Suddenly Last Summer (1958) is a one-act play by American playwright Tennessee Williams. It was originally staged with another Williams drama (Something Unspoken) in a double bill known as Garden District and met with mixed reviews upon its Broadway premiere. This may have been due to the content of the play, which includes pedophilia, cannibalism, and relationships between men (considered scandalous at the time). Indeed, Williams reportedly modeled Suddenly Last Summer and its two-monologue structure... Read Suddenly, Last Summer Summary

Sugar is the second book in the Louisiana Girls Trilogy, written by award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes. Each of the historical fiction books leans into the genre of Southern literature, and follows three different girls living in Louisiana at various points in history. Sugar, originally published in 2013, was awarded the Jane Addams Book Award by the Jane Addams Peace Association and listed as an ALA Notable Children’s Book by the American Library Association in... Read Sugar Summary

Suite Française, by French-based Ukrainian writer Irène Némirovsky (born 1903), was published in the original French upon its discovery in 2004. However, Némirovsky started writing Suite in 1941, during the Nazi occupation of France, when those with a Jewish ethnic background like her faced persecution under the contemporary antisemitic regime. She and her husband, Michel Epstein, and their two young daughters, Denise and Élisabeth, had fled Paris for Issy-l’Évêque, a rural village in Burgundy. There... Read Suite Francaise Summary

Summer Island (2001) is a novel written by American author Kristin Hannah. The narrative follows Nora Bridge, a successful advice columnist and radio host, as she navigates a scandal that destroys her career and forces her to finally address the family secrets she’s spent decades running from. The novel explores themes such as The Pain of Family Secrets and Estrangement, The Consequences of Fame and Maintaining Appearances, and The Healing Power of Forgiveness and Releasing... Read Summer Island Summary

Elin Hilderbrand’s Summer of ‘69 (2019), her 25th novel, is a family drama that spans the spring and summer of 1969. The book is set on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and historical events such as the Vietnam war, the moon landing, and Ted Kennedy’s car crash at Chappaquiddick provide a vivid backdrop. Only when the characters confront the past and accept the uncertainty of the future, can they embrace what’s most important... Read Summer of '69 Summary

A loose adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, Guadalupe Garcia McCall’s Summer of the Mariposas (2012) follows five Mexican American sisters on an epic journey from Texas to Mexico. Drawing deeply from Mexican folklore, the book’s genre blends magical realism and fantasy. The book was a 2013 Andre Norton Award Nominee, won the Westchester Fiction Award, and made the list of 2012 School Library Journal Best Books. Guadalupe Garcia McCall was born in Piedras Negras in Coahuila... Read Summer of the Mariposas Summary

Annabel Monaghan’s adult novel Summer Romance (2024) is a best-selling contemporary romance set in the suburbs of New York City and written in first-person perspective from the point of view of the protagonist, Ali. Tracing 38-year-old Ali’s experiences over a single summer, the novel explores themes related to autonomy, healing, and balance.Two years after her mom dies and one year after her husband, Pete, leaves her, Ali is struggling to manage her life as a... Read Summer Romance Summary

Summers at the Saint is a novel by American author Mary Kay Andrews, whose work frequently intertwines romance and mystery in the American South. This fast-paced novel takes readers to a Georgia beachside resort nicknamed “the Saint,” where widow Traci Eddings is trying to keep the legacy of her husband’s family alive. A new summer at the Saint begins with a shocking murder and an investigation into a decades-old tragedy, unearthing betrayals and family secrets... Read Summers at the Saint Summary

Judy Blume is the author of the bildungsroman and romance Summer Sisters, which she published in 1998. A prolific author, Blume is famous for her young-reader books, including the canonized Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970), but Summer Sisters is for adults. The book follows the friendship of two girls from different socioeconomic classes from adolescence through adulthood as it addresses themes like The Elusive Power of Sex, The Fluidity of Families, and... Read Summer Sisters Summary

Sunny is a 2018 young adult novel written by American author Jason Reynolds. It is the third of four installments in the New York Times bestselling Track series, in which each volume follows a different member of an elite middle-school track team. This book follows Sunny Lancaster as he struggles to cope with the guilt of losing his mother during his birth, his strained relationship with his father, and his desire to quit track despite... Read Sunny Summary

