Action & Adventure

The Scarlet Pimpernel

by Emma Orczy

Publication year 1905

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Fear, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Romance, Social Class, Mystery & Crime Fiction, French Literature, World History

Published in 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emma Orczy, is a historical romance adventure novel about a wealthy English baronet with a secret life as a hero who rescues the innocent from the French Reign of Terror. Told mainly from the viewpoint of his wife, the book—based on the successful London play of the same name—birthed a series of Scarlet Pimpernel novels, movies, and TV productions. It ushered in the secret-identity genre of adventure... Read The Scarlet Pimpernel Summary

The Scorch Trials

by James Dashner

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Friendship

Tags Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

The Scorch Trials is a Young Adult novel by James Dashner, and is the second installment in the Maze Runner Series. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the novel deals with the mysterious and devastating events surrounding a group of teenagers who are being manipulated and tested by a seemingly omnipotent agency known as WICKED. The novel takes place immediately after the events that take place in The Maze Runner, leaving Thomas, Teresa and their friends... Read The Scorch Trials Summary

The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Environment

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure

The Scorpio Races (2011) is a young adult fantasy romance novel by Maggie Stiefvater. It takes place on the small fictional island of Thisby. Each November, the majestic yet dangerous capaill uisce, or water horses, emerge from the water, and men capture and train them for the infamous Scorpio Races. Sean Kendrick, whose father died in the races when Sean was 10, has spent his life training horses and raising them for the wealthy Benjamin... Read The Scorpio Races Summary

The Sea of Monsters

by Rick Riordan

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Relationships, Arts & Culture, Parenting, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure

Book DetailThe Sea of Monsters, published by Miramax Books in 2006, is the second installment of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians fantasy adventure series for young readers. The novel begins the summer after the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief, ends and follows returning heroes Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase on a quest to save Camp Half Blood. The Sea of Monsters was a New York Times best seller and Book... Read The Sea of Monsters Summary

The Sea of Trolls

by Nancy Farmer

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Coming of Age, Friendship, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mythology

Published in 2004, Nancy Farmer’s The Sea of Trolls is a middle grade historical fantasy novel that blends Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon culture, and folklore into an adventurous quest narrative. The story follows Jack, an eighth-century Saxon boy who becomes the apprentice of a Druid bard. After Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are captured by Vikings, he must journey to Jotunheim, home of the ice trolls, to save Lucy from the wicked Viking queen, who... Read The Sea of Trolls Summary

The Season of Styx Malone

by Kekla Magoon

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Trust & Doubt, Family

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

The Season of Styx Malone (2018) is a contemporary realistic middle grade novel written by Kekla Magoon. Caleb Franklin, 10, seeks a summer of unique adventures to prove he is the opposite of ordinary, despite his father’s insistence that Caleb and his brother Bobby Gene never stray beyond the town limits. Then Caleb meets Styx Malone, a cool, daring 16-year-old boy in the foster care system who shows the Franklin brothers a quick way to... Read The Season of Styx Malone Summary

The Sea-Wolf

by Jack London

Publication year 1904

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Social Class, Death

Tags Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Psychological Fiction, Social Class, American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction

Jack London’s novel The Sea-Wolf, originally published in 1904, draws inspiration from an ocean voyage London took in the Pacific nearly a decade prior to his writing the novel. London himself was an avid adventurer and once spent seven and a half months on the crew of the Sophia Sutherland. This study guide references the Signet Classics 2013 edition of The Sea-Wolf.Along with London’s other famous works, The Call of the Wild and White Fang... Read The Sea-Wolf Summary

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by James Thurber

Publication year 1939

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Literature, Masculinity, Marriage

Tags American Literature, Humor, Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

First published in the New Yorker in 1939, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is James Thurber’s short story about the flamboyant fantasy life of a timid suburban Everyman. A gentle satire of the human imagination (among other things), the story struck an immediate and lasting chord in the midcentury American imagination and is widely regarded as a comic masterpiece. Its distinctive mixture of pathos and parody made it one of the most anthologized short... Read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Summary