We can call it destiny; we can call it providence; we can even call it the will of the gods. Whatever words we use, the idea that the events in our lives are beyond our control is powerful — which explains why so many authors, past and present, have used the ever-relevant idea of fate to communicate rich lessons about humanity.
Publication year 1898
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Nation
Tags Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Education, History: World, Social Justice, Russian Literature, Education, Philosophy, Philosophy
“Gooseberries,” by Russian author Anton Chekhov, is a short story that uses symbolism, subtlety, irony, and keen observation of human behavior to explore themes of the quest for happiness, the meaning of life, social expectations, privilege, and social equality. Written in mid-1898, the story is the second in what was later referred to as The Little Trilogy, together with “The Man in the Case” and “About Love.” All three stories explore the definitions of happiness... Read Gooseberries Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Disability, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Military / War, Contemporary Literature, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Animals, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Gwendy’s Button Box is a horror fantasy novella written by the American authors Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. It is the first in a trilogy and was published in 2018. The novel follows Gwendy Peterson, a young and awkward middle school student, whose life changes when she becomes the guardian of a magical button box that has the potential for extreme good and extreme destruction. The novella explores themes such as Fate Versus Free Will... Read Gwendy's Button Box Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 1998 young adult fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling, the second in the Harry Potter series. The story follows Harry’s tumultuous second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including an encounter with Voldemort, the wizard who killed Harry’s parents. Against this fantastic backdrop, Rowling examines such themes as death, fame, friendship, choice, and prejudice. Upon release, the novel became a worldwide bestseller and won several... Read Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Fantasy, Play: Drama, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) is a two-part play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story collaboratively created by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne himself. Set in the universe of the Harry Potter books penned by J. K. Rowling, the play follows events occurring 19 years after the epilogue of the seventh book, The Deathly Hallows (2007); the story revolves around Albus Potter, the second son and middle child... Read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge
Tags Fantasy, Children's Literature, Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the sequel to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is seventh installment in the record-breaking Harry Potter series and the highly-anticipated conclusion of the boy wizard’s story. Since the publication of the first Harry Potter novel in 1997, the series has sold over 500 million copies, and Harry Potter has become the best-selling fantasy series of all time. Released 10 years after the initial publication of the first Harry... Read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Summary
Publication year 1997
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Class, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Relationships
Heartless, first published in 2016, is a contemporary fantasy Young Adult novel by Marissa Meyer. Meyer is best known for her dystopian sci-fi YA series The Lunar Chronicles, inspired by fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White. Set in a fantasy world, Heartless imagines the backstory of Lewis Carroll’s iconic character the Queen of Hearts from the 1876 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Heartless is also popular among the BookTok community. This guide utilizes... Read Heartless Summary
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period, Grief / Death, History: European, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Classic Fiction, Mythology, Play: Tragedy, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy
Publication year -416
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate
Publication year 1598
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Mythology, Renaissance, Love / Sexuality, Education, Education, British Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy, Romance, Classic Fiction
Hero and Leander is an epyllion (brief epic) by 16th-century English poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe. It can also be described as a mythological-erotic poem, one of a number of such poems that were published in England around this time, including Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis. The poem is based on the ancient Greek story of two tragic lovers. The exact date of composition is not known but the poem was published in 1598, five years... Read Hero and Leander Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 428
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period
Hippolytus is a tragedy by Euripides, originally produced in Athens at the City Dionysia of 428 BCE. The tetralogy to which Hippolytus belonged earned Euripides the first prize that year. According to ancient authorities, this was Euripides’s second attempt at a play on the myth of Hippolytus, his earlier play having apparently horrified contemporary Athenians with its allegedly sensational depiction of Phaedra. Euripides’s original Hippolytus no longer survives, but the revised play quickly came to... Read Hippolytus Summary
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags History: European, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classical Period, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Herodotus, “the Father of History,” researched and wrote the Histories in the middle of the 5th century BCE. Composed in the Ionic dialect of ancient Greek, this expansive account of the Greco-Persian war that occurred during the first two decades of the 5th century is the first prose masterpiece in European literature. The work traces the conflict between the Greek city-states and the Persian empire from its origins in the conquest of the Hellenic settlements... Read Histories Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Action / Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Louis Sachar’s 1998 children’s mystery novel, Holes, tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, a 14-year-old boy accused of stealing a pair of shoes. A judge sentences him to 18 months in a camp, where a tyrannical warden has the boys digging five-foot by five-foot holes that appear random. However, their activity hints at the town’s complicated past and an outlaw’s lost treasure. The novel was awarded the 1998 National Book Award and the 1999 Newbery... Read Holes Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality