A few humans and – something else.

“The Naming,” Alison Croggon. Maered is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child after her family is destroyed in war. Little does she know that she possesses a powerful gift and is destined to save her world.

“Bad Kitty,” Michele Jaffe. Jasmine, forensic super sleuth to-be, laments that her family’s Vegas vacation has forced her to miss out on a plum police internship, until she stumbles into a hot case involving a model, a murder and a three-legged cat.

Children

“An Island Grows,” Lola M. Schaefer. Paper collage and luscious watery colors illustrate this appealing earth science lesson for young kids: a picture story about how a volcanic island is born. For children ages 2 to 4.

“Ox, House, Stick: The History of our Alphabet,” Don Robb. In this look at how the ABC’s came to be, we learn, for instance, that a Greek logogram of an ox turned upside down became our present A. See the horns? For grades four to seven.

“Black Bear,” Stephen R. Swinburne. Fascinating information, tales of personal encounters and full-color photos provide readers with all they might want to know about North America’s most common bear. For kids in grades three to five.

“Sugar Cane,” Patricia Storace. You live in a tower without a stair, Sugar Cane, Sugar Cane, let down your hair. Young readers will enjoy hearing, and reading aloud, this poetic, Caribbean-flavored rendition of “Rapunzel.” For kids in grades one and two.