Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Art, Society: Community

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Gothic Literature


Publication year 1995

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Society: Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Romance

Where the Heart Is was published in 1995 and is the first novel by award winning American novelist Billie Letts. The novel is set in Letts’s home state of Oklahoma and follows the story of teenager Novalee Nation and her ne’er-do-well boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens. The novel was chosen as a selection for Oprah’s Book Club in December of 1998. It also won the Walker Percy Award in 1994. The novel was made into a... Read Where the Heart Is Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Mental Illness, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1996

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Education, Education, Sociology, History: World, Race / Racism, Crime / Legal, Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: U.S.


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government

White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era is a 2006 nonfiction book by Shelby Steele, a Black conservative author who specializes in the study of race relations in the US. This guide refers to the e-book published in 2009 by HarperCollins. The title points to the book’s central theme: white guilt—the loss of moral authority—and the damaging responses it elicited in Black and White Americans in the... Read White Guilt Summary


Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Children's Literature, Education, Education, History: World

White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer is a middle grade historical fiction novel first published in 1993. It tells the story of Rose Lee, a young Black girl living in Dillon, Texas, in 1921. When the white citizens of Dillon vote to force the Black community out of their homes to turn the area into a city park, Rose Lee and her family battle against racism, violence, and injustice as they search for options.Meyer is the... Read White Lilacs Summary


Publication year 1989

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community

Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Self Help, Politics / Government


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community

Tags Sociology, Politics / Government, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, History: U.S., History: World, Social Justice

Carol Anderson's 2016 nonfiction book, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, looks at the way African-American progress has been halted and repressed, again and again, by a powerful cocktail of economic self-interest, fear, and hatred on the part of America's white elites, a philosophy she calls "white rage." The book’s five chapters examine five crucial turning points in the African-American struggle for freedom and equality: Reconstruction and the abolition of slavery, the... Read White Rage Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Sociology, History: U.S., Class, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Business / Economics, History: World, Politics / Government

IntroductionIn White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg documents the historical and contemporary disdain of the upper and middle classes in America for the white poor and the resultant staying power of a class hierarchy. Isenberg, an award-winning historian, uses her expertise to contribute this non-fictional work to the academic literature on social class. Originally published in 2016, the book became a New York Times bestseller and was a finalist... Read White Trash Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Children's Literature, Animals, Historical Fiction, Fantasy


Publication year 1927

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Community

Tags Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, Science / Nature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Environment

Tags Politics / Government, Philosophy, History: World, Education, Education, Social Science, Business / Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community

Tags Business / Economics, Politics / Government, History: World, Science / Nature, Sociology

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012) is a nonfiction book co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Acemoglu, an MIT economist renowned for his work on political economy, and Robinson, a political scientist and economist, combine their expertise to examine the reasons behind the varying levels of success and failure among nations. This interdisciplinary work, situated at the intersection of institutional economics, developmental economics, and economic history, examines a... Read Why Nations Fail Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Nation, Society: Community

Tags History: U.S., Psychology, Sociology, Politics / Government, Social Science, History: World, Psychology, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Natural World: Environment, Society: Community

Tags Children's Literature, Animals, Science / Nature, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Animals, Society: Community, Relationships: Family

Tags Animals, Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Grief / Death, Children's Literature, Science / Nature


Publication year 1919

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Modernism, History: U.S., History: World

Originally published in 1919, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life, is a short story cycle by American author Sherwood Anderson. Anderson drew inspiration from the Ohio town of Clyde, where he spent his childhood. By the late 20th century, many scholars considered Winesburg, Ohio a seminal text of American Modernist literature.Winesburg, Ohio focuses on the people who inhabit the eponymous town at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Among them... Read Winesburg, Ohio Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Politics / Government, Business / Economics, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Class, Sociology, History: World