Friendship

The solace and comfort of true friendship — and the pain of its loss — can rival any romantic or familial relationship. In this collection, we present texts that examine the unique qualities and costs of deep friendships.

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Siblings

Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Romance, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (Walker Books, 2009) is the third installment of the young adult urban fantasy Mortal Instruments series and chronicles an epic Shadowhunter battle against an old foe’s return. City of Glass was a finalist for the Teen Choice Book of the Year and for the 2009 Goodreads Choice Awards. Clare was born in Iran to American parents. She spent several years traveling before she settled in the United States, where... Read City of Glass Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

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


Publication year 2020

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Identity: Race, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Arts / Culture, Class, Diversity, Education, Race / Racism, African American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Sara Pennypacker’s Clementine is a short chapter book for elementary-aged readers. Marla Frazee’s black and white illustrations bring the text to life. Clementine and the subsequent books in the series have won numerous awards; notably, Clementine is a New York Times bestseller and the winner of the 2007 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. Little, Brown and Company published Clementine in 2006. This study guide refers to the 2008 first trade paperback edition of the book.Plot SummaryClementine... Read Clementine Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Romance, LGBTQ, Relationships, Depression / Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness


Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art, Self Discovery

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Space & The Universe

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction


Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World, Action / Adventure

Code Name Verity (2012), by Elizabeth Wein, operates on several levels: as a historical novel detailing the World War II exploits of two British women—a spy and a pilot—behind enemy lines in occupied France; as a thriller, with a twisting plot; and as a coming-of-age story for two women, who are still teenagers when they meet and become friends during the course of their war work.Plot SummaryThe first part of the novel takes place in... Read Code Name Verity Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Mental Health

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Japanese Literature, Realistic Fiction, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Magical Realism

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a 2014 novel by renowned Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. The novel tells the story of a man who attempts to overcome past emotional suffering to make his present life more rewarding. Through Tsukuru’s point of view, we see the ripple effects of rejection and the necessity of sometimes confronting the past to make sense of who we are in the present. After a group of friends... Read Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Romance, LGBTQ, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Conversations with Friends is Irish writer Sally Rooney’s debut novel, published in 2017. Rooney wrote the novel when she was 25 and followed it up quickly with Normal People in 2018 and Beautiful World, Where Are You in 2021. All three works have garnered award nominations and the first two have been adapted into television series. Conversations with Friends tells the story of Frances and Bobbi— college students, best friends, and former girlfriends—and Nick and... Read Conversations with Friends Summary


Publication year 1998

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship

Tags Play: Historical, Education, Education, Science / Nature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy, Philosophy

Written by Michael Frayn, Copenhagen is a two-act play based on a real-life meeting between physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in 1941. Although based on real events, the play is nonlinear, as its three characters (Bohr, Heisenberg, and Bohr’s wife Margrethe) reunite after death to relive and better understand that fateful meeting. First performed in 1998, the play has won numerous awards, including a Tony Award for Best Play. The play was also adapted... Read Copenhagen Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Disability

Tags Play: Drama, Relationships, Disability, Drama / Tragedy, Poverty, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Cost of Living, a play by Martyna Majok, premiered in 2016 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. It transferred to an off-Broadway theatre in 2017, produced by Manhattan Theatre Club, and is slated to debut on Broadway in fall, 2022. The play was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and also won a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. The title of the play refers not only to the monetary costs of... Read Cost of Living Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Survival Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Objects, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Grandparents, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Children's Literature, Social Justice, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture


Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Equality, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Relationships: Grandparents, Self Discovery

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Sports, Bullying, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1921

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Classic Fiction, Humor, Historical Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, History: World


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Southern Literature, Southern Gothic

Published in 2010, Tom Franklin’s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a literary crime novel centered around two unsolved murders that connect past and present. The novel follows Silas Jones, a black constable in a small town in Mississippi, and Larry Ott, the white suspect in a decades-old, unsolved murder. Silas and Larry grew up alongside each other and developed a tentative friendship that the two grown men explore through flashbacks. When another teenaged girl goes... Read Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Summary


Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Friendship

Tags American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Crossing to Safety is a 1987 semi-autobiographical novel by Wallace Stegner. Using a series of flashbacks in the mind of a writer, Larry Morgan, throughout a single day, the novel is a reflection on youth, idealism, and the often unarticulated but lifelong process of compromise one must endure while seeking a stable place in the world. Stegner’s novel explores these themes via Larry’s perspective on two academic couples: Larry and his wife, Sally Morgan, and Sidney... Read Crossing to Safety Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Teams, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, LGBTQ

Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a coming-of-age novel by Iranian American writer Adib Khorram. Originally published in 2018 by Dial Books, the novel echoes Khorram’s experiences growing up in a multiethnic family with a history of mental illnesses. The book, which is Khorram’s first, won the William C. Morris YA Debut Award in 2019 and is a popular BookTok read. A sequel entitled Darius the Great Deserves Better was published in August 2020. Content... Read Darius the Great Is Not Okay Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Romance, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy