Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Hannah Tinti's 2008 debut novel, The Good Thief, is the story of Ren, a one-handed orphan, and his life after being adopted by a pair of thieves in late-19th-century New England. The novel deals with themes of loss and redemption and explores the world of 19th-century medicine. The narrative moves quickly from a Catholic orphanage named after the patron saint of lost things, Saint Anthony, to an impoverished mining town, with stops at moonlit cemeteries... Read The Good Thief Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Self Discovery, Society: Community
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Animals
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Humor, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Arts / Culture, Modern Classic Fiction
The Great Greene Heist is a middle grade novel by Varian Johnson that follows Jackson Greene, a middle school boy and nearly reformed prankster, who tries to win his crush through hijinks. The novel was named Publisher’s Best Summer Book of 2014, ALA ALSC Notable Children’s Book in 2015, and received a Kirkus Star Review. Johnson published the sequel To Catch a Cheat in 2016. Johnson is also the author of The Parker Inheritance, which... Read The Great Greene Heist Summary
Publication year 1990
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 1975
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction
The Great Train Robbery (1975) by Michael Crichton is a fictionalized account of the Great Gold Robbery of 1855. It details the actions of criminal mastermind Edward Pierce and his co-conspirators as they plan and execute the heist of £12,000 of gold from a train in London. This historical thriller analyzes Victorian beliefs about crime in the context of a rapidly changing society overwhelmed by industrialization. Historically, Pierce’s successful heist shocked a nation that believed... Read The Great Train Robbery Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Action / Adventure, LGBTQ, Children's Literature
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Class, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Publication year 1984
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Disability, Action / Adventure
Written by Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown is a 1984 fantasy novel that acts as a prequel to McKinley’s 1982 novel, The Blue Sword. The Hero and the Crown focuses on the life and exploits of Aerin Dragon-Killer, the legendary wielder of the titular blue sword Gonturan, which first appeared in the previous novel. The Hero and the Crown focuses on Aerin’s personal development into a hero and a queen, emphasizing the physical... Read The Hero and the Crown Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy first appeared in book form in 1979, after Adams originally conceived it as a radio play. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy explores and satirizes many facets of modern life, such as the legitimacy of authority, the absurdity of bureaucracy, and the search for the ultimate answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything. The book follows the galactic exploits of Arthur Dent, the last... Read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Summary
Publication year 1937
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Military / War, Children's Literature, Classic Fiction
J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a classic high fantasy adventure novel first published in 1937. Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English writer, philologist, and professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, as well as a close friend of fellow writer C. S. Lewis. The Hobbit is the first published work recounting tales from Middle Earth, Tolkien’s fantasy world with fictional races of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and more. After fighting in World War I, Tolkien worked... Read The Hobbit Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Grief / Death, Children's Literature, Animals, Modern Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure
The Honest Truth is a middle-grade coming-of-age novel by Dan Gemeinhart, a former elementary school teacher and librarian who won the Parents’ Choice Award Gold Medal for another one of his five novels. The book was published on January 23, 2015. The novel incorporates drama and a bit of poetry to narrate the story of twelve-year-old protagonist Mark who has spent most of his life in hospitals receiving cancer treatments. Now, Mark takes his fate... Read The Honest Truth Summary
Publication year 1954
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Christian literature, Children's Literature, Religion / Spirituality
The Horse and His Boy, published in 1954, is the fifth of the seven books that comprise C. S. Lewis’s young readers series The Chronicles of Narnia. The first of the books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950. Lewis published an additional book in the series each year through 1956. The Horse and His Boy was published in 1954. Lewis later requested the reading order of the books be changed... Read The Horse And His Boy Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Mythology, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, LGBTQ, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Children's Literature, Romance
The House of Hades is the fourth of five books in the Heroes of Olympus series, which follows seven Greek and Roman demigods on a quest to prevent the rise of the earth goddess Gaea, who is bent on destroying the world.The House of Hades was written by Rick Riordan, a New York Times bestselling author who explores Roman and Greek Mythology in these two series. Riordan is the publisher of an imprint with Disney... Read The House of Hades Summary
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Published in 2002, Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion is a young adult science fiction novel that earned a US National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. It is set in the futuristic country of Opium, which is situated along the border of the United States and what was once Mexico. The protagonist, a clone of Opium’s dictator and drug lord, struggles with his identity. His experience articulates a complex argument about the potential... Read The House of the Scorpion Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
The Hunger Games is a best-selling young adult dystopian novel, the first in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy. It details the life of teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen as she fights to the death for the entertainment of her fascist government. Since its publication in 2008, the trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the United States alone and, in 2019, was listed as one of 100 most influential novels by BBC News. The... Read The Hunger Games Summary
Publication year 1984
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: War
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Military / War, Action / Adventure, Cold War, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2020
Genre Book, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Fear
Tags Fairy Tale / Folklore, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature