Signs Preceding the End of the World is a 2009 novel by Mexican author Yuri Herrera. The novel examines personal and geopolitical issues concerning the United States-Mexico border, although it does not mention these nations by name, referring instead to North and South. Herrera is a writer, professor, and political scientist, currently teaching at the University of New Orleans. Herrera’s first novel, Kingdom Cons, won the Premio Binacional de Novela Joven Frontera de Palabras (Border... Read Signs Preceding the End of the World Summary

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by Mary Ann Evans, published under the pseudonym George Eliot. The realist novel portrays the life of a weaver in 1800s England against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. The novel has been adapted into films, radio plays, theatrical productions, and television shows.This guide refers to the 2021 Alma Classics edition. Content Warning: This guide discusses addiction and depression, which feature in Silas Marner.Plot SummarySilas... Read Silas Marner Summary

Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow is the fourth installment in the Nevermoor series of middle-grade fantasy novels written by Australian author Jessica Thompson. Previous installments saw Morrigan join the elite Wundrous Society, learn that she is a rare and talented Wundersmith, and agree to apprentice with Nevermoor’s most hated criminal. Now, 13-year-old Morrigan Crow suddenly learns that her mother’s family wants to take her in. When her aunt’s groom is murdered on their wedding... Read Silverborn Summary

Simon Sort of Says is a middle grade realistic fiction novel written by Erin Bow and originally published in 2023. The novel deals with the subject of coping with the aftermath of surviving a school shooting and is narrated from the perspective of seventh-grader Simon. Simon consistently demonstrates The Importance of Humor in Life’s Darkest Moments and heals through The Redemptive Power of Friendship. Simon’s story also illustrates Healing From Trauma as a Family and... Read Simon Sort of Says Summary

American author Becky Albertalli’s YA romance and coming-of-age novel, Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) tells the story of protagonist Simon Spier. Simon is blackmailed about his anonymous email relationship with another boy as a fellow classmate threatens to out him as gay if he doesn’t help them get a date with his friend. Albertalli, a psychologist who worked with LGBTQ children and teens, explores themes related to growing up and questions whose experiences... Read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Summary

Madeleine Thien is a Canadian writer whose work explores the trans-cultural world of Asian art, politics, and family life within Canada’s diasporic Asian Communities. She was born in 1974 to a Malaysian Chinese father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother. Thien studied contemporary dance but switched to creative writing as an undergraduate in college. She earned her MFA in writing from the University of British Columbia.Thien’s collection of short stories, Simple Recipes (2001, Little Brown... Read Simple Recipes Summary

Sing, Unburied, Sing is author Jesmyn Ward’s third novel, and her second (following 2011’s Salvage the Bones) to win the National Book Award for Fiction. Published in 2017, Sing, Unburied, Sing touches on many of the same issues Ward’s other novels do, including the racial and class divisions of the contemporary American South; the novel takes place against the backdrop of events like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as well as societal trends like... Read Sing, Unburied, Sing Summary

Somme Sketcher’s Sinners Anonymous (2021) is a dark mafia romance that gained significant popularity on social media platforms like TikTok. The novel tells the story of Rory Carter, a young woman who agrees to marry an aging and cruel mafia capo, Alberto Visconti, in a desperate bid to protect her father and her hometown of Devil’s Dip. Her already precarious situation is complicated by the return of Alberto’s nephew, Angelo “Vicious” Visconti, a dangerously attractive... Read Sinners Anonymous Summary

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a young adult (YA) bildungsroman published in 2001 by Ann Brashares. It is the first in the eponymous series of five best-selling novels, two of which were adapted into feature films. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants follow Carmen, Lena, Bridget, and Tibby, four teenage girls who share an inseparable bond and a pair of “magical” pants that fit each of them perfectly. During their first summer apart... Read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Summary

In the novel Sister of My Heart, the Indian-born American author and poet Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explores issues of family, womanhood, and diasporic experience, constantly affirming and exploring the redemptive power of storytelling. Divakaruni’s first collection of stories, Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award, a PEN Josephine Miles Award, and a Bay Area Book Reviewers Award. Her novel The Mistress of Spices was released as a film of the same name in 2005. Sister of My Heart was made into a television series... Read Sister of My Heart Summary

