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 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy
Publication year 2015
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Race / Racism, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. The play was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. Nottage’s characters were based on personal research and interviews she conducted in Reading throughout 2011. It was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting, and three 2017 Tony Award nominations... Read Sweat Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Music, Realistic Fiction, British Literature, Arts / Culture, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Gender / Feminism, History: African , History: European, Love / Sexuality, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction
Swing Time (2016) is renowned author Zadie Smith’s fifth novel. Inspired by classic movie musicals and Smith’s childhood passion for musical theater, Swing Time is a story about women, how forms of privilege warp our worldviews, and the ways in which history informs our present. The novel is divided into seven parts, each narrated by the same unnamed protagonist sometimes as a child and sometimes as an adult.One of the most respected literary voices of... Read Swing Time Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Femininity, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1827
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Race / Racism, Class, African American Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Publication year 1934
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Drama / Tragedy, American Literature, Mental Illness, French Literature, History: World
In 1934, F. Scott Fitzgerald published his fourth and final (completed) novel, Tender Is the Night. Considered by the author to be his masterpiece, the book captures the same Jazz Age-prose style and Lost Generation philosophy as his previous novels, with the added depth of being arguably his most personal novel. Unlike The Great Gatsby, which was published in the middle of the 1920s, Tender Is the Night reflects upon the Roaring Twenties after they... Read Tender Is the Night Summary
Publication year 1971
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
That Was Then, This Is Now is a 1971 young adult novel by S. E. Hinton. Set in the same world as Hinton’s earlier novel, The Outsiders, this novel follows a young man’s bleak coming-of-age experience within the broader context of the social upheaval of the 1960s. The novel won a Massachusetts Children’s Book Award in 1978 and was one of four works cited when Hinton won the Margaret Edwards Award in 1988. In 1985... Read That Was Then, This Is Now Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags History: World, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 1892
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
“The Adventure of the Speckled Band” is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous short stories. Doyle dabbled in several genres and forms, including historical fiction, plays, and poetry, but his Sherlock Holmes mysteries are the chief reason his writing has been beloved around the world for over a century. Doyle’s work has had a profound influence on the genre of detective fiction, and the author considered “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” the... Read The Adventure of the Speckled Band Summary
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 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Sports, Relationships, Psychological Fiction
Published in 2011, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is a work of literary fiction depicting the interwoven journeys of characters at Westish, a fictional small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Henry Skrimshander is a talented baseball shortstop whose future is jeopardized by an errant throw. His development intersects with that of his teammate Schwartz; his roommate, Owen; college president Guert; and Pella, Guert’s daughter and a newly enrolled student of Westish. The novel... Read The Art of Fielding Summary
Publication year 2
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Life/Time: Midlife, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity
Tags Lyric Poem, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Ancient Rome, Didacticism, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Arts / Culture, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Philosophy, Classical Period, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Birth, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Family
Tags Philosophy, Animals, Modern Classic Fiction
Published in 2008, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a New York Times bestselling novel by Garth Stein. It follows the life of race car driver Denny Swift and is told from the perspective of his dog, Enzo. Stein was inspired to write the book after watching the 1998 Mongolian documentary State of Dogs about a dog who is reincarnated as a human after death, and after seeing the poet Billy Collins read... Read The Art of Racing in the Rain Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Romance
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 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: New Age, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Relationships, Science / Nature, Social Justice, Education, Philosophy
Publication year 1726
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Military / War, History: European, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, British Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
“The Battle of Maldon” is a heroic poem, also classified as an epic, dating from the 10th century. Originally written in Old English, the text details a violent battle between the Anglo-Saxon warriors and the raiding Vikings. The Anglo-Saxons are led by Earl Byrhtnoth, who held land in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Essex and fought for his ruler, King Æthelred the Unready. The poem depicts some of the central tenets of Anglo-Saxon culture, praising loyalty... Read The Battle of Maldon Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Teams, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Religion / Spirituality, Arts / Culture
The Beautiful Mystery, published in 2012, is the eighth book in former Canadian journalist Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series. The Gamache series is known for its recurring cast of characters, psychological depth, and long-term story arcs. Gamache is a longtime member of Québec’s provincial police force, most often known by its French name, the Sûreté du Québec. Gamache’s struggles with police corruption form the main plot of several books, including A Fatal Grace and... Read The Beautiful Mystery Summary