COLLEGE BOARD’S 101 GREAT BOOKS FOR COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS THIS LIST HAS BEEN MODIFIED TO INCLUDE LISTED AUTHORS’ ADDITIONAL WORKS. NOTE: SOME TITLES MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. PLEASE DISCUSS YOUR CHOICE WITH YOUR PARENTS, TEACHERS, OR LIBRARIAN TO FIND AN APPROPRIATE CHOICE. Take a 101+ Great Books

BEOWULF, THE ULTIMATE HERO, FIGHTS THE EVIL, “BORN IN SLIME” MONSTER SEEKING TO AVENGE HIS MONSTER MOTHER’S DEATH (WRITTEN IN VERSE) Adventure Beowulf

OKONKWO, LOCAL NIGERIAN WRESTLING CHAMPION, MARRIED TO THREE WIVES, SHARES THE IMPACT OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES ON HIS COMMUNITY. Drama Things Fall Apart

WHY CAN’T WE JUST BE FRIENDS? OPPRESSED, A GROUP OF RABBITS STRUGGLE TO LIVE IN PEACE Adventure Watership Down

A SUDDEN DEATH DESTROYS A FAMILY EMOTIONAL AND POIGNANT GRAB YOUR TISSUES Drama A Death in the Family

MAYA ANGELOU’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL ABOUT HER EARLY YEARS. SHE GROWS FROM BEING A VICTIM OF RACISM AND VIOLENCE TO STRONG, INDEPENDENT WOMAN. Drama I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

SINGLE, NOT LOOKING FOR LOVE, EMMA TRIES TO BE THE MATCHMAKER FOR ALL HER FRIENDS… UNTIL SHE IS DRAWN INTO THE WORLD OF ROMANCE. Romance Emma

IT WAS NOT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, BUT WILL STRONG-WILLED ELISABETH AND THE WEALTHY MR. DARCY OVERCOME THEIR PRIDE AND BE A COUPLE? (MEANWHILE MOM ARRANGED OTHER ECONOMICALLY ADVANTAGEOUS MARRIAGES FOR THE OTHER DAUGHTERS. Romance Pride and Prejudice

CAN SISTERS EVER GET ALONG? WHEN ONE IS THE PRACTICAL SISTER AND ONE IS THE EMOTIONAL SISTER…. THE TWO ARE BOUND TO ARGUE Family Sense and Sensibility

EARTHLINGS HAVE ESCAPED A DYING EARTH TO COME TO MARS TO CONQUER SPACE AND COLONIZE THE PLANET. LIFE ON MARS IS NOT LIKE IT USED TO BE… Adventure… Sci-Fi Style The Martian Chronicles

A SHY GOVERNESS FINDS HERSELF FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER MYSTERIOUS EMPLOYER EDWARD Romance Jane Eyre

FLASHBACK AND FOLLOW THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE TEMPESTUOUS LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN HEATHCLIFF AND CATHERINE Romance Wuthering Heights

SET IN CHINA, A PEASANT OVERCOMES NATURE’S WRATH TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL LANDOWNER Historical Drama The Good Earth

WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME A MAN IS CAUGHT UP IN A MURDER IN ANOTHER COUNTRY Suspense Drama The Stranger

A MISSIONARY PRIEST TRAVELS TO THE NEW MEXICO TERRITORY TO WORK WITH THE CATHOLIC BELIEVERS OF THAT REGION. Historical & Enlightening Death Comes for the Archbishop

ALEXANDRIA ENCOURAGES THE FAMILY MEMBERS TO KEEP HER FATHER’S DREAM ALIVE. AS HIS DYING WISH, HE ENTRUSTS HER WITH THEIR FARM IN NEBRASKA. (SET IN THE 1890’S) Family Drama O Pioneers

ARE WE THERE YET? TRAVELERS ON A TRIP TO CANTERBURY ENTERTAIN EACH OTHER BY TELLING STORIES… SOME FUNNY, SOME WITH A LESSON… Entertaining The Canterbury Tales