Sisters is a middle-grade graphic novel written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier and colored by Braden Lamb. Raina Telgemeier wrote the graphic novel about a real experience she had on a road trip with her sister, Amara. The graphic novel is thus autobiographical of this time in her life and of her complicated relationship with her younger siblings and parents. Sisters looks at issues of facing fears, connecting with others, and finding one’s place in... Read Sisters Summary

Angeline Boulley’s 2025 young adult thriller, Sisters in the Wind, follows 18-year-old Lucy Dolce Smith, a member of the Anishinaabe community who experienced abuse as a child ward of the state. Lucy’s precarious adult independence is shattered by a diner bombing. As she recovers from this experience, she comes into the care of Daunis Fontaine, the best friend of Lucy’s deceased half-sister. Plunged into a world of new dangers and family secrets, Lucy must navigate... Read Sisters in the Wind Summary

Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom is a memoir by Christine Brown Woolley, who is best known for her decades-long appearance on the popular TLC reality series Sister Wives. In her memoir, Woolley details her experience of polygamy, incorporating humor and self-reflection to explore how her marriage to Kody Brown and interactions with her three sister wives influenced her eventual departure from her fundamentalist sect of the Mormon church. The memoir... Read Sister Wife Summary

As the play opens, a double-sided Kandinsky painting revolves above the stage, alternating between a vibrant side and a somber side. Ouisa and Flan Kittredge, a rich, middle-aged couple, come on stage and frantically tell the audience about the events of the previous evening. They had invited an extremely rich friend, Geoffrey, to dinner so that Flan, an art dealer, could borrow two million dollars to buy a Cezanne painting. Before they can leave for... Read Six Degrees of Separation Summary

Six Records of a Floating Life (Chinese: 浮生六記 ‘Fu Sheng Liu Ji’) is a classic work of Chinese literature written by scholar and author Shen Fu (1763-1825). The text combines elements of memoir and poetry as the author recounts and reflects upon his own life. It is a major source of information on domestic life during the Qing Dynasty and is one of the most celebrated pieces of 19th-century Chinese literature.Six Records of a Floating... Read Six Records of a Floating Life Summary

Published in 2022 and written by A. F. Steadman, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman is the first installment in the middle-grade Skandar series. The book focuses on unicorn lore and follows Skandar, a brand-new unicorn rider whose unicorn wields special yet outlawed magical abilities. While most unicorns and their riders have affinities with earth, fire, air, or water, Skandar’s unicorn has an affinity with spirit. As a secret spirit wielder, Skandar... Read Skandar and the Unicorn Thief Summary

Published in 2001 by Joseph Bruchac, Skeleton Man tells the story of Molly, a contemporary young Mohawk girl who awakens one morning to discover that her parents have disappeared. Sent to live with the legendary Skeleton Man, who poses as her great-uncle, Molly uses her wits, ingenuity, and strength to free herself and her parents from the gruesome and evil creature. Bruchac bases the novel on a folk tale that he attributes to the Mohawk... Read Skeleton Man Summary

Skipping Christmas is a 2001 satirical novella by John Grisham. It tells the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a married couple whose adult daughter, Blair, moves to Peru a month before Christmas. Facing their first Christmas without their daughter, and disillusioned by the holiday’s excesses, they decide to forego Christmas that year and go on a cruise instead. However, their decision brings them into conflict with their friends and neighbors, who expect them to... Read Skipping Christmas Summary

Cebo Campbell’s debut novel Sky Full of Elephants (2024) merges literary genres, including speculative fiction, magical realism, and didacticism. Campbell creates a United States where white people drown themselves and a Black father and his multiracial daughter try to establish positive identities in the new landscape. Aside from The Search for a Unified Identity, the story focuses on the themes of Black Trauma Versus White Guilt and Creating Holistic, Inclusive Systems. Campbell co-founded the creative... Read Sky Full of Elephants Summary

Skylark (1994) is the sequel to Patricia MacLachlan’s Newberry Medal-winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. Skylark continues the story of Sarah Wheaton, Jacob Witting, and his two children, Anna and Caleb. Set in the late 19th century on the American prairie, the novel explores themes of The Power of Nature, Hope and Resilience in the Face of Hardship, and The Importance of Family and Home as the Witting family faces the devastating effects of a... Read Skylark Summary