Action & Adventure

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Animals, Action & Adventure, Humor

Carl Hiaasen’s Scat! is a young adult thriller with a comic tone and an environmental message. Nick Waters and his best friend, Marta Gonzalez, are students at the private Truman School in Naples, Florida. When their biology teacher, Mrs. Bunny Starch, disappears, the two students are drawn into a conflict between a ruthless oil company and an informal band of environmentalists bent on protecting the breeding grounds of an endangered Florida panther and her cub. The... Read Scat Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Grief & Death, Romance

Neal Shusterman’s 2016 YA science fiction novel Scythe tells the story of two teenagers in the dystopian future who live in a world where death has been defeated. Weighty existential and philosophical questions abound in this first entry of the Arc of the Scythe Series, which has been highly praised for its insight and readability. The second book, Thunderhead, was released in 2018, and 2019’s The Toll completed the trilogy. This first installment explores themes... Read Scythe Summary

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Globalization

Tags Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Asian Literature, Asian Literature, World History, Chinese Literature, Action & Adventure

Sea of Poppies, a novel by Amitav Ghosh published in 2008, tells the intertwining stories of several people who find themselves aboard the Ibis, a former slave ship, in the early 19th century. The principal characters are aboard the ship under varying and more and less desirable circumstances, and employing varying levels of deception. The novel takes place shortly before the First Opium War, and its major themes are of imperialism and colonialism under a... Read Sea of Poppies Summary

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Truth & Lies, Space

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure

See You in the Cosmos, a 2017 middle-grade contemporary novel by Jack Cheng, features 11-year-old Alex Petroski as its main character and narrator. Inspired by scientist Carl Sagan, Alex wants to use a hand-built rocket to send audio recordings about life on Earth to extraterrestrial creatures. Though his quest to communicate with alien life fails, Alex finds himself on a much larger journey toward self-identity and truth. The novel is a Golden Kite Award Winner... Read See You in the Cosmos Summary

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Coming of Age, Animals, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Serafina and the Black Cloak is a middle-grade mystery/fantasy by Robert Beatty. First published in 2015, the novel is set in 1899 at the historic Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. The story features 12-year-old Serafina, a girl of mysterious origins and many unusual skills who lives secretly in the mansion’s basement. When some of the Biltmore guests’ children go missing, Serafina discovers that an evil intruder—the Man in the Black Cloak—is responsible. Serafina sets... Read Serafina and the Black Cloak Summary

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action & Adventure, Middle Eastern Literature, Romance, Religion & Spirituality

Shadow and Bone (2012) by Leigh Bardugo is a young adult fantasy adventure and romance novel. It is Bardugo’s debut novel and the first book in her Shadow and Bone trilogy, also called the Grisha trilogy. Inspired by 19th-century Tsarist Russia, Bardugo creates a darkly magical world characterized by strange armies, extreme wealth and poverty, and personifications of light and shadow. The novel was a New York Times best seller, a Los Angeles Times best... Read Shadow and Bone Summary

Publication year 2004

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags World History, World War II, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Military & War, Science & Nature, Biography

Shadow Divers: The True Story of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II (2004) by Robert Kurson is a celebrated nonfiction adventure book. Kurson, an adventure journalist whose stories have been featured in Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine, is known for his immersive and entertaining style. His first book-length work, Shadow Divers was a New York Times Best Seller and won the... Read Shadow Divers Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil

Tags Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Travel Literature

Shantaram is a 2003 novel by Gregory David Roberts. Written as a semi-autobiographical telling of his adventures as one of the most wanted men in 1980s Australia, Shantaram tells the story of Lindsay Ford (who usually goes by “Lin”), who, after fleeing from an Australian prison, escapes to Mumbai. He falls in love with the country and rises through the ranks of a criminal organization led by Abdel Khader Khan.At the time of its publication... Read Shantaram Summary

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Coming of Age, Animals, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Children`s Literature, Fantasy

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Action & Adventure, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

LeAnne Howe’s Shell Shaker was first published in 2001; this guide refers to the 2007 Kindle edition. Howe, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is a professor of English specializing in Native American studies. A former Fulbright Scholar, Howe received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 from the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas. Shell Shaker received an American Book Award in 2002.One on hand, the novel is a mystery about who killed... Read Shell Shaker Summary

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fate

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy

Paolo Bacigalupi’s young adult dystopian novel Ship Breaker (2010) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the recipient of both the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book and the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult fiction. The story takes place in a postapocalyptic future in the United States, somewhere west of old New Orleans. The human race is facing economic and environmental devastation due to climate change... Read Ship Breaker Summary

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Friendship, Teamwork, Safety & Danger

Tags Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction