Loyalty & Betrayal

The texts in this thematic collection organized around the idea of Loyalty & Betrayal range from Dennis Lehane's Mystic River to Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. But each book explores the idea in its own way, revealing the intricate ways we may maintain loyalty at all costs — or test the bonds of family and friend relationships through deep betrayal.

Publication year 1987

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags Lyric Poem, Free verse, Confessional, WWII / World War II, Relationships


Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Southern Literature

Message in a Bottle (1998) is the second novel by Nicholas Sparks, the follow-up to his incredibly popular romance, The Notebook. It was inspired by Sparks’s father’s experience after the sudden and unexpected death of Sparks’s mother. They’d been married for 27 years when an accident on a horse led her to develop a cerebral hemorrhage. It was a fluke, a random accident, just like the one that claims Catherine’s life and that of her... Read Message In A Bottle Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

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


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Children's Literature, History: World, Arts / Culture


Publication year 1941

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: Class, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Gender

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Relationships, Parenting, Class, Business / Economics, Finance / Money / Wealth, Great Depression, American Literature, Love / Sexuality, Gender / Feminism, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Realistic Fiction, African American Literature

Miracle’s Boys (2000) is a young adult novel by Jaqueline Woodson. The novel tells the story of three brothers, ages 21, 15, and 12, coping with the sudden death of their mother a year before. The middle brother, Charlie, recently returned home from a juvenile detention facility, where he was serving a two-year sentence for attempting to rob a candy store at gun point. Set in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York City, Miracle’s... Read Miracle's Boys Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Romance, Disability, Bullying, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1993

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Western, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Montana 1948 is set in a small town on the very northeastern edge of the state of Montana. The events described are experienced through the eyes of David Hayden, a twelve-year-old boy. In a prologue, he describes several images he remembers vividly from forty years ago. Years later, after both of his parents are dead, David decides to tell the whole story of the tragedy he witnessed as a boy. At the time of David’s narrative, he lives... Read Montana 1948 Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Space & The Universe, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy


Publication year 1598

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Comedy / Satire, Modern Classic Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Class, Gender / Feminism, Renaissance, Education, Education, Romance, Humor

Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy dating from the mid-career period of William Shakespeare was probably written just prior to 1600. The play has the trappings of a theatrical farce with its use of assumptions and misunderstandings. Main characters Benedick and Beatrice are duped into announcing their love for each other while Claudio is fooled into spurning Hero at the altar when he mistakenly believes that she has not been faithful to him. The theme of lovers being tricked... Read Much Ado About Nothing Summary


Publication year 1974

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Military / War, Children's Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction

My Brother Sam Is Dead tells the story of the Tim Meeker and his family during the years of the American Revolutionary War. Published in 1974, the novel won many awards, including a Newbery Honor, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book designation, and National Book Award nomination. James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, the authors, are brothers who together wrote a series of historical novels for young adults. James, a journalist, wrote most of... Read My Brother Sam Is Dead Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

Dennis Lehane’s 2001 thriller/mystery novel, Mystic River, follows the lives of three childhood friends who suffer a traumatic event. Twenty-five years later, they are forced back into one another’s lives when one of their daughters is found murdered. In 2002, the novel earned the Dilys Award and was made into an Academy Award-winning film directed by Clint Eastwood. This study guide uses the 2003 First Dark Alley edition of the book. Plot SummaryIn 1975, Dave... Read Mystic River Summary


Publication year 1898

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Victorian Literature


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

New Moon, a young-adult fantasy romance by Stephenie Meyer, continues the adventure begun in the bestselling novel Twilight about a teenage girl, Bella Swan, who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen. When Edward leaves her, she struggles with grief and begins spending time with a boy, Jacob Black, who is a vampire-hating werewolf. Published in 2006, New Moon became a number-one New York Times bestseller and received plaudits for its character development and exploration... Read New Moon Summary


Publication year 1200

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, Narrative / Epic Poem, Mythology

Sometimes referred to as the “German Iliad,” Nibelungenlied is a 13th-century German epic poem that combines historical events with German heroic legend. The epic’s poet is unknown—though some clues within the text suggest that he was from Passau, Germany. The epic, which literally translates to “The Song of the Nibelungs” in English, portrays the Burgundians’ historic defeat by the Huns in the 5th century—the tragic result of the mythical queen Kriemhild’s desire to avenge her... Read Nibelungenlied Summary


Publication year 1956

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Holocaust, History: European, WWII / World War II, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography

Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a memoir recounting the author’s experience in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald during the last two years of World War II. The book was published in France in 1958; a shortened English translation was published in the United States in 1960.In 1944, the 15-year old Wiesel, his father, mother, and sisters were deported from the village of Sighet in Hungary and interned at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration... Read Night Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Realistic Fiction, Sports


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Religion / Spirituality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction

Nine Perfect Strangers is a 2018 novel by Liane Moriarty. Set in Sydney, Australia, the novel follows a group of strangers who gather at a wellness retreat to receive treatment from a mysterious health guru. The novel was adapted for a 2021 television series starring Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, and Michael Shannon.Other works by this author include Apples Never Fall, What Alice Forgot, and Here One Moment.This guide uses an eBook copy of the text... Read Nine Perfect Strangers Summary