Music

This collection brings together texts that explore the beauty and often redemptive power of music, from classical compositions in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus and Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, to gospel songs and spirituals in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.

Publication year 2008Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Music, African American Literature, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

After Tupac and D Foster, published in 2008, is Jacqueline Woodson’s fifth middle grade novel and her 24th book overall. It is a coming-of-age story of three African American girls who are best friends growing up in Queens, NY, in the 1990s. During this time, the cultural icon Tupac Shakur is shot, imprisoned, and ultimately killed in a second shooting. These events have a huge impact on the main characters as they grow up and... Read After Tupac and D Foster Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: FamilyTags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

A Heart in a Body in the World is a young adult novel by Deb Caletti, published in 2018. The novel is a work of contemporary realism and is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book.Plot SummaryThe novel follows the story of Annabelle Agnelli, a high school senior living with her mother Gina and her brother Malcolm in Seattle, Washington. Annabelle is a talented cross-country runner, a strong student, and popular at her school. One evening... Read A Heart in a Body in the World Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Essay Collection, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Society: NationTags Arts / Culture, History: U.S., African American Literature, Creative Nonfiction, Gender / Feminism, Music, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World

Publication year 2024Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Flora/plants, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Romance, Harlem Renaissance, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy

Publication year 1979Genre Play, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: FathersTags Play: Historical, Classic Fiction, Music, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, which premiered at the London Royal National Theatre in 1979, presents a fictionalized history of the renowned composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through the eyes of Antonio Salieri, a composer whose lackluster artistic legacy has been all but buried by time. The play begins on the eve of what Salieri, now an old man, believes will be the last day of his life. Salieri narrates and reenacts the story of his tumultuous... Read Amadeus Summary


Publication year 2017Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: FamilyTags Realistic Fiction, History: Middle Eastern, Bullying, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture, Religion / Spirituality

Eleven-year-old Pakistani-American Amina Khokar lives in Milwaukee with her mother, father, and brother, Mustafa. At school, a Korean girl named Soojin Kim is her best friend. Amina is distressed when Soojin befriends Emily, a girl who has historically joined in on racially-motivated taunts against Soojin and Amina. The situation is complicated when Amina, Emily, and Soojin—along with the class oddball, Bradley—are assigned to the same group for an Oregon Trail project in their social studies... Read Amina's Voice Summary


Publication year 2007Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction, Indian Literature

Published in 2007, Animal’s People by Indra Sinha was the 2008 winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize. Based in the fictional town of Khaufpur, which means “village of terror,” it centers around the 1984 Bhopal industrial disaster and its aftereffects on the survivors. Told from the point of view of a 19-year-old Khaufpuri boy who was disfigured “that night,” the novel focuses on the West’s dehumanization... Read Animal's People Summary


Publication year 2024Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Arts / Culture

Publication year 2016Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: FriendshipTags Race / Racism, Historical Fiction

Another Brooklyn is a 2016 novel by Jacqueline Woodson. After the narrator, August, returns home to care for her dying father, she runs into her former friend Sylvia. This encounter leads her to reflect on her childhood in Brooklyn in the 1970s and the way she coped with her mother’s death. The novel unfolds in fragments: each chapter moves between August’s girlhood memories and adult life as an ivy-league educated anthropologist who studies cultural rituals... Read Another Brooklyn Summary


Publication year 1959Genre Play, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: Fathers, Identity: GenderTags American Literature, African American Literature, Black Arts Movement, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

When Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun premiered in 1959, it was the first play by a Black woman to open on Broadway, as well as the first play with a Black director. The title comes from Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem,” which asks, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” Content Warning: The play and this guide discuss themes of racism and slavery.The play tells the... Read A Raisin in the Sun Summary


Publication year 2022Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Mystery / Crime Fiction

Publication year 2022Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: LiteratureTags LGBTQ, Romance, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 1768Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Classic Fiction

A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, a novel by Laurence Sterne first published in 1768, is the story of Reverend Mr. Yorick, who realizes one day that he has never been to France and wishes to compare it to Britain. After a heated argument with a friend, he packs lightly and sets sail the next day from Dover to Calais. En route, he eats and drinks in a tavern, where he meets a Franciscan... Read A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy Summary


Publication year 1947Genre Play, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Southern Gothic, American Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

A Streetcar Named Desire is one of Tennessee Williams's most famous plays. Published in 1947, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and has garnered numerous Tony and Olivier awards since its first production. Blanche Dubois arrives at the French Quarter of New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella Kowalski. The sisters grew up wealthy on Belle Reve, a plantation in Laurel, Mississippi, and Blanche is immediately critical of what she sees as Stella’s rough... Read A Streetcar Named Desire Summary


