Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is the debut novel of Jeannette Winterson, originally published on March 21, 1985 by Pandora Press in London. The story is a semi-autobiographical novel that closely follows the childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood of Jeanette, who, like Winterson, is adopted into a Pentecostal Evangelist household and raised in the church. As she grows, she comes to terms with her sexuality as a lesbian and faces condemnation and judgment from... Read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Summary

Jackson Hurd, who goes by Jack, lives with his parents on a farm in Maine. Jack learns that his parents plan to foster a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Brook. Joseph recently attacked a teacher at his juvenile detention home, and he has an infant daughter that he has never met. When Joseph arrives on the Hurd family farm, he is quiet and easily startled.The boys walk to school together the day after Joseph arrives to... Read Orbiting Jupiter Summary

Ordinary Hazards (2019) is a memoir in verse by Nikki Grimes. This story offers a glimpse of the author’s difficult childhood, including her exposure to addiction, abuse, and neglect. Grimes highlights her journey through adolescence and how writing and her faith helped her navigate her circumstances. The book explores the themes The Impact of Trauma on Memory, The Role of Emotional Support in Building Resilience, and The Healing Power of Creative Expression. Nikki Grimes is... Read Ordinary Hazards Summary

Ordinary People is the first novel written by Judith Guest and chronicles the life of an American family in the aftermath of two traumatic events. The book was first published in 1976 and was the recipient of the Janet Heidinger Kafka prize. It later inspired a film directed by Robert Redford and starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton. Guest went on to write books like Second Heaven (1982), Killing Time... Read Ordinary People Summary

Orphan Island (2017) by Laurel Snyder is a middle-grade novel in the magical realism genre. The story is set on a remote, magical island that is home to nine children but no adults. Once a year, a magic boat appears, bringing a new toddler, and the oldest child must leave. The oldest child remaining on the island becomes the toddler’s caretaker. The novel’s protagonist is Jinny, the new “Elder” of the island. She loves her... Read Orphan Island Summary

Other Birds is a magical realist novel by American author Sarah Addison Allen. It follows several connected lives in an apartment building called Dellawisp Condos and deals with themes of grief and renewal, family dynamics, storytelling, and food as an expression of love.This study guide references the 2022 St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition.Content Warning: The novel briefly mentions childhood sexual abuse.Plot SummaryEighteen-year-old Zoey moves into the Dellawisp Condos, where she has inherited one of the... Read Other Birds Summary

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (1972) is the second book in the beloved Fudge series by American author Judy Blume. While the first book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), follows Peter Hatcher and his mischievous brother Fudge, the second novel in the series focuses on Peter’s classmate and neighbor Sheila Tubman, with whom he shares a mutual dislike.Blume’s books have sold over 90 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 32... Read Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great Summary

Jasmine Warga’s 2019 Other Words for Home is a middle grade novel in verse. Narrated by a 12-year-old Syrian girl, the novel is both a coming-of-age story and a work that explores the refugee experience in America. Other Words for Home earned a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and ALA Booklist and was a Newbery Honor Book. Other works by this author include A Rover's Story, The Shape of Thunder, and My... Read Other Words for Home Summary

Originally published in 1888, Otto of the Silver Hand is a historical fiction novel written and illustrated by Howard Pyle, an American author, illustrator, and teacher whose illustrations became a major influence on modern depictions of medieval times. The story is set in 13th-century Germany, and its protagonist, Otto, grows up in a monastery before being returned to the home of his family, Castle Drachenhausen. Otto knows only peace and cannot comprehend the violence that... Read Otto of the Silver Hand Summary

Mercedes Ron’s Our Fault is a contemporary young adult romance novel. Originally published in 2018 on Wattpad's online writing forum, Our Fault is the third and final installment in Ron’s Culpable Saga. The novel has been published in many languages and sold over 1 million copies. Tracing the forbidden relationship between Noah Morgan and Nick Leister, Our Fault explores themes including the Redemptive Power of Love, the Quest for Personal Growth, and Guilt, Regret, and... Read Our Fault Summary

Our Missing Hearts is a contemporary dystopian fiction novel by New York Times best-selling author Celeste Ng. Published in 2022, it is a reaction to the fears and racism in America following the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel follows two protagonists, Bird and his mother Margaret, as they navigate an oppressive society that victimizes them due to their Asian identity. Margaret, a poet, goes into hiding to help advocate against the government, while Bird, a child... Read Our Missing Hearts Summary

Our Mutual Friend is a Victorian Realist novel by Charles Dickens, published in serial form from 1864 to 1865. The novel is notable among Dickens’s work for its scathing satire of social conditions in London during the era. Our Mutual Friend has been adapted for film, television, and radio and explores themes of The Tension Between Poverty and Dignity, The Relationship Between Names and Identity, and The Rigidity of Social Class.This guide uses the 2008... Read Our Mutual Friend Summary

Our Town (1938) is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder. Wilder served in both World War I and World War II and wrote honestly about life in America. He wrote several plays but considered Our Town to be his best work. It was performed for the first time in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1938. Wilder received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Our Town, and the play is widely considered to be... Read Our Town Summary

Out of Darkness is a young adult historical novel written by Ashley Hope Pérez and published in 2015 by Holiday House of New York. Pérez holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, where her research focused on Latin American literature. A professor of World Literatures at Ohio State University, she is also the author of What Can’t Wait (2011), The Knife and The Butterfly (2012), and Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions about... Read Out of Darkness Summary

Out of the Easy, written by Ruta Sepetys and published in 2013, is a young adult historical fiction novel. Sepetys is an award-winning Lithuanian American writer of young adult historical fiction. Her honors include the Carnegie Medal, awarded to one work of children’s or young adult literature per year. Her novels are international best sellers and are widely translated. Out of the Easy is about Josie, a teenage girl living in the French Quarter of... Read Out of the Easy Summary

Out of the Woods is a 2025 romance novel by Hannah Bonam-Young. It is the second in her Out series and a follow-up to 2024’s Out On A Limb, which features several of the same characters. The novel is Bonam-Young’s fifth, and several of her books have been USA Today bestsellers. Her novels explore the lives of a diverse cast of characters, and her next novel, People Watching, is slated for publication in September 2025... Read Out of the Woods Summary

Written by Canadian environmentalist Farley Mowat and set in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the 1961 middle-grade novel Owls in the Family follows the adventures of an animal-loving boy named Billy and his collection of pets, focusing specifically upon the antics of his two owls, Wol and Weeps. Billy’s decision to save the two young owls changes his life in a myriad of ways, for he and the rest of his motley menagerie, including an old dog named... Read Owls in the Family Summary

Pageboy: A Memoir is an autobiographical memoir by Canadian actor Elliot Page, who has appeared in award-winning films like Juno and Inception, as well as the Netflix original series The Umbrella Academy. Originally published in June 2023, the book immediately became a New York Times bestseller. Page, a transgender man, details his experiences of being assigned female at birth and growing up presenting as a girl. He explores his journey of self-discovery and the long... Read Pageboy: A Memoir Summary

Palace Walk is a 1956 novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. The story takes place in Cairo during World War I and in its immediate aftermath, touching on the political climate of the time as Egypt transitioned from British occupation to nationalism. The novel presents this change through the day-to-day life of the Muslim al-Jawad family. This guide refers to the 1994 Black Swan edition of the novel, which was translated by William Maynard Hutchins... Read Palace Walk Summary

Paper Things is a young adult novel in the realist style written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson and published in 2015. Jacobson wrote Paper Things as a demonstration of empathy for children and youth who become lost in the chaos of life and are forgotten by the world, particularly those who lose their homes and social connections. Paper Things was a Hudson Bookseller’s Best of Summer 2015, an ILA Social Justice Literature Award for Fiction winner... Read Paper Things Summary