THE MURDER OF A COWBOY LEADS TO VIGILANTES FORMING A POSSE TO HUNT DOWN THE KILLER WORTH NOTING… IT INCLUDES A LYNCHING Western Adventure The Ox-Bow Incident

ADVENTURER MARLOWE TRAVELS THE CONGO. HE IS GREETED BY SAVAGES AND CANNIBALISM AS HE IS LOOKING FOR A KURTZ, A COMPANY AGENT, WHO HAS GONE INSANE Adventure Heart of Darkness

JIM, ALONG WITH FELLOW BRITISH CREW MEMBERS AND THE CAPTAIN, ABANDON A SINKING SHIP AND ITS PASSENGERS. THE PASSENGERS SURVIVE AND JIM IS LABELED A COWARD. HE WORKS TO OUTRUN AND TO OVERCOME HIS PAST. Adventure Lord Jim

NATTY BUMPPO IS A YOUNG FRONTIERSMAN IN NEW YORK CIRCA 1740’S. HE HAS DANGEROUS SKIRMISHES WITH THE HURON TRIBE. Historical Adventure The Deerslayer

1757… FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR A MAN AGREES TO ACCOMPANY TWO SISTERS THROUGH THE DANGEROUS, HOSTILE INDIAN TERRITORY TRIVIA: HAWKEYE FROM M*A*S*H* WAS NAMED AFTER THE MAIN CHARACTER Adventure The Last of the Mohicans

A YOUNG SOLDIER EXPERIENCES THE CONFUSION AND HORROR OF A CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD War Red Badge of Courage

(INSERT LATIN ACCENT HERE) OH, YES, ADVENTURES OF THE LEGENDARY, CHIVALROUS, BRAVE KNIGHT… DON QUIXOTE… 16 TH CENTURY SPAIN Historical Adventure Don Quixote

THE ORIGINAL SURVIVOR CASTAWAY AN ENGLISHMAN IS THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF A SHIPWRECK. THIS IS HIS STORY OF HIS ADVENTURES TRYING TO SURVIVE FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS ON A DESERTED ISLAND. CULTURAL NOTE: THE PHRASE “MY MAN FRIDAY” ALLUDES TO THIS NOVEL Adventure Robinson Crusoe

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR MOTHER DIES AND YOUR STEPFATHER KICKS YOU OUT? READ TO FIND OUT HOW DAVID, HOPING TO SURVIVE AND EVENTUALLY FIND HAPPINESS, STRUGGLED THROUGH SCHOOL AND LIFE IN LONDON Drama David Copperfield

A BRITISH MYSTERY WITH AN AMAZING CAST: PIP, THE ORPHAN MAGWITCH, THE CONVICT ESTELLA, THE BEAUTIFUL MISS HAVISHAM, THE SPITEFUL AND BEAUTIFUL MR. JAGGERS, THE AMBITIOUS LAWYER Mystery Great Expectations

AGAIN… A YOUNG KIND-HEARTED ORPHAN… TRAINED FOR A LIFE OF CRIME IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THE DESPERATE POVERTY… TRIES TO ESCAPE THAT LIFE. REMINDS ONE OF A HARSHER, DARKER, DEPRESSING ANNIE Drama Oliver Twist

SET DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, NUMEROUS PLOT TWISTS & SECRETS SURROUND CHARLES DARNEY, A FRENCH ARISTOCRAT, AS HE FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE AND LOVE DURING VIOLENT FRENCH REVOLUTION. Suspense A Tale of Two Cities

A MONEYLENDER (LOAN SHARK?) AND HER SISTER ARE MURDERED! AN INVESTIGATION ENSUES, AND A PROSTITUTE WITH A HEART OF GOLD CONVINCES THE MURDERER TO CONFESS Drama Crime and Punishment

RECOUNTS DOUGLASS’ LIFE AS A SLAVE AND HIS AMBITION TO BECOME A FREE MAN Drama Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