Publication year 2010Genre Short Story Collection, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Psychological Fiction, Music, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan tracks the passage of time in the lives of individuals in the rock music industry. The chapters defy conventional temporal and narrative chronologies, and each one is a self-contained episode in an unfolding network of stories, spanning six decades from the 1970s to the 2020s. The novel employs various narrative formats, such as the short story, the magazine article, and the graphic slide presentation. The variety... Read A Visit from the Goon Squad Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: FriendshipTags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Religion / Spirituality

Publication year 1995Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Immigration, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Depression / Suicide, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

Pat Conroy’s 1995 novel Beach Music is a work of historical fiction. Set primarily in South Carolina, the novel follows a community fractured by memories of the Holocaust and the social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s. Beach Music explores the nature of generational trauma and the way our pasts shape our futures. The power of forgiveness and the differences between duty and loyalty are also prominent themes. The setting and culture of the American... Read Beach Music Summary


Publication year 2013Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Action / Adventure

Publication year 2013Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self DiscoveryTags Realistic Fiction, Humor, LGBTQ, Music, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Content Warning: Better Nate Than Ever contains sensitive material, such as bullying and LGBTQ-related slurs.Better Nate Than Ever (2013) is the first book in a trilogy about Broadway hopeful Nate Foster; the next two titles in the series are Five, Six, Seven, Nate! (2014) and Nate Expectations (2018). The novel is intended for middle grade and young adult readers but may also appeal to adult fans of theater-related fiction. Author Tim Federle and the fictional... Read Better Nate Than Ever Summary


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Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
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Publication year 2021Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Natural World: Appearance & RealityTags Romance, LGBTQ, African American Literature, New Adult, Love / Sexuality, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 2017Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Values/Ideas: Music, Identity: Race, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Food, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: ConflictTags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Race / Racism, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Bluebird, Bluebird (2017) by Texas native Attica Locke, published by Little, Brown and Company, is a 2018 Edgar and Anthony award-winning mystery novel. It was also selected as a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Kirkus Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2017. The first in the Highway 59 series follows Texas Ranger Darren Mathews through the backroads of Texas in search of justice and reform... Read Bluebird, Bluebird Summary


Publication year 2006Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Fathers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: FamilyTags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Humor

Gordan Korman’s 2006 young adult coming-of-age novel Born to Rock follows teenager Leo Caraway as he sets out to get to know his biological father—the frontman of a legendary punk rock band—hoping to fund his college tuition while navigating the foreign world of punk rock and gets to know his roots. The novel, which was written for and dedicated to Korman’s son, also named Leo, explores themes of genetics, identity, self-expression, and lying.Korman is a... Read Born to Rock Summary


Publication year 2016Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Music, Arts / Culture, Mental Illness, Social Justice, History: U.S., Biography

Publication year 2012Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Psychology, Mental Illness, Science / Nature, Psychology, Health / Medicine, Biography

Brain on Fire (2012) is a memoir by New York Post writer Susannah Cahalan that details her struggle with a rare autoimmune disease, anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis. Cahalan recollects the journey through illness that took her from a normal, 24-year-old journalist to a misdiagnosed psychotic patient, and back again. In 2018, Netflix released a film based on Cahalan’s story, produced by Cahalan and Charlize Theron.Plot SummaryCahalan wakes in a hospital with no understanding of how she... Read Brain On Fire Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Music, Society: CommunityTags Arts / Culture, Race / Racism, History: U.S., Social Justice, Poverty, Music

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Young Adult Edition) is an abridged version of the original 2005 non-fiction historical account of the origin and evolution of hip-hop culture written by Jeff Chang and David “Davey D” Cook. Jeff Chang is an American journalist, music critic, and historian who, in 1993, co-founded the hip-hop label Solesides, which aided in the launching of artists like DJ Shadow and Blackalicious. Jeff Chang earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the... Read Can't Stop Won't Stop (Young Adult Edition) Summary


Publication year 2013Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Mental HealthTags 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 1982Genre Play, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: FamilyTags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, American Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

