Class

This thematic collection covers texts that investigate the particularly fraught dynamics and divisions of class, including Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Ernesto Galarza's Barrio Boy.

For the Sake of Elena

by Elizabeth George

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Regret, Disability, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Social Class

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Elizabeth George’s For the Sake of Elena (1992) is the fifth novel in her internationally bestselling Inspector Lynley mystery series. The British-style detective novel follows Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, as they are called to Cambridge University to investigate the brutal murder of a deaf undergraduate, Elena Weaver. As they delve into the victim’s complex life, the detectives must navigate the insular world of academia, fraught with personal secrets... Read For the Sake of Elena Summary

Four Eyes

by Rex Ogle

Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Childhood & Youth, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Education, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags Coming of Age, Bullying

... Read Four Eyes Summary

Fox

by Joyce Carol Oates

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Social Class, Community, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction

... Read Fox Summary

Frankissstein

by Jeanette Winterson

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Art, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary

Freakonomics

by Steven Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Social Class, Economics

Tags Business & Economics, Sociology, Science & Nature, Social Science, Psychology, Psychology, Politics & Government

Rarely does a book about economics attract a large audience, but Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything sold 4 million copies after its 2005 debut. The book, by University of Chicago professor Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner, explains how incentives—the reasons why people do things—can cause unusual and unexpected effects in many areas of life.Praised and reviled for its outside-the-box approach—the work was condemned for suggesting that liberalized abortion laws... Read Freakonomics Summary

Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies

by Seth M. Holmes

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Immigration, Food, Social Class, Community, Globalization, Economics, Education, Politics & Government, Nation, Shame & Pride, Conflict, Justice, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Anthropology, Social Justice, Sociology, Health, Education, Education, Anthropology, Food, Politics & Government

... Read Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies Summary

From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation

by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Hope, Hate & Anger, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Community, Economics, Education, Nation, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt

Tags Black Lives Matter, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History, Business & Economics, Diversity, Social Class, Education, Finance, Poverty, Politics & Government, Trauma & Abuse, Sociology, World History

... Read From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation Summary

Galapagos

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Equality, Power & Greed, Fate, Safety & Danger, Social Class, Economics, War, Hope, Guilt, Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Science Fiction, Humor, Postmodernism, Trauma & Abuse, Finance, Anthropology

Galapagos is a 1985 novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut. The novel’s narrator is the long-dead Leon Trout, a ghost who watched the evolution of humanity of the course of a million years. The story explores the themes Nature Versus Nurture, Pacifism, and Regret.This guide uses an eBook version of the 1985 Dial Press edition.Content Warning: This novel depicts explicit acts of violence and refers to death by suicide.Plot SummaryLeon Trout, the story’s narrator, is... Read Galapagos Summary

Game On

by Navessa Allen

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Revenge, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Horror & Suspense

Navessa Allen’s Game On (2026) is the third novel in the interconnected dark romantic comedy series Into Darkness, following Lights Out and Caught Up. The story centers on Tyler Neumann, an underground bookie who engineers a blackmail scheme against Stella McCormick, a tattoo artist. To clear her younger brother’s massive gambling debt, Stella must pretend to be Tyler’s girlfriend and introduce him to her family’s wealthy social circle, which he plans to exploit for his... Read Game On Summary

Gay New York

by George Chauncey

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Perseverance, Masculinity, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Gender Identity

Tags US History, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, World History

... Read Gay New York Summary

Generations of Captivity

by Ira Berlin

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Social Class

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Education, Education, Sociology, World History

Ira Berlin’s Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves (2003) is an analytical work of historical research and synthesis that traces the development of American slavery from the 17th century to national Emancipation. Berlin compares the development and conditions of slavery across regions including the North (usually New England and the Mid-Atlantic states), the coastal South (or sections of it most relevant to the corresponding timeline), and the Southern Interior, particularly in the Lower... Read Generations of Captivity Summary

Genesis Begins Again

by Alicia D. Williams

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Genesis Begins Again is a contemporary middle grade novel published in 2019 by Alicia Williams, a teacher and an author of children’s fiction and young adult books. Genesis Begins Again, Williams’s debut novel, was met with critical praise for exploring and adapting complex emotional themes such as colorism, addiction, and bullying for a younger audience. Genesis Begins Again was a finalist for the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature and the recipient of the... Read Genesis Begins Again Summary

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

by Talia Hibbert

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Friendship, Art, Forgiveness, Animals, Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Love, Hate & Anger, Grief, Fear, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope

Tags Romance, Humor, Health, British Literature, Disability, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Get a Life, Chloe Brown Summary

Gild

by Raven Kennedy

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Loneliness, Self Discovery, Social Class, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

... Read Gild Summary

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Mental Health, Equality

Tags Satirical Literature, Humor, Postmodernism, Science Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine is a 1965 novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007). The novel is a postmodern satire on wealth, capitalism, and the dark side of the American Dream. Vonnegut’s fifth novel is considered a precursor to Slaughterhouse Five (1969) since it introduces many of the themes that appear in that much-lauded novel. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater contains elements of science fiction, which emerge in a... Read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater Summary