Searching for study guides on books selected by some of the nation's top book clubs, curated by Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, the PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, and the American Library Association? Look no further. This collection covers critically-acclaimed classics like Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez to contemporary, buzzworthy novels like Girl, Woman, Other. We hope this compilation of study guides provides your own book club with lively discussion topics and keen insights.
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Magical Realism, LGBTQ, Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Mystery / Crime Fiction, French Literature, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, Classical Period
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Indigenous, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Relationships: Family
Tags Inspirational, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Biography
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Fruit of the Drunken Tree is the debut novel of Colombian-American author Ingrid Rojas Contreras, known for her essays and short stories which have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The LA Times Review of Books, Guernica, and others. The novel’s autobiographically-inspired plot takes place in the author’s hometown of Bogotá, and it traces the friendship of the young Chula Santiago with her family’s guerrilla-entangled maid, Petrona Sanchez. Petrona is coerced into abetting... Read Fruit of the Drunken Tree Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Gender / Feminism
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Arts / Culture, Poverty, History: World
Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, (Penguin Books, 2000) was an internationally known author of art-related historical fiction who, after a long and notable literary career, died in 2017. A New York Times bestseller, the novel was originally published in 1999 by McMurray and Beck, but subsequent editions were published by Penguin Books. The novel’s popularity gave rise to a 2003 Hallmark Hall of Fame production based on the novel. The painting in... Read Girl In Hyacinth Blue Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Gender / Feminism, Race / Racism, LGBTQ, Realistic Fiction, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction
Bernardine Evaristo’s polyphonic novel of modern Britain and womanhood, Girl, Woman, Other, won the 2019 Booker Prize. Evaristo was the first Black woman to receive this literary prize for books written in the English language. Employing an experimental, poetic form, the novel follows several generations of mainly Black, British women who interrogate the intersections of identity, Human Connectivity and Interdependence, Diaspora in Great Britain, and The Impact of Family Legacy. Girl, Woman, Other is Evaristo’s... Read Girl, Woman, Other Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Place, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Indigenous
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Arts / Culture, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict
Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Half Bad (March 2014) is the debut novel of author Sally Green. It is also the first book in a trilogy of the same name. The book became an instant bestseller because of its similarity to the Harry Potter series. Green followed Half Bad with Half Wild (2015) and Half Lost (2016). The Half Bad trilogy was eventually produced as the Netflix series entitled The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. It ran for one... Read Half Bad Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Western, History: World, Biography
Jeannette Walls describes her book Half Broke Horses as a “True-Life Novel,” as it describes the life of her real-life grandmother Lily Casey Smith. The book is told in the first person from the perspective of Lily as she grows up in the harsh desert southwest. While the book is classified as a novel (since Walls was unable to back-up all of the facts about Smith’s life), it reads more like a memoir. Walls begins... Read Half Broke Horses Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Historical Fiction, History: European, Gender / Feminism, Health / Medicine, Arts / Culture, British Literature, Elizabethan Era, History: World
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Disability, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1990
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: Asian, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Indian Literature, Classic Fiction
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 book for young adults, written by Salman Rushdie. Haroun is the follow-up to Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, which was deemed blasphemous by the Ayatollah (a high-ranking Iranian clergyman) at the time, who pronounced a death sentence on the author. As a response to the ayatollah’s decree, Haroun explores themes of free speech, the need for storytelling, and the value of fiction.Plot SummaryThe novel begins with... Read Haroun and the Sea of Stories Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2018
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags Mental Illness, Gender / Feminism, Biography
Heart Berries is a memoir written in connected, lyrical vignettes by Terese Marie Mailhot. It was published in 2018. The book tells the story of Mailhot’s life as a First Nations woman who moves from Canada to the American Southwest, struggles with bipolar disorder, and comes to terms with her past traumas and tumultuous, sometimes violent marriage. Plot SummaryThe beginning of the book chronicles Mailhot’s love affair with a White man named Casey, who leaves... Read Heart Berries Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Japanese Literature, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Asian Literature, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction