Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester is the 1848 debut novel of Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. It tells of the Victorian working class in Manchester, England, from 1839 to 1842, focusing on the story of the eponymous young female heroine. Through the experiences of two families—the Bartons and the Wilsons—it explores contemporary political and domestic issues during a time of increased industrialization and class tensions. As with much of Gaskell’s work, Mary Barton is narrated by... Read Mary Barton Summary

Mary Jane (May 2021) is the fifth novel by Jessica Anya Blau, who has worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter, and screenwriter. She has also taught writing courses at the college level. Mary Jane is a coming-of-age story similar in theme and tone to Blau’s other books. These include The Summer of Naked Swim Parties (2008), Drinking Closer to Home (2011), and The Wonder Bread Summer (2013). All of Blau’s novels have been featured on... Read Mary Jane Summary

Mate is a romantic fantasy novel by New York Times bestselling romance author Ali Hazelwood. Originally published by Berkeley Romance in 2025, Mate is the sequel to Hazelwood’s 2024 novel, Bride. When the protagonist and first-person narrator, Serena, discovers she is a hybrid, or part-Human and part-Were (werewolf), she is forced into hiding, afraid that Vampyres, Humans, and Weres will reject her. She ends up in the company of the Northwest Were pack under the... Read Mate Summary

Roald Dahl’s 1988 children’s fantasy Matilda tells the darkly humorous story of a brilliant and kindly little girl who reads grown-up books, plays pranks on her emotionally abusive parents, and uses her telekinetic ability in her battles with a tyrannical school principal.Dahl is widely considered one the greatest children’s storytellers. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide; they include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, and... Read Matilda Summary

Matriarch (2025) is a memoir by fashion designer and businesswoman Tina Knowles. The memoir recounts Knowles’s experiences from her childhood in Galveston, Texas, through to the present day, detailing Knowles’s rise to success as a designer while incorporating more vulnerable aspects of her marriage to Mathew Knowles and her experience mothering music icons Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. The memoir explores The Complexities of Motherhood and Family Dynamics, Resilience in the Face of Adversity, and The... Read Matriarch Summary

Maus by Art Spiegelman was the first graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize. It originally ran in Spiegelman’s Raw magazine between 1980 and 1991 before receiving mainstream attention as two collected volumes, Maus I in 1986 and Maus II in 1991. This guide is based on the 1996 complete edition. This historic memoir interlaces two narratives, one of Spiegelman’s Jewish father as he survives World War II Poland and the Auschwitz concentration camp, and... Read Maus Summary

Published in 1998, Rodman Philbrick’s Max the Mighty is a novel for middle grade and young adult readers. The sequel to the award-winning book Freak the Mighty, it continues the story of Max Kane, a giant of a 14-year-old who rescues book-loving schoolmate Rachel from her abusive stepfather, after which she and Max go on the run from the authorities.Max the Mighty won a place on the National Council of Teachers of English annual annotated... Read Max the Mighty Summary

Maybe in Another Life by American author Taylor Jenkins Reid is a romance novel published in 2015 by Simon and Schuster. Maybe in Another Life stands alone from much of Reid’s other work; she has also written Carrie Soto, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Malibu Rising in what has been called the “famous women quartet.” With recurring characters, the four novels share themes and exist within the same... Read Maybe in Another Life Summary

Maybe Next Time (2023) is a work of adult contemporary fiction written by Cesca Major. In modern-day London, literary agent Emma Jacobs experiences a stressful day that ends with the death of her beloved husband, Dan, on the 15th anniversary of their first meeting. When Emma wakes up the next morning, it’s Monday again, and Dan is alive. Stuck in an endless repetition of the same day, Emma cycles through confusion, despair, and then optimism... Read Maybe Next Time Summary

Measuring Up (2020) is a middle-grade graphic novel written by Lily LaMotte and illustrated by Ann Xu. It tells the story of 12-year-old Cici when her family immigrates from Taiwan to Seattle. She enters a competition to win money so that her A-má can visit, and she comes to recognize that cooking is her passion. It is a story of the immigrant experience in the US and the ways in which children have to wrestle... Read Measuring Up Summary

