Action & Adventure

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Grief

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Technology, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure

Marie Lu’s young adult science fiction Warcross (2017) is the first book in the Warcross series. Set in the future, bounty hunter Emika Chen takes part in an international online game to track down her mark. Lu writes primarily dystopian and science fiction for young adults and is well known for her bestselling trilogy, Legend. Kirkus Reviews included Warcross on its Best Teen Science Fiction books of 2017. This guide references the 2017 Random House... Read Warcross Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, World History, Action & Adventure

Set in the 1830s and beginning on a slave plantation in Barbados, Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black tells the story of the eponymous Washington and his unlikely adventures as he meditates upon the complexities of race, relationships, science, and art. In 1830, Wash is an uneducated, orphaned slave boy around 10 or 11 years old taken under the wing of Big Kit, a powerful and intimidating field slave. Big Kit protects him from the other slaves... Read Washington Black Summary

Publication year 1986

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Nostalgia, Future

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure

Watchmen is a limited series of comic books written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, published serially from 1986 to 1987 and then republished as a single volume in 1987. Set in an alternate 1985 in which masked vigilantism has been banned, Watchmen follows a cadre of “costumed heroes”—some of whom work for the government—who uncover a plot hatched by one of their own to stop global nuclear annihilation by killing a significant... Read Watchmen Summary

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Conflict, Perseverance

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

Published in 1972, Watership Down, by Richard Adams, is a fantasy-adventure novel for middle-grade readers and above that follows a group of rabbits as they search for a new home and defend it against enemies. Widely considered a children’s literature classic, the book is also beloved by adults for its engaging characters, action sequences, and lyrical descriptions of landscape. Its resemblance to great human sagas such as the Trojan War, the biblical Exodus, and the... Read Watership Down Summary

Publication year 1814

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Coming of Age, The Past, War

Tags British Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction

Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since, first published anonymously in 1814, was Scott’s first novel. Often comical and with aspects of a picaresque novel, Waverley depicts the travels of the English soldier Edward Waverley during the Jacobite uprising of 1745. Scott was a celebrated poet and writer of works such as Ivanhoe and The Lady of the Lake. He is best known for his nuanced depictions of Scottish life. Waverley was wildly... Read Waverley Summary

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Place, Family, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Horror & Suspense, World History

Publication year 1966

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Space, Masculinity

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Psychology, Technology, Philosophy, American Literature, Cold War, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale is a short story by renowned sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, first published in April 1966 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story is about a man named Douglas Quail, who visits a medical facility which promises to implant fake memories about visiting Mars in his head. The story has twice been adapted into film, though both movie adaptations change the title to Total Recall... Read We Can Remember It for You Wholesale Summary

Publication year 1942

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Femininity, Race, Animals, Place, Colonialism, Safety & Danger

Tags Action & Adventure, Travel Literature, World History, Technology, Technology, Biography

West With the Night (1942) is a memoir by Beryl Markham. Markham writes about her childhood among indigenous Kenyans, who accepted and included the English girl in their traditional customs. The author grew up hunting with a spear and speaking Swahili while also learning about raising and training racehorses from her father, Charles Clutterbuck. The danger and adventure she experienced as a child became the hallmarks of her living experiences as an adult. A chance... Read West with the Night Summary

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Arts & Culture

We Were Here is a Newbury-Award-winning, young adult novel written by Matt De La Pena. Published in 2011, the first person narrative is written in diary form in the voice of the teenaged protagonist, Miguel Castaneda. The story begins with Miguel’s description of his admission to juvenile hall, a detention facility near his family home in Stockton, California. His father, a member of the US Army, was killed in action the preceding year. While the... Read We Were Here Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Community, War, Order & Chaos, Coming of Age

Tags Asian History, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure, Biography

Chanrithy Him’s memoir, When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge, was first published in 2000. This study guide refers to the 2001 Kindle edition. In the text Him details her experiences as a young child in Cambodia. Him was only five when the autocratic communist Khmer Rouge took over the country, and she recounts the trauma she endured during the five years the regime remained in power. Him’s father was beaten to... Read When Broken Glass Floats Summary

Publication year 1994

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Asian History, Education, Education, Medieval, World History, Chinese Literature, Travel Literature, Action & Adventure

When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433 is a nonfiction book published in 1994 by Louise Levathes. In a narrative that predates the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Levathes examines a three-decade period in the early 15th century when China launched seven major sea voyages. Levathes holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and worked for ten years as a staff writer for National Geographic. In 1990, she... Read When China Ruled the Seas Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hope, Memory, Coming of Age, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Grandparents, Community, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Children`s Literature, Chinese Literature

When the Sea Turned Silver by Grace Lin takes readers on a journey through a richly imagined world full of imagery and Chinese folklore. The novel follows the adventures of Pinmei and Yishan as they navigate themes of Finding and Creating Identity, The Power of Stories, and how Perception Shapes Reality. Recognized for its storytelling and cultural depth, When the Sea Turned Silver was a 2016 National Book Award Finalist. Critics praise the novel for... Read When the Sea Turned to Silver Summary

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Chinese Literature, Action & Adventure

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a middle grade fantasy fiction novel that takes inspiration from Chinese folklore and details the journey of a young girl, Minli, as she embarks on a hero's quest to improve her family’s circumstances. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon became a New York Times bestseller and received a Newbery Honor Award and the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. Lin penned a companion book... Read Where The Mountain Meets The Moon Summary