Sexual Harassment & Violence

We've carefully curated a Collection of titles that center the experiences and impacts of Sexual Harassment & Violence. Representing a broad range of voices and genres, these titles explore the personal and social effects of violation through violence and sexual harassment through literary forms that include memoirs, poetry, and fiction.

A Well-Trained Wife

by Tia Levings

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Gender Identity, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Religion & Spirituality, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse

The memoir opened on October 28, 2007. Tia Levings, thirty-three, lay on the bathroom floor of the Blue House in Lutherville, Tennessee. Her traumatized eleven-year-old son, William, had just struck her cheek at the top of the stairs. Tia realized her children had witnessed the violence she believed she was hiding. Staying meant raising sons who hit women and a daughter who stayed with men who hit. She resolved that no savior was coming and... Read A Well-Trained Wife Summary

Awkward

by Svetlana Chmakova

Publication year 2015

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Art, Wins & Losses, Science & Technology, Teamwork, Education, Childhood & Youth, Regret

Tags Realistic Fiction, Science & Nature, Education, Children`s Literature, Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Awkward Summary

Bad Indians

by Deborah A. Miranda

Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Indigenous Identity, Colonialism, Memory, Perseverance, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Justice, Self Discovery, Nation, Community

Tags US History, Trauma & Abuse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Depression & Suicide, Education, History of the Americas, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Women`s Studies, Education, World History, Biography

... Read Bad Indians Summary

Bamboo People

by Mitali Perkins

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Education, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Good & Evil, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Military & War, Asian Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Social Class, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Action & Adventure, Arts & Culture

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins is a young adult, coming-of-age, historical fiction novel about two boys—one Burmese, the other Karenni—growing up during an intense period of violence between the Burmese military and the Karenni people. The book was named an “ALA APALA Honor Book, Indies Choice Honor Book of the Year for Young Adults, ALA Top Ten Book in Best Fiction for Young Adults, [and] International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society [and... Read Bamboo People Summary

Banyan Moon

by Thao Thai

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Family

Tags Relationships, Historical Fiction, Vietnam War, Asian Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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Bared To You

by Sylvia Day

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Self Discovery, Sexual Identity

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

A New York Times bestselling novel, Bared to You by Sylvia Day chronicles the relationship between independent Eva Tramell and successful Gideon Cross. Published in 2012, Bared to You explores the impact of trauma as Eva and Gideon navigate their past experiences with childhood sexual abuse. The first book of the Crossfire Saga, Bared to You precedes four novels that document the turbulent relationship of Eva and Gideon. Classified as erotic fiction, Day’s novel features... Read Bared To You Summary

Barracoon

by Zora Neale Hurston

Publication year 2018

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Family, Perseverance, Memory, Language, Race, Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Harlem Renaissance, US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Anthropology, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Grief & Death, History: African , Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Biography

Originally written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018) is the transcribed posthumous autobiography of the life of Oluale “Cudjo Lewis” Kossola (1841-1935), written by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Known for her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was a writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and filmmaker. In all her work, she held a special appreciation for Black life and Black culture of the US South. Her works... Read Barracoon Summary

Bastard Out Of Carolina

by Dorothy Allison

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Coming of Age, Southern Literature, LGBTQ+, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Bastard out of Carolina is a 1992 semi-autobiographical novel by American writer Dorothy Allison. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was adapted for film in 1996. Set in Greenville County, South Carolina, where the author herself grew up in the 1950s, it chronicles the childhood and adolescence of Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright against the backdrop of poverty, class-based discrimination, and both physical and sexual abuse. Like much of Allison’s work, Bastard... Read Bastard Out Of Carolina Summary

Betty

by Tiffany McDaniel

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Indigenous Identity, Family, Grief, Hope, Hate & Anger, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Race, Coming of Age, Environment, Mothers, Siblings, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Trauma & Abuse

... Read Betty Summary

Big Boy Leaves Home

by Richard Wright

Publication year 1936

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Community, Race, Justice

Tags African American Literature, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South

The short story “Big Boy Leaves Home” (1936) is the first published work of Richard Wright (1908-1960), a celebrated African American author who is best known for his 1940 protest novel Native Son. Most of Wright’s poetry, fiction, and nonfiction deal with the experiences of working-class Black people (especially men) in the United States. His protagonists, like “Big Boy,” struggle against overt racism and racist violence in their communities, ultimately facing crises that force them... Read Big Boy Leaves Home Summary

Binding 13

by Chloe Walsh

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Love, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class

Tags Romance, Sports, New Adult, Modern Classic Fiction, Trauma & Abuse

... Read Binding 13 Summary

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell

Publication year 1877

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Social Class, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Animals

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Social Class, European History, Poverty, Religion & Spirituality, Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, Urban Development, Victorian Period, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, World History

Black Beauty was written by English novelist Anna Sewell, and published in 1877. It quickly became extremely popular, and led to increased activism and public concern for the humane treatment of horses and other animals. It went on to become one of best-selling novels of all time, and has been adapted numerous times into films and theatre productions. Sewell used her novel to explore themes such as kindness and responsibility, and to critique social problems... Read Black Beauty Summary

Black Rain

by Masuji Ibuse

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Science & Technology

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World War II, Japanese Literature, Asian History, US History, Trauma & Abuse, Asian Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Black Rain is a 1965 historical novel by Japanese author Masuji Ibuse. The novel blends authentic accounts and information with a fictional plot to describe the aftermath of the destruction of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by an American atomic bomb in 1945. Black Rain was adapted into a film in 1989. This guide uses an eBook version of the 1979 edition of Black Rain, translated into English by John Bester.Plot SummaryShigematsu Shizuma is a... Read Black Rain Summary

Blood Wedding

by Federico García Lorca

Publication year 1932

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Marriage

Tags Tragedy, Drama, Latin American Literature, Dramatic Literature, Trauma & Abuse

Blood Wedding, a Spanish rural tragedy, was written by Federico Garcia Lorca in 1932 while he was director of the travelling theater company Teatro Universitario La Barraca. The play was first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in 1933 under the title Bodas de Sangre. It ran briefly in America on Broadway in 1935, where it was retitled Bitter Oleander. It was not well received; the passions and folkloric culture in the play were too... Read Blood Wedding Summary

Blubber

by Judy Blume

Publication year 1974

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship

Tags Bullying, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

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Breakfast on Pluto

by Patrick Mccabe

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Religion & Spirituality, War

Tags Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Breakfast on Pluto is a novel by the distinguished Irish writer Patrick McCabe, who is known for his experimental style and controversial themes. First published in 1998, the book contains elements of fantasy and historical fiction. It presents the narrative of “the life and times” of Patrick Braden, a transgender person growing up in Ireland and London during the 1960s and 1970s. Through Braden’s journey of self-discovery, McCabe portrays a country amid turbulent political, national... Read Breakfast on Pluto Summary