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes chronicles the burgeoning romance between Will Traynor, a quadriplegic man, and Louisa Clark, his caregiver. Published in 2012, Me Before You is the first novel in Moyes’s trilogy and is followed by After You (2015) and Still Me (2018). The novel was adapted into a 2016 film starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. Written from various perspectives, Me Before You explores the complexities of disability, love, and euthanasia.This guide... Read Me Before You Summary

Medea is a Classical Roman tragedy, written by the philosopher and playwright Seneca around 50 CE. The play is an example of the “fabula crepidata” genre, meaning it draws on Greek mythology for its plot. The play recounts the story of Medea, a mythological figure famous for killing her own children as an act of revenge when her husband, Jason, betrays her. This myth had already been recounted by other Classical authors, such as Euripides... Read Medea Summary

Richard Wagamese’s Medicine Walk (2014) follows 16-year-old Franklin Starlight on his journey to find the perfect burial site for his terminally ill father, Eldon Starlight, a member of the Ojibway tribe of Indigenous peoples. Frank carries Eldon on horseback into the wilderness where Eldon wishes to die in the traditional manner of Ojibway warriors—facing East so that he can see the last sunrise of his last day on earth.Eldon abandoned Franklin, who goes by Frank... Read Medicine Walk Summary

Kristin Harmel’s 2026 novel, Meet Me in Paris, is an ensemble contemporary romance that intertwines the lives of several groups of Americans visiting the French capital. Harmel, a bestselling author known for historical fiction novels like The Book of Lost Names, returns to the contemporary romance genre in which she began her career. The story follows an ensemble cast, including a woman with terminal cancer on a final trip with her daughter, a 99-year-old songwriter... Read Meet Me in Paris Summary

Set in the mid-twentieth century and spanning two decades, the novel follows Odette Honoré, a young Creole woman from New Orleans. In this context, Creole refers to a mixed-race community with French, African, and Spanish heritage whose members occupied an ambiguous position in the city's racial hierarchy. The story traces Odette's path from New Orleans to Los Angeles as she navigates family loyalty, colorism, suppressed desire, and her emergence as an artist.In 1944, nineteen-year-old Odette... Read Meet Me in the Garden Summary

Meet the Newmans (2026) is a historical fiction novel by Jennifer Niven, the bestselling author of young adult books such as All the Bright Places (2015) and Holding Up the Universe (2016). The novel is set in 1964 and centers on the Newman family, stars of a long-running family sitcom modeled after shows like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. When patriarch and showrunner Del Newman falls into a coma after a car accident, his... Read Meet the Newmans Summary

Authored by Angela Cervantes, Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring is a middle grade novel published in 2018. It tells the story of Paloma Marquez, a 12-year-old Kansas girl who must spend four weeks of her summer vacation in Mexico after her mother is awarded a research fellowship there. Her mother is eager for Paloma to immerse herself in her late father’s native country to learn about its rich heritage, but Paloma... Read Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring Summary

Memphis is the first novel by African American author Tara M. Stringfellow, originally published in 2022. Stringfellow’s story follows three generations of a Black Southern family from 1937 to 2003. The narration takes the form of fragments that move back and forth in time to piece together the histories of the women in the family. Memphis is a national bestseller and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize in Fiction. Tara Stringfellow is an author, former... Read Memphis Summary

Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2018), a contemporary middle-grade novel by Meg Medina, centers on a young girl facing major changes to her family dynamics. The book won numerous awards, including the 2019 Newbery Medal. Medina, a founding member of the “We Need Diverse Books” movement, has written many picture books, young adult books, and middle-grade novels about strong girls who overcome adversity and step up to challenges.Plot SummaryEleven-year-old Merci Suárez is the child of Cuban... Read Merci Suárez Changes Gears Summary

Mercury Pictures Presents is a tragi-comic historical novel, set between Mussolini’s Italy and Hollywood’s golden age. It was first published by Anthony Marra in 2022. Marra is the award-winning author of three novels and many short stories. Mercury Pictures Presents focuses on the experience of the immigrant community in Hollywood around the time of World War II and is an exploration of the complex relationship between life and art and the difficulty of maintaining moral... Read Mercury Pictures Presents Summary