Childhood & Youth

"We look at the world once, in childhood," writes poet Louise Glück. "The rest is memory." As adults, our childhood may lie in the past, but its influence never leaves us. This collection gathers texts that depict and examine the innocence and insights of childhood and youth.

Saving Shiloh

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Justice, Family, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Relationships

... Read Saving Shiloh Summary

Scar Island

by Dan Gemeinhart

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Fear, Guilt, Conflict, Shame & Pride, Safety & Danger, Childhood & Youth, Community

Tags Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction

... Read Scar Island Summary

Scrawl

by Mark Shulman

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class

Tags Realistic Fiction, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Poverty, Humor

Scrawl (2010) is a young adult novel by American author Mark Shulman, who has written more than 200 books for young readers. Scrawl follows a young teenage bully, Tod Munn, and his experience in detention where he is required by a guidance counselor to write about himself in a journal. In the journal, Tod describes his struggles with coming from a low-income family, low self-esteem, and his problematic behavior at school. The novel was a... Read Scrawl Summary

Secret Coders

by Gene Luen Yang

Publication year 2015

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Perseverance, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Appearance & Reality, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction

... Read Secret Coders Summary

Secrets of a Charmed Life

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Death, War, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, British Literature, Military & War, World History

Secrets of a Charmed Life is a historical fiction novel written by Susan Meissner and published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Random House, in 2015. The book follows two sisters in wartime England, Emmeline and Julia Downtree, who are separated from each other during the Blitz. The book also follows an interview between American Oxford student Kendra Van Zant and Blitz survivor and artist Isabel MacFarland. The novel explores the themes of... Read Secrets of a Charmed Life Summary

Severance

by Ling Ma

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Immigration, Place, Language, Family, Safety & Danger, Mothers, Death, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Daughters & Sons, The Past, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Grief, Fathers, Nostalgia, Apathy, Loneliness, Self Discovery

Tags Satirical Literature, Science Fiction, Survival Fiction, Chinese Literature, Immigration & Refugeeism, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Severance Summary

Shipwreck

by Gordon Korman

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

... Read Shipwreck Summary

Shooter

by Walter Dean Myers

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth

Tags Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Mental Illness, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

First published in 2004, Shooter is a young adult novel by Walter Dean Myers about a school shooting. It delves into the perpetrator’s psychological profile as well as the cultural forces behind the violence. The story examines US gun culture, bullying, drug abuse, and dysfunctional family dynamics as causal factors. Myers tells the story through official interviews, police reports, newspaper clippings, and a diary.Myers has written more than 70 books for children and young adults... Read Shooter Summary

Simon Sort of Says

by Erin Bow

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Space, Family, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Humor

... Read Simon Sort of Says Summary

Sisters

by Raina Telgemeier

Publication year 2014

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Fear, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Daughters & Sons, Animals, Art, Order & Chaos

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Sisters Summary

Skinnybones

by Barbara Park

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Teamwork, Education, Wins & Losses

Tags Humor, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Sports

... Read Skinnybones Summary

Skippy Dies

by Paul Murray

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Death, Friendship

Tags Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

Skippy Dies, published in 2010, is a tragicomic novel by Irish author Paul Murray. Murray originally wrote the novel as a short story before expanding it into a longform work of fiction, basing the Catholic boarding school where the book is set on the prestigious secondary school the author attended in Dublin.The novel was nominated for the longlists and shortlists of several distinguished awards, including the Booker Prize, the Irish Novel of the Year, and... Read Skippy Dies Summary

Slob

by Ellen Potter

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Justice, Science & Technology, Equality, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Appearance & Reality, Food, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Family, Siblings, Friendship, Mothers, Teamwork, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Community, Education

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Humor, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Bullying, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse

... Read Slob Summary

Slugfest

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Regret, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Friendship, Teamwork, Community, Truth & Lies

Tags Sports, Children`s Literature

... Read Slugfest Summary

Small as an Elephant

by Jennifer Jacobson

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Perseverance, Hope, Love, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Place, Family, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

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

Small as an Elephant is a middle grade realistic fiction novel written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson and originally published in 2011. In addition to writing, Jacobson teaches literacy workshops across the US. She grew up in Maine, which is the inspiration for the setting of many of her stories. Small as an Elephant examines several themes related to unstable attachment, support, and hardship. The novel received more than 10 awards, including the Maine Lupine Award... Read Small as an Elephant Summary

Smile

by Raina Telgemeier

Publication year 2010

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

Smile by Raina Telgemeier is an autobiographical graphic novel and the winner of the 2011 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens. It originated as a weekly webcomic in 2004 before Telgemeier expanded it into a book in 2010. Telgemeier is the writer and illustrator, while Stephanie Yue is the colorist. Smile is a coming-of-age tale, set in a San Francisco suburb from 1989 to 1992, in which Telgemeier struggles with preteen life after losing... Read Smile Summary

So Long, See You Tomorrow

by William Maxwell

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Fathers, Family, Daughters & Sons, Guilt, Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

So Long, See You Tomorrow is the acclaimed final novel by American writer and editor William Maxwell. Originally published in two parts in New Yorker magazine in 1979, the book appeared the following year and received the prestigious National Book Award in 1982. Maxwell was the fiction editor of the New Yorker from 1936 to 1975, making him one of the most influential literary editors of the era. He worked closely with J. D. Salinger... Read So Long, See You Tomorrow Summary