Action & Adventure

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family

Tags Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Watt Key’s 2016 children’s adventure novel, Terror at Bottle Creek, follows a group of children as they attempt to survive a hurricane that strikes the swamps and rivers of Alabama. This study guide uses the first edition published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers in 2016. Plot SummaryCort is 13 years old and lives with his father on a riverboat in Alabama, along with his cherished dog, Catfish. His father works as a... Read Terror at Bottle Creek Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Humor


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Humor, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, History: World


Publication year 1947

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Economics

Tags Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Historical Fiction, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: World, Natural Disaster, Politics / Government, Science / Nature, Technology, Post-War Era, Children's Literature, Education, Education


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Teams

Tags History: World, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure


Publication year 1884

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Equality, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Action / Adventure, American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was published in 1884 as a companion to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and is regarded as an American classic. While the story of Tom Sawyer is lighthearted and adventurous in the style of juvenile fiction of its day, Huck Finn’s adventure is darker and more satirical. Huckleberry Finn often finds himself in physical danger, yet the greatest danger he faces are threats to... Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary


Publication year 1883

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Action / Adventure, Italian Literature, Children's Literature, History: World

Set in the Tuscan region of Italy in the 1800s, by Carlo Collodi’s classic children's fantasy novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) follows the misadventures of a living wooden puppet and his poor puppeteer father. The story was initially published as a serial in a weekly children's magazine; due to reader demand, it was later turned into a book. The Adventures of Pinocchio, translated into more than 260 languages, is considered one of the most... Read The Adventures of Pinocchio Summary


Publication year 1956

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Class, Children's Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World, Historical Fiction, Fantasy


Publication year 1892

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s (1859-1930) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1892 as a collection of 12 short stories. The texts detail some of the earliest cases of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes as narrated by his friend and collaborator, Doctor John Watson. The stories appear in the order in which they were originally published in The Strand Magazine.Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh to Catholic parents, the second of 10 children. The... Read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Summary


Publication year 1876

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Action / Adventure, American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain written for both youth and adult readers. It is a story about Tom Sawyer, a boy from the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. Tom lives a life of constant adventure, drama, self-aggrandizement, and self-inflicted woes as he comes of age. The novel is equal parts comical and poignant, dark and light, and is one of Twain’s many odes to the pleasures and... Read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Summary


Publication year 1969

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Identity: Masculinity, Society: War

Tags Mythology, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, History: European, Military / War, History: World, Education, Education, Fantasy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1988

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

Tags Action / Adventure, Latin American Literature, Inspirational, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Religion / Spirituality

The Alchemist, first published in 1988, is a novel by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho and translated by Alan R. Clarke. It tells the story of Santiago, a shepherd from Andalusia who dreams of a treasure buried beside the pyramids in Egypt. Heavy with allegory and including many magical elements, the novel has been described as adventure, fantasy, magical realism, and philosophical fiction as it encourages the characters (and the reader) to fulfill their Personal Legends. The... Read The Alchemist Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Action / Adventure, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Children's Literature

Irish author Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst, published in 2007, is the first installment in his six-part series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. This guide refers to the 2007 Kindle edition. The following books are The Magician (2008), The Sorceress (2009), The Necromancer (2010), The Warlock (2011), and The Enchantress (2012). The Alchemyst was included in Time Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time in 2015 and earned multiple awards internationally, including... Read The Alchemyst Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature


Publication year 2022

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment

Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Animals


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Self Discovery

Tags New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Fate, Identity: Mental Health

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure

The Atlantis Gene is a technological/science-fiction thriller published in 2013 by the American author A. G. Riddle. Owing a debt to writers like Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, and Tom Clancy, Riddle constructs a labyrinthine plot involving the lost city of Atlantis, the mysteries of human evolution, and a conspiracy dating back thousands of years. The Atlantis Gene is the first book in The Origin Mystery trilogy, followed by The Atlantis Plague and The Atlantis World... Read The Atlantis Gene Summary


Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Humor, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature

Published in 1999, The Bad Beginning, a darkly humorous adventure novel for middle-grade readers, chronicles the misadventures of three orphaned children whose distant cousin adopts them as part of a plan to steal their huge inheritance. As the first of 13 books in the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events, the novel is written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket, who’s also a character in the story. The books have sold 60... Read The Bad Beginning Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action / Adventure