Sunny Side Up, published in 2015, is a middle-grade realistic graphic novel by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. Set in the 1970s, it is the first in a series of books about a young Pennsylvanian named Sunny Lewin. In Sunny Side Up, it is 1976, and 10-year-old Sunny is spending August in Florida with her grandfather. At first, she is disappointed by his retirement community, but she meets a new friend, Buzz, and the... Read Sunny Side Up Summary

Superfudge is a children’s novel written by Judy Blume first published in 1980. Blume is an author of children’s novels that have won several awards. Superfudge won the Children’s Choice Award in 1981 and the Early Readers Award in 1991. It was adapted into a television series which ran from 1995-1997. Superfudge is the third book in the Fudge series. This guide utilizes the 1988 publication of this novel.Plot SummaryAt the beginning of the novel... Read Superfudge Summary

Surviving the Applewhites is a children’s novel written by American author Stephanie S. Tolan and was first published in 2002.The narrative follows Jake Semple, a troubled teenager forced to move in with the unconventional and eccentric Applewhite family following an incident at school. Jake struggles to fit in at first but gradually sheds his past transgressions and undergoes a transformative journey toward self-discovery and redemption. The novel touches on Personal Growth and Transformation, Individuality Versus... Read Surviving the Applewhites Summary

Published in 1930, Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is a classic British children’s adventure tale that follows the exploits of the four Walker siblings during their summer holiday in England’s Lake District. Permitted by their parents to sail to and stay on an island by themselves, they form a relationship with another set of sailing siblings, the Blackett sisters. The Blackett and Walker children immerse themselves in imaginative play, pretending to be intrepid explorers... Read Swallows and Amazons Summary

Essie Chambers’s debut novel Swift River (2024) is a work of historical and literary fiction set in an old New England mill town in decline. The book explores the existence of “sundown towns,” which required Black people to leave by sunset under penalty of violence, alternating between narratives that take place in 1915, 1980, and 1987. The main character is Diamond Newberry, a Black teenager and the only person of color in the town. Through... Read Swift River Summary

Swim Team is a 2022 middle-grade graphic novel by Johnnie Christmas. The novel centers on Bree, a young Black girl starting over at a middle school in Florida, where she reluctantly joins the swim team. In doing so, Bree must confront her fears about swimming, friendship, and disappointing her father. The story also addresses the history of segregation and access to public swimming facilities. Swim Team appeared on the National Book Award longlist, was a... Read Swim Team Summary

Swordheart (2018), written by Ursula Vernon under the pseudonym of T. Kingfisher, is a fantasy romance novel that blends humor, adventure, and heartfelt emotion. The story centers on Halla, a practical, 36-year-old widow who inherits a large estate, only to be imprisoned by her late husband’s relatives, who want to force her into a marriage to control her new wealth. Desperate, Halla decides to take her own life with a decorative sword but instead summons... Read Swordheart Summary

Sycamore Row (2013) by John Grisham is the sequel to his debut novel and best-selling legal thriller, A Time to Kill (1989). Grisham, a practicing lawyer prior to his career as a novelist, popularized the legal thriller with his prolific work in the genre, frequently highlighting social justice and legal ethics issues. Though marketed as a legal thriller, Grisham himself makes a clear distinction between his legal thrillers and his Ford County novels—aka the Jake... Read Sycamore Row Summary

Sylvia & Aki (2011) by Winifred Conkling is a children’s historical fiction (or, more accurately, fictionalized history) novel inspired by the true stories of Sylvia Mendez and Aki Munemitsu. During World War II, Aki’s family was incarcerated in Poston, Arizona, because of their Japanese heritage. Sylvia’s family rented the Munemitsu farm during this time; however, Sylvia was barred from the nearby, predominantly white Westminster School because of her skin color and Latina surname. Her father... Read Sylvia And Aki Summary

Written by Chrystal D. Giles in 2021, Take Back the Block is a middle grade novel that follows 11-year-old Wes Henderson’s experience of fighting against the gentrification of his neighborhood. Initially, his main priorities are defending his title of “Best Dressed” as he starts middle school and beating his friends at the NBA 2K video game. However, he gains a new perspective when a development company set on gentrifying the city center threatens to purchase... Read Take Back the Block Summary