SIR HENRY BASKERVILLE HAS BEEN WARNED. IF HE MOVES INTO THE CURSED FAMILY HOME THAT HE INHERITED, HE WILL DIE… CAN SHERLOCK HOLMES HELP HIM? Mystery Hound of the Baskervilles

CLYDE GRIFFITHS’ RUN IN WITH THE LAW IN KANSAS CITY CAUSES HIM TO FLEE TO NEW YORK. HE REESTABLISHES HIS LIFE, BUT BECOMES TANGLED IN LOVE AFFAIRS WITH TWO WOMEN. CLYDE REALIZES THAT ONE OF HIS LOVES MUST HAVE AN “UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT.” Drama An American Tragedy

SET IN FRANCE & ITALY DURING THE EARLY 1800’S, EDMUND WANTS REVENGE… REVENGE FOR HIS UNJUST PUNISHMENT OF FOURTEEN YEARS IN PRISON Adventure Count of Monte Cristo

17 TH CENTURY FRANCE A TALE OF SWASHBUCKLING FOUR MEN TRY TO OUTWIT THE ENEMIES OF THE KING AND QUEEN (BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS THE THREE MUSKETEERS?) Adventure The Three Musketeers

AS THE FAMILY ATTEMPTS TO CARRY OUT ADDIE’S DYING WISH, THEY EXPERIENCE SETBACK AFTER TRAGIC SETBACK, INCLUDING A FIRE, A WASHED-OUT BRIDGE, A SEDUCTION, BROKEN LIMBS… (NOT IN THAT ORDER ) Family As I Lay Dying

FOUR NARRATORS SHARE DIFFERENT EPISODES, SHOWING THE DECLINE OF THE ONCE-NOBLE COMPTON FAMILY: BENJY: THE 33-YEAR-OLD MENTALLY RETARDED MAN QUENTIN: THE STUDENT WHO COMMITS SUICIDE JASON: THE BITTER, CYNICAL BROTHER DILSEY: THE FAMILY’S BLACK SERVANT Psychological Fiction The Sound and the Fury

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS? TOM, AN ABANDONED CHILD, IS DISCOVERED AND RAISED BY A WEALTHY LANDOWNER. AS A YOUTH, HE FALLS IN LOVE, BUT WITH A GIRL OUT OF HIS SOCIAL CLASS. THE STORY FOLLOWS TOM AS HE TRAVELS AROUND THE COUNTRY. Comic The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

A LIFETIME NETWORK MOVIE MOMENT…. YOUNG JOHNNY GUNTHER HAS A CANCEROUS BRAIN TUMOR. THIS IS THE STORY OF HIS STRUGGLE. Family Death be not proud

“WHAT HAPPENS TO A DREAM DEFERRED? DOES IT DRY UP LIKE A RAISIN IN THE SUN?” --LANGSTON HUGHES IN THIS PLAY, THE YOUNGER FAMILY DREAMS OF LEAVING THEIR CRAMPED CHICAGO APARTMENT TO MOVE TO A BETTER NEIGHBORHOOD Drama A Raisin in the Sun

LIKE ANY HEROINE OF A MODERN SOAP OPERA, BATHSHEBA HAS THE BEAUTY AND PRIDE TO TOY WITH THREE MEN’S AFFECTIONS: SHEPHERD GABRIEL, PROSPEROUS FARMER WILLIAM, AND SERGEANT FRANK. Romantic Comedy Far from the Madding Crowd

TESS’S FATE WAS DECIDED THE MOMENT SHE MET ALEC D’URBERVILLE. HE TOOK HER INNOCENCE AND CHANGED IN LIFE. AS SHE ATTEMPTS TO MOVE ON, HE CONTINUALLY WEAVES IN AND OUT OF HER LIFE, CAUSING HEARTACHE UNTIL SHE FINALLY RESOLVES THE PROBLEM… PERMANENTLY. Drama Tess of the D’urbervilles

