What’s new: Books by Lisa See, Agnes Nixon and Paul Watson

THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE, by Lisa See. The new novel by the author of “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” follows a young woman from a remote village in China, a member of the ethnic Akha people who harvest wild tea leaves, who conceives a child out of wedlock and gives it up for adoption. Twenty years later, Li-yan will be living in Pasadena, California — where, unbeknown to her, her daughter now lives. (Scribner, $27)

ICE GHOSTS: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition, by Paul Watson. The doomed Franklin Expedition of 1845, seeking the famed Northwest Passage, ended somewhere in the arctic ice, losing 129 men. Journalist Paul Watson was part of the crew that found the two ships — lost for more than 160 years — and reported the story for The Guardian. Here, he tells the dual tale of the original mission, and the search. (W.W. Norton, $27.95)

MY LIFE TO LIVE: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves, by Agnes Nixon. The creator of the iconic daytime soap operas “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” tells the story of her life working on the daytime dramas that made Erica Kane and Victoria Lord household names. She also broke new ground in the format, introducing hot-button issues such as opposition to the Vietnam War, drug addiction, abortion and gay rights. (Crown Archetype, $26)