Fear

Should we heed our fears, or work to overcome them? Suppress and ignore them, or face them head-on? Do we fight—or should we flight? These books unpack the universal human emotion of fear.

One Thousand White Women

by Jim Fergus

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Family, Colonialism, Politics & Government

Tags Western, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

One Thousand White Women (1998) is a work of historical fiction by American author Jim Fergus. A work of revisionist Western fiction, the book was Fergus’s debut novel and received the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association’s Fiction of the Year Award. Fergus drew on his experience as a journalist and his interest in the American West to write the story. Presented as the discovered journal of May Dodd, the novel recounts her experience as a... Read One Thousand White Women Summary

On Juneteenth

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Publication year 2021

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Power & Greed, Fear, Memory, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Conflict

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Education, Politics & Government, World History

... Read On Juneteenth Summary

Only If You're Lucky

by Stacy Willingham

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Memory, Revenge, Femininity, Coming of Age, Death, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Only If You're Lucky Summary

On The Nature Of Things

by Lucretius

Publication year 1910

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Fear

Tags Philosophy, Italian Literature, Ancient Rome

On the Nature of Things is a philosophical work by the Roman author Titus Lucretius Carus (whom we call “Lucretius”). It was written in the early 50s BC, in Latin. Though this is a work of science and philosophy, it is also a poem. This work provides a detailed description of Epicurean philosophy, which encompasses theories of atoms, cosmology, theology, and a wide variety of natural phenomena. It also addresses the nature of the mind... Read On The Nature Of Things Summary

On the Road

by Jack Kerouac

Publication year 1955

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Forgiveness

Tags The Beat Generation, Action & Adventure, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Absurdism, US History, American Literature, World History, Travel Literature, Classic Fiction

On the Road, published in 1957, is a novel by prominent Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac that recalls his cross-country travels across the US in the late 1940s. It explores concepts of society, freedom, and—most of all—friendship.Sal Paradise (Kerouac’s pseudonym) is the story’s protagonist and narrator, while other key characters stand in for fellow Beat luminaries in his circle, including poet Allen Ginsberg (best known for the revolutionary 1956 poem Howl) and writer William S... Read On the Road Summary

Onyx Storm

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Fathers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, War, Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

... Read Onyx Storm Summary

Other Words for Home

by Jasmine Warga

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Fear, Race, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Immigration & Refugeeism, Diversity, Race & Racism, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture

... Read Other Words for Home Summary

Out of Darkness

by Ashley Hope Pérez

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Fear, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Family, Siblings, Community, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Femininity, Masculinity

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Grief & Death, US History, Love & Sexuality, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, American Literature, Social Class, World History

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 My Heart

by Sharon M. Draper

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Joy, Loneliness, Memory, Disability, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Music, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Art, Animals, Appearance & Reality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Disability, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Out of My Heart Summary

Parable of the Talents

by Octavia E. Butler

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Hate & Anger, Fear

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality, Trauma & Abuse, Afrofuturism

Parable of the Talents is a 1998 novel by Octavia Butler; it is the sequel to her 1995 novel Parable of the Sower. The novel is a dystopian, science fiction narrative set in a futuristic America ravaged by the climate crisis, violence, and racial and religious persecution. Unlike many science fiction authors, Butler focuses her novel mainly on the experiences of racially diverse characters, including many Black and Latinx characters. Parable of the Talents was... Read Parable of the Talents Summary

Paradise

by Toni Morrison

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Gender Identity, Community, Fear

Tags Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Gender & Feminism, Magical Realism, Race & Racism, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Toni Morrison’s novel Paradise was published in 1997, just a few years after she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. According to Morrison, it is the last book of a trilogy that includes Beloved and Jazz. Morrison is an esteemed American novelist, having also received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1998) and the Coretta Scott King Award for Authors (2005), among other awards. She was educated at Howard University and Cornell University, and... Read Paradise Summary

Penpal

by Dathan Auerbach

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Daughters & Sons, Family, Mothers, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

... Read Penpal Summary