HEPZIBAH OPENS A SMALL SHOP IN THE GLOOMY FAMILY MANSION TO HELP SUPPORT HER BROTHER JUST RELEASED FROM PRISON AFTER SERVING 30 YEARS FOR MURDER. A MYSTERY UNFOLDS ABOUT THE HOUSE (FILLED WITH A HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT AND FRAUD). Mystery House of the Seven Gables

YOSSARIAN AND HIS FRIENDS IN THE U.S. ARMY FIGHTING SQUADRON 256 ARE TIRED OF FLYING MISSIONS DURING WWII. DESPERATE TO STOP, YOSSARIAN EMPLOYS A NUMBER OF SCHEMES TO AVOID COMBAT FLIGHTS. War & Social Commentary Catch 22

LNT. HENRY, AN AMERICAN AMBULANCE DRIVER DURING WWI, EXPERIENCES BATTLES, INJURY, TREACHERY, LOVE, AND DEFEAT ON THE ITALIAN FRONT War and Romance A Farewell to Arms

SPANISH CIVIL WAR ROBERT JORDAN IS AN EXPLOSIVES EXPERT SENT TO BLOW UP A BRIDGE. HE AND THE OTHER GUERRILLAS FACE DEATH. War For Whom the Bell Tolls

1920’S EXPATRIATE AMERICAN JAKE BARNS ATTEMPTS TO FULFILL HIS LIFE WITH DISTRACTING BEHAVIOR:HARD WORK, DRINKING, AND BULLFIGHTING IN EUROPE Adventure The Sun Also Rises

HERRIOT SHARES FUNNY ANECDOTES AND SAD MEMORIES FROM HIS LIFE AS A COUNTRY VETERINARIAN. Animals All Creatures Great and Small

AFTER A PLANE CRASH, THE SURVIVORS STUMBLE UPON A UTOPIA, SHANGRI-LA, WHERE LIFE IS ETERNAL AND EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. Fantasy Adventure Lost Horizon

WHILE HEROES ENGAGE IN BATTLE, GODS AND GODDESSES INTERFERE TO HELP AND HURT.. WHY? BECAUSE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD… HELEN OF TROY… (THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SHIPS) (WRITTEN IN VERSE) Mythological Adventure The Iliad

ODYSSEUS, THE ULTIMATE LADIES’ MAN AND ULTIMATE HERO, TRAVELS ON A TEN- YEAR JOURNEY TO GET BACK HOME. HE ANGERS GODS AND MEETS FANTASTIC CREATURES ALONG THE WAY (WRITTEN IN VERSE) Mythological Adventure The Odyssey

MEDIEVAL PARIS, THE DISFIGURED QUASIMODO, THE LONELY BELL RINGER, SAVES THE GYPSY DANCER, ESMERALDA FROM EXECUTION Romance & Adventure Hunchback of Notre Dame

VALJEAN, WAS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR 19 YEARS FOR STEALING BREAD. NOW OUT, BUT OFF PAROLE, THE EX-CONVICT, FIGHTS AGAINST THE ODDS (AND THE CRAZED POLICE INSPECTOR WHO WANTS TO RECAPTURE HIM) TO RISE FROM SLAVE TO MAYOR. Adventure Les Miserables

NOT ONLY DOES THE NEW GOVERNESS NEED TO DEAL WITH TWO YOUNG CHILDREN, BUT ALSO WITH THE GHOSTS OF TWO EVIL SERVANTS WHO DISTURB A REMOTE COUNTRY ESTATE Suspense The Turn of the Screw

NAVAJO INDIANS, LAUGHING BOY AND SLIM GIRL, FALL IN LOVE, MARRY, AND TRY TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. WHAT LAUGHING BOY DOESN’ T KNOW IS THE SECRET LIFE SLIM GIRL LIVES. Adventure & Love Laughing Boy

