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.

Farewell to Manzanar

by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Publication year 1973

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Fear, Mental Health

Tags World History, Incarceration, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, Classic Fiction, Biography

Farewell to Manzanar is a memoir published in 1973 by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. It is a nonfiction account that employs first-person narration. Centering on a young girl’s life in the Manzanar Japanese American concentration camp, Farewell to Manzanar is used in school curricula throughout the US and inspired a 1976 film of the same name. The version used for this guide is the 1995 edition from Laurel Leaf Books.Content Warning: This guide discusses the US... Read Farewell to Manzanar Summary

Far North

by Will Hobbs

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Animals, Environment, Fear, Death, Childhood & Youth, Perseverance, Grief, Food

Tags Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature

Set in Canada, American author Will Hobbs’s young-adult novel Far North (1996) follows Gabe Rogers, who lives with his grandparents in Austin, Texas. When Gabe tells his father that he wants to live with him in Canada, his father tells him he may on two conditions. First, Gabe must travel up north to experience the severe cold of the Northwest Territories for one year. Second, he must attend boarding school. While flying through Canada with... Read Far North Summary

Fatherland

by Robert Harris

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Race, Midlife, Future, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Military & War, World War II

... Read Fatherland Summary

Fear And Trembling

by Søren Kierkegaard

Publication year 1843

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil

Tags Existentialism, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Fear and Trembling is an 1843 Christian philosophical tract written by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and published under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio (John of the Silence). The title refers to a passage from the Bible, which demands that “salvation” be worked out “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Most of Fear and Trembling focuses on the biblical story of Abraham, whom God told to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham’s actions (despite his fear... Read Fear And Trembling Summary

Fifty Shades of Grey

by E. L. James

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Fear, Conflict, Power & Greed, Sexual Identity

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction

Book Details & Major ThemesFifty Shades of Grey is an erotic romance novel written by E. L. James and published in 2011. The story has origins as fanfiction for the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. In August 2009, James posted it on fanfiction.com as Master of the Universe under the pen name Snowqueens Icedragon.After reworking the story as original fiction, James published the newly named Fifty Shades of Grey through the Writer’s Coffee Shop, an... Read Fifty Shades of Grey Summary

Final Girls

by Riley Sager

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Revenge, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Death, Appearance & Reality, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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

... Read Final Girls Summary

Finnegans Wake

by James Joyce

Publication year 1939

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Language, Appearance & Reality, Memory, Love, Fear, Perseverance, Nostalgia

Tags World History, Classic Fiction, Irish Literature, Fairy Tale & Folklore

Finnegans Wake is a 1939 novel by James Joyce. The experimental style of the novel has given Finnegans Wake a reputation for being one of the most challenging texts in the English language. Joyce’s use of idiosyncratic language and phrasing, his structural innovations, and his ambitious themes attempt to explore the boundaries between sleep, dreams, and waking life. Though Finnegans Wake has not been adapted into other media in its totality, its influence and legacy... Read Finnegans Wake Summary

Fire and Ice

by Erin Hunter

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Animals

... Read Fire and Ice Summary

Firefight

by Brandon Sanderson

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Revenge, Death, Appearance & Reality, Teamwork, Politics & Government, War, Order & Chaos

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

... Read Firefight Summary

First Confession

by Frank O'Connor

Publication year 1951

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Fear, Religion & Spirituality, Guilt

Tags Classic Fiction, Irish Literature, Education, Education, British Literature, Religion & Spirituality

Drawing on the author’s hardscrabble childhood in early-20th-century Ireland, Frank O’Connor’s “First Confession” chronicles the experience of seven-year-old Jackie, who must ready himself for the emotional and spiritual challenge of