Crimes of the Heart is a three-act play by Beth Henley. It opens five years after Hurricane Camille, in a Mississippi town called Hazlehurst. The entirety of the play takes place in the kitchen of the house belonging to the Magrath sisters: Lenny, Babe, and Meg.   The play begins on Lenny’s thirtieth birthday. Lenny and Chick, a first cousin, are taking about an unspecified piece of terrible news that will be appearing in the newspaper. It has something to do... Read Crimes of the Heart Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: FameTags Historical Fiction, Music, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s historical fiction novel Daisy Jones & The Six, published in 2019, is a contemporary work of fiction that explores the rich music culture of the 1970s in the United States. This time was known for rock ’n’ roll, partly as a cultural response to the strict rules of the 1960s and the disaster of the Vietnam War. The California dream world of hard partying, no rules, and freedom persists as a major... Read Daisy Jones & The Six Summary


Publication year 1968Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Natural World: EnvironmentTags Science / Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Travel Literature, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction, Biography

Desert Solitaire is Edward Abbey’s 1968 memoir of his six months serving as a park ranger in Utah’s Arches National Park in the late 1950s. Throughout the book, Abbey describes his vivid and moving encounters with nature in her various forms: animals, storms, trees, rock formations, cliffs and mountains. He communicates an uncommon reverence for nature, and an unmistakable disdain for tame, cultured humanity, including the vast majority of the tourists who visit the park... Read Desert Solitaire Summary


Publication year 2001Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Midlife, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Romance, Drama / Tragedy, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

Publication year 2022Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Music, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Relationships: SiblingsTags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness, Modern Classic Fiction, Music

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Pam Muñoz Ryan
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Publication year 2015Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Music, Magical Realism, Fantasy

Echo (2015) by Pam Muñoz Ryan is a young-adult novel about the power of music to unite individuals across time, and even save lives: the wide-reaching novel follows an enchanted harmonica to 1933 in Germany, 1934 in Pennsylvania, and 1942 in California, before uniting the characters we meet along the way at Carnegie Hall in 1951. Covering the rise of Nazism in Germany, the tail end of the Great Depression in the United States, and... Read Echo Summary


Publication year 1960Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Education, Education, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

“Entropy” is a short story by Thomas Pynchon. It is a part of his collection Slow Learner, and was originally published in the Kenyon Review in 1960, while Pynchon was still an undergraduate. In his introduction to the collection, Pynchon refers to “Entropy” as the work of a “beginning writer” (12).“Entropy” takes place in Washington, DC, in the spring of 1957. The first of the two settings is the apartment of a young man named... Read Entropy Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Music, Health / Medicine, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Shannon Messenger
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Publication year 2013Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Natural World: Animals, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Self DiscoveryTags Children's Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action / Adventure

Publication year 2006Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Music, Identity: Gender, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: GrandparentsTags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Magical Realism

Fablehaven was written by Brandon Mull and first published in 2006. It is the first in a series about an ecological preserve for magical creatures. In the novel, middle-school-aged siblings Kendra and Seth take a trip to their grandparents’ land in rural Connecticut, which they soon realize is hiding magic of all types. The siblings explore the magical world they have discovered while learning how to be both brave and responsible.Fablehaven deals with themes concerning... Read Fablehaven Summary


Publication year 1996Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Self Discovery, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: FearTags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Magical Realism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Love / Sexuality, Music, Religion / Spirituality, Race / Racism, History: World, Canadian Literature

Fall on Your Knees (1996), first-time novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald’s ambitious multigenerational family saga set in the early decades of the 20th century, moves from the bleak coastal towns of Canada’s Cape Breton Island to the bustling New York City of the Jazz Era. Recalling both the psychological richness of William Faulkner’s family sagas set in Yoknapatawpha County and the dark passions in the Gothic tales of Flannery O’Connor, Fall on Your Knees follows three very... Read Fall on your Knees Summary


Publication year 2001Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: FamilyTags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Psychology, Psychology, Biography

Finding Fish is a 2001 memoir by Antwone Fisher, a Hollywood screenwriter. The memoir begins in Cleveland in 1959, when Eddie Elkins is shot and killed by his girlfriend. Shortly after, Antwone Fisher is born to Eva Gardner, whom Eddie dated briefly. The Elkins family never speaks about the tragic incident.Antwone’s first memory is looking out of a window at the home of his foster parents, the Picketts. Though he meets his biological mother once... Read Finding Fish Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Literature, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Music, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: FamilyTags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, History: World

Finding Langston, Lesa Cline-Ransome’s debut novel for middle-grade readers, is the story of an 11-year-old boy named Langston who loses his home but finds himself. The book received numerous accolades following its publication in 2018, including the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. In 2020 Cline-Ransome published Leaving Lymon, a companion novel to Finding Langston that tells the story of Langston’s bully Lymon. This study guide refers to the 2018 Holiday House edition.Plot SummaryFinding Langston... Read Finding Langston Summary


Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: FamilyTags Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Inspirational, Fantasy, Self Help

For One More Day, by Mitch Albom, tells the story of Charles “Chick” Benetto, a retired baseball player fallen on hard times. The story is framed by a prologue and epilogue where a narrator explains that they are telling the story from Chick’s perspective, “because I’m not sure you would believe this story if you didn’t hear it in his voice” (7). The book is comprised of short chapters told in the first person, and... Read For One More Day Summary


Publication year 1979Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, 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: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: EqualityTags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality

Publication year 2010Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Natural World: Appearance & RealityTags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction

Jean Kwok's Girl in Translation details the first decade of the lives of Kimberley Chang and her mother after they emigrate from Hong Kong to New York City in the 1980s. The novel is told from Kim's perspective. Each chapter corresponds roughly to a year of her life, beginning in early elementary school and ending shortly before Kim goes to college. Kim struggles as she attempts to balance her doublelife as a brilliant student during... Read Girl In Translation Summary


Publication year 2015Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Politics / Government

Go, Went, Gone, is a 2015 fiction novel by German writer Jenny Erpenbeck. It tells the story of a recently retired professor of German philology named Richard and his relationship to a group of African refugees as he attempts to help them find residences in Berlin. Most of the men arrive in Europe via boat before making their way to Berlin, where Richard first encounters them as they occupy a town square called Alexanderplatz. When... Read Go, Went, Gone Summary


Publication year 2011Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: MusicTags Music, Arts / Culture, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World, French Literature, Historical Fiction

Published in 2011, Half-Blood Blues is the second book by Esi Edugyan, a black Canadian author. The novel won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2012 and was also shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. As historical fiction, the story examines the lives of a diverse group of jazz musicians during World War II as they balance personal jealousies with the need to help each other amid mounting... Read Half-Blood Blues Summary


Publication year 2023Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Disability, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Trust & DoubtTags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction

Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: FamilyTags Realistic Fiction, Diversity, Immigration / Refugee, Race / Racism, Bullying, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture

Jacqueline Woodson's 2018 middle grade novel, Harbor Me, tracks the bonds of friendship that develop across six fifth-graders when they are given a unique opportunity to get to know each other. Amari, Esteban, Tiago, Ashton, Holly, and Haley Shondell McGrath (the narrator) are students with special learning needs in a Brooklyn school. Each friend has fears and frustrations that they share with each other over the year, and by opening up, they discover a collective... Read Harbor me Summary


Publication year 1995Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: MusicTags Humor, Music, Romance, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

High Fidelity is a 1995 fiction novel by the English author Nick Hornby. It tells the story of Rob Fleming, an obsessive music fan who examines his top five worst break ups to understand his most recent heartbreak. The book was adapted into a musical, a television series, and 2000 film starring John Cusack and directly by Stephen Frears.Plot SummaryRob Fleming is the 35-year-old owner of a record store in London. When his girlfriend Laura... Read High Fidelity Summary


Publication year 2009Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: MusicTags WWII / World War II, Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Military / War, History: World, Romance

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a historical novel published in 2009. The story follows Henry Lee at two pivotal stages in his life—in 1942, when he is a 12-year-old with a crush on a Japanese girl, and in 1986, when he is recently widowed. The book, Ford’s debut novel, spent 130 weeks atop the New York Times Best-Seller List and won the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature... Read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Summary


Publication year 1984Genre Short Story Collection, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family

Mary Hood’s first collection of short stories, How Far She Went, was published in 1984 and won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and the Southern Review/Louisiana State University Short Fiction Award. This study guide refers to the University of Georgia Press edition published in 1984. Four stories in the collection first appeared in The Georgia Review: “A Country Girl,” “Doing This, Saying That, to Applause,” “Manly Conclusions,” and “Inexorable Progress.” The opening story... Read How Far She Went Summary


Publication year 1997Genre Play, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Life/Time: The PastTags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

How I Learned to Drive, a play written by Paula Vogel, premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998. It addresses pedophilia, victim blaming, and misogyny, as well as the complexities of love and family. Through non-chronological flashbacks, Li’l Bit, now in her forties, uses learning to drive as a metaphor for her learning about sex, and about life, from her aunt’s husband, Peck, with whom she has a sexual relationship. Each scene is designated... Read How I Learned to Drive Summary