SENIOR DEMON SCREWTAPE WRITES LETTERS TO YOUNGER DEMON WORMWOOD DESCRIBING HOW TO TEMPT AND PROMOTE SIN AMONG MAN. FROM THE DEMON’S POINT OF VIEW… Satire The Screw-tape letters

BABBITT LIVES A LIFE OF CONFORMITY. TAKES AN ALMOST COMICAL LOOK AT THE DAY-TO-DAY GRIND AND THE UNHAPPINESS BEHIND IT. Social Commentary Babbitt

CAROL, A CITY GAL, MARRIES DOCTOR WILL, A COUNTRY BOY, AND MOVES TO GOPHER PRAIRIE. DISCONTENT WITH SMALL TOWN LIFE, CAROL TRIES TO CHANGE THINGS. IS THE GRASS GREENER IN THE CITY? Social Commentary Main Street

AFTER AN ACCIDENT AT SEA, HUMPHREY VAN WEYDEN IS “RESCUED” BY A CRUEL, BRUTAL SEA CAPTAIN WOLF LARSEN. WOLF TERRORIZES HIS CREW. Adventure Sea Wolf

KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH… A WILD WOLF DOG BECOMES ADVENTURES IN THE YUKON TERRITORY Animal Adventure White Fang

A DOMESTICATED DOG LEARNS TO SURVIVE IN THE BRUTAL CONDITIONS OF THE YUKON TERRITORY DURING THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH. Animal Adventure Call of the Wild

A YOUNG ENGLISHWOMAN IS SWEPT OFF HER FEET BY THE HANDSOME, CHARMING MAX DE WINTER. BUT CAN SHE COMPETE WITH THE MEMORY OF THE HIS PERFECT LATE WIFE, REBECCA? AND WAS HER DEATH AN ACCIDENT? Romance & Suspense Rebecca

BILLY JEFFS IS AN ORPHAN SET TO WORK ON THE HMS BELLIPOTENT. NOT EVERYONE TAKES A LIKING TO THE INNOCENT BILLY, AND A FALSE CHARGE AGAINST HIM BEGINS A TRAGIC SERIES OF EVENTS FOR BILLY. Adventure Billy Budd

WHO DOESN’T KNOW THIS STORY OF ONE MAN’S INSATIABLE QUEST TO KILL THE GREAT WHALE? Adventure Moby Dick

DEATH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM… WILLY LOMAN IS THE CLASSIC TRAGIC HERO… A SALESMAN TRYING TO GET AHEAD, BUT FOR WHOM NOTHING CAN SEEM TO GO RIGHT. Drama Death of a Salesman

FOLLOWS THE STORY OF SETHE AND HER DAUGHTER AFTER ESCAPING THEY FROM SLAVERY. AS THEY STRUGGLE WITH MEMORIES AND DAILY LIFE, THEY ARE CONFRONTED WITH THEIR VIOLENT MEMORIES. Historical Drama Beloved

A BRITISH CREWMEMBER TELLS THE STORY OF MUTINY AGAINST THE CRUEL COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL NAVY SHIP, THE BOUNTY Adventure Mutiny on the Bounty

THE LEAGUE OF SCARLET PIMPERNEL IS A SECRET SOCIETY WHO ATTEMPT TO SAVE FRENCH ARISTOCRATS FROM EXECUTION. A TALE OF MYSTERY, DANGER, AND SECRET IDENTITIES SET DURING THE REIGN OF TERROR OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Adventure & Suspense Scarlet Pimpernel

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING. WRITTEN IN 1949, THIS WAS A GRIM LOOK AT WHAT THE WORLD WOULD BE LIKE IN Drama/ Social commentary 1984

YURI ZHIVAGO IS A RUSSIAN DOCTOR (AND POET) IN LOVE WITH TWO WOMEN DURING THE REVOLUTION OF 1917 AND THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR. Romance & Drama Doctor Zhivago

