Truth & Lies

Whether exploring the consequences of concealing the truth or excavating the mysterious nature of truth itself, the titles in this collection discuss the intersections among honesty, factualness, legitimacy, deception, falsehood, and lies.

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

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


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Family

Tags Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ, Humor


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

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


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1947

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Play: Tragedy, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Military / War, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy

All My Sons is a play by Arthur Miller, first performed in 1947. Based on a true story, All My Sons tells the story of a munitions factory owner who is accused of producing defective engines for aircraft. The play received many awards, ran for 328 shows on Broadway, and has been twice adapted as a film. This guide is based on the 2015 Penguin Classics edition of Miller’s Collected Plays. Plot SummaryJoe Keller is... Read All My Sons Summary


Publication year 1602

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, Humor, Drama / Tragedy, Romance

All’s Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare (1582-1616), one of the most influential writers in the English language. The date of composition is not known, but All’s Well That Ends Well was first performed between 1598 and 1608. It was published in 1623, in the First Folio. Shakespeare’s work is part of Early Modern English literature, alongside playwrights like Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, during which time the play and theater... Read All's Well That Ends Well Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, French Literature


Publication year 1974

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Crime / Legal, Politics / Government, Journalism, History: U.S., Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction

All the President’s Men (1974) is the story of the most famous American political scandal of the 20th century. Written by Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the book follows in exacting detail their investigation into the Watergate Hotel break-in and subsequent coverup of that crime. The case began with a story on an unusual burglary attempt at the Democratic National Headquarters in the summer of 1972. It eventually evolved into an investigation... Read All the President's Men Summary


Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

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

Along Came a Spider (1992) is the first novel in the Alex Cross psychological thriller series by James Patterson. Alex Cross is a Black psychologist and police detective working in Washington, DC, with his partner and childhood friend, John Sampson. In this novel, Alex and John are part of a hostage-rescue team investigating the kidnapping of two children by their teacher, Gary Soneji. As of 2023, there are 32 novels in the Alex Cross series... Read Along Came a Spider Summary


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Military / War, WWII / World War II, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance


Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Grandparents, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Great Depression, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Humor

Written by Richard Peck in 1998 and told as a series of related short stories, A Long Way From Chicago is a novel about two siblings and their adventures with their grandmother over the span of six summers from 1929 to 1935. The work was a Newbery Honor book in 1999, and its sequel, A Year Down Yonder, won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2001. Richard Peck (1934-2018) was the award-winning American novelist... Read A Long Way from Chicago Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags History: U.S., History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

Published in 2016, America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is the fictionalized biography of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, known to her family as Patsy. Based on true events, the novel tells the story of Patsy and her relationship with her father, one of America’s Founding Fathers and earliest presidents.In 1826, shortly after Jefferson’s death, Patsy begins the arduous task of sorting through her father’s papers—burning some and editing others... Read America's First Daughter Summary


Publication year 1936

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

“A Mother in Mannville,” a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on December 12, 1936. It was subsequently included in two of the author’s short story anthologies: When the Whippoorwill in 1940 and Mountain Prelude in 1947.Rawlings was a Southern writer best known for her novel The Yearling (1938). Though fictional, “A Mother in Mannville” is inspired by actual events in her life. In 1936, Rawlings... Read A Mother In Mannville Summary


Publication year 1950

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Class, Society: Community

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, British Literature, Classic Fiction

First published in 1950, A Murder Is Announced is a mystery novel by one of the leading writers of the Golden Age of detective fiction: Agatha Christie, “Queen of Crime.” Although best known for her Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot novels such as Murder at the Vicarage and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Christie also published short story collections and wrote the world’s longest-running play—The Mousetrap (1952). Her fiction has inspired numerous film and television adaptations... Read A Murder Is Announced Summary


Publication year 1936

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Language

Tags Arts / Culture, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938), one of the most influential and formative practitioners in the history of western theatre, published An Actor Prepares in 1936. The text is based on his work and teachings at the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. As translator Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood notes, Stanislavski dreamed of creating “a manual, a handbook, a working textbook” (v) for actors. Stanislavski’s technique, which incorporates the practices of many theatre artists that came before him, has become... Read An Actor Prepares Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

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


Publication year 1939

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Society: Colonialism

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modernism, Classic Fiction

Published in 1939, And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, best-selling novelist of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. With over 100 million copies sold, And Then There Were None is the world’s best-selling crime novel as well as one of the best-selling books of all time. It has had more adaptations than any other work by Agatha Christie, including television programs, films, radio broadcasts, and most... Read And Then There Were None Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Femininity, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

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