STEPHEN KUMALO, AN PRIEST SEARCHES FOR HIS SON AND HIS SISTER. WHAT HE LEARNS ABOUT THEM DURING HIS QUEST IS DISTURBING. Adventure & Family Cry the Beloved Country

FROM THE GLAMOUR OF MANHATTAN TO THE DREARY INSANE ASYLUM, FOLLOW A WOMAN’S EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN Psychological Drama The Bell Jar

FOLLOWS THE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP OF TWO JEWISH BOYS FROM BROOKLYN IN THE 1940’S. Family Drama The Chosen

EXPERIENCE JODY BAXTER'S PATH FROM CHILDHOOD TO MATURITY, A HEART WRENCHING ADVENTURE SET IN THE ANIMAL-FILLED FLORIDA BACKWOODS. IF CRIED AT BAMBI, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU. Animal & Family The Yearling

FIRST PERSON NARRATOR DESCRIBES THE HARSH, BRUTAL CONDITIONS OF LIFE ON THE FRONT DURING WORLD WAR I War All Quiet on the Western Front

ART, LOVE, AND CRITICS… HOWARD ROARK, COMPETES WITH RIVAL ARCHITECT, PETER KEATING. THE STRENGTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL IS TESTED AS ROARK STRUGGLES TO MAINTAIN HIS WORK PHILOSOPHY. Drama The Fountainhead

AN IMMIGRANT FAMILY STRUGGLES TO MAKE A LIVELIHOOD FROM FARMING IN LATE 1880’S ON THE AMERICAN PLAINS. Drama Giants in the Earth

17 TH CENTURY FRENCH SWORDSMAN WANTS TO DATE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL. BUT WILL HIS UNSIGHTLY, LONG NOSE STAND IN THE WAY? Romantic Comedy Cyrano de Bergerac

IVANHOE, A KNIGHT, RETURNS FROM FIGHTING IN THE CRUSADES TO FIND ENGLAND IN CHAOS. ENEMIES RULE AND HE MUST FIGHT FOR LOVE AND HONOR. (SETTING: 1166) Adventure Ivanhoe

SOMEONE KILLED HAMLET’S DAD. THE GHOST TELLS HAMLET THAT IT WAS HIS UNCLE… WHO IS NOW MARRIED TO HAMLET’S MOTHER. SHOULD HE AVENGE HIS FATHER’S DEATH? CAN HE TRUST HIS MOM? Suspense Drama Hamlet

THREE WITCHES GIVE A SURPRISING PROPHECY TO MACBETH. AS THE PREDICTIONS BEGIN TO COME TRUE, SHOULD MACBETH MURDER THE KING TO HELP FULFILL THEM? Drama & War Macbeth

SMUG HENRY HIGGINS ATTEMPTS TO TRANSFORM A SIMPLE FLOWER GIRL INTO A “LADY” IN THIS PLAY. Romantic Comedy Pygmalion

THIS NOVEL FOLLOWS THE EGOTISTICAL DRIVE OF DR. VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN IN HIS DESIRE TO CREATE LIFE FROM DEATH. HIS CREATURE IS AN UNFORTUNATE RESULT. Suspense Frankenstein

AMERICAN CLASSIC. WRITTEN DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, THIS NOVEL EXPOSED THE UNDERBELLY OF THE MEAT- PACKING INDUSTRY… THE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS OF THE SLAVE LABOR. Social Commentary The Jungle

FRANCIE NOLAN IS GROWING UP POOR IN BROOKLYN. SHE STRUGGLES TO BETTER HER LIFE. Family Drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

IVAN WAS IMPRISONED FOR EIGHT YEARS IN A SOVIET LABOR CAMP. HE DESCRIBES IN DETAIL, ONE DAY OF THESE DEHUMANIZING CONDITIONS. A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE, A FAMILY OF MIGRANT WORKERS IS DRIVEN FROM THEIR FARM AND FACE HUNGER, HUMILIATION, AND SQUALOR AS THEY TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA IN HOPE OF FINDING WORK DURING THE 1930’S. Family The Grapes of Wrath

DR. JEKYLL, A KINDLY SCIENTIST, IS TRAGICALLY CHANGED AS A RESULT OF A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT, AND HE ADOPTS HIS ALTER EVIL EGO BY NIGHT. Suspense Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

AN INNKEEPER AND HER SON FIND A TREASURE MAP. THEY FOLLOW IT TO FIND TREASURE AND DANGER. SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE: LONG JOHN SILVER Adventure Treasure Island

UNCLE TOM, A SLAVE, SERVES AS A DYNAMIC HERO CONFRONTED BY THE CRUEL WORLD OF SLAVERY. Historical Drama Uncle Tom’s Cabin

IN THIS FICTIONAL ACCOUNT, NAT TURNER CONFESSES HIS ROLE IN A SLAVE REVOLT IN VIRGINIA IN Drama Confessions of Nat Turner

GULLIVER IS LOST AT SEA AND HAPPENS UPON STRANGE LANDS OF TINY PEOPLE, GIANTS, AND TALKING HORSES. ALTHOUGH SOME HAVE CAPITALIZED ON THIS AS A CHILDREN’S STORY, SWIFT MEANT IT AS A SOCIAL COMMENTARY. Adventure Gulliver’s Travels

THE SUBTITLE OF VANITY FAIR IS “A NOVEL WITHOUT A HERO” REFERRING TO THE STORY’S ANTI-HEROES, SUCH AS SMART AND MANIPULATIVE BECKY SHARP’S SCHEMING PLANS TO ADVANCE THROUGH LIFE. Drama & Social Commentary Vanity Fair

THOREAU LIVED AT WALDEN POND FOR OVER TWO YEARS IN ATTEMPT TO LIVE SIMPLY AND BECOME MORE SELF-RELIANT. Philosophical Adventure Walden

A YOUNG WOMAN IS DESTROYED WHEN SHE ATTEMPTS TO LIVE OUTSIDE THE MORAL LAW OF HER SOCIETY. Drama Anna Karenina

THREE CHARACTERS WITH DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS DEPICT THEIR STRUGGLES DURING THE EVENTS IN RUSSIA DURING NAPOLEONIC WAR IN THE EARLY 1800’S. Drama War and Peace

SUFFERING FROM A HEAD INJURY, HANK MORGAN IS MAGICALLY TRANSPORTED BACK TO KING ARTHUR'S CAMELOT Adventure Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

WILSON IS A MISUNDERSTOOD AND UNDERESTIMATED LAWYER WHO ULTIMATELY MANAGES TO CLEAR UP SEVERAL MISTAKEN IDENTITIES. Drama Pudd’nhead Wilson

PROFESSOR HARDWIG AND HIS TEAM INVESTIGATE A VOLCANIC CRATER IN ICELAND. IT LEADS TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH AND THE INCREDIBLE AND HORRIFYING DISCOVERIES FOUND THERE. Adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth

FRENCH PROFESSOR AND HIS COMPANIONS ARE PRISONERS ON A SUBMARINE PILOTED BY CRAZY CAPTAIN NEMO. THEY TRAVEL ABOVE AND BELOW THE SEA ON A DERANGED ADVENTURE. Adventure 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea

BILLY PILGRIM SURVIVES A FIRE-BOMBING DURING WWII. SCENES FROM WWII AND BILLY’S TIME TRAVELS TO THE PLANET TRALFAMADORE INTERTWINE AS BILLY JUMPS FROM PAST TO PRESENT TO FUTURE. War Adventure Slaughter-House Five

THE LIVES OF TWO SISTERS ARE REVEALED IN LETTERS EXCHANGED OVER THIRTY YEARS. SET IN RURAL GEORGIA, THEIR CORRESPONDENCE REVEALS THE LOW SOCIAL POSITION THAT SOUTHERN BLACK WOMEN HELD IN THE 30’S. Drama The Color Purple

JACK BURDEN, A YOUNG JOURNALIST, BECOMES INVOLVED IN WILLIE STARK’S QUEST FOR POLITICAL POWER AS A GOVERNOR OF A SOUTHERN STATE. Political Drama All the King’s Men

A SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE ABOUT A SCIENTIST WHO INVENTS A TIME TRAVEL MACHINE Adventure… Sci-fi Style The Time Machine

LARGE, TENTACLED MARTIANS INVADE ENGLAND IN THIS SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE CULTURAL NOTE: PROBABLY BEST-KNOWN FOR THE RADIO PROGRAM ORSON WELLES PERFORMED IN MANY AMERICANS BELIEVED THIS WAS TRULY HAPPENING Adventure… Sci-fi Style The War of the Worlds

NEWLAND ARCHER IS ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED AND MADLY IN LOVED… BUT NOT WITH HIS FIANCÉE. HE STICKS TO THE SOCIAL CODE AND THUS, CANNOT BE WITH THE WOMAN HE WANTS. Romance Age of Innocence

A NEW ENGLAND FARMER FALLS FOR HIS WIFE’S COUSIN. IS IT EVER A HAPPY ENDING? Drama Ethan Frome

IN ANOTHER TAKE ON THE KING ARTHUR TALE, FOLLOW WART, WHO WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME KING ARTHUR, AS HE GROWS UP TO BE THE NEXT RIGHTFUL KING OF ENGLAND. Adventure The Once and Future King

DEFIES DESCRIPTION The Picture of Dorian Gray

SEVERAL PEOPLE DIE IN THE COLLAPSE OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE IN PERU IN A WITNESS, A FRANCISCAN MONK, INVESTIGATES THE LIVES OF THE VICTIMS AND EXAMINES WHY GOD WOULD ALLOW SUCH A TRAGEDY. Drama Bridge of San Luis Rey

WILKERSON SPENT HIS FIRST FIVE YEARS IN NEW YORK MINISTERING TO GANG YOUTH. HE ENCOURAGED THEM TO TURN AWAY FROM THIS WAY OF LIFE. Drama Cross and the Switchblade

WITHOUT TELLING THE WHOLE TRUTH, BLANCHE DUBOIS MOVES IN WITH HER SISTER STELLA AND BROTHER-IN-LAW STANLEY AFTER SHE LOSES THE FAMILY HOME. BLANCHE AND STANLEY CLEARLY DO NOT LIKE EACH OTHER AND A TWISTED FAMILY DRAMA ENSUES. Drama A Street Car Named Desire

REVOLVES AROUND THE JOHNSON COUNTY WAR (1890, WYOMING), A BATTLE BETWEEN WEALTHY LANDOWNERS AND SMALLER LANDOWNERS OVER CATTLE THIEVERY. Drama The Virginian

A RATHER MISFIT NAVAL CREW SLACKS OFF ON THE CAINE, UNTIL A NEW COMMANDER ARRIVES… HOWEVER, THE CREW SOON DISCOVERS HIM TO MENTALLY UNSTABLE AND THEY MUTINY. Adventure The Caine Mutiny

REACTING TO THE HARSH, PREJUDICED WORLD IN WHICH HE LIVES, BIGGER THOMAS RESORTS TO ACTS OF VIOLENCE AND MURDER TO FEEL FREE. Drama Native Son

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL, THIS NOVEL DESCRIBES WRIGHT'S LIFE FROM AGE 4 TO AGE 19. AS WRIGHT IS SUBJECTED TO HARSH PUNISHMENTS AND LACK OF SYMPATHY, SHOWING THE EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS LIVING IN THE SOUTH DURING THE EARLY 20 TH CENTURY. Drama Black Boy

NOTE: SOME TITLES MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. PLEASE DISCUSS YOUR CHOICE WITH YOUR PARENTS, TEACHERS, OR LIBRARIAN TO FIND AN APPROPRIATE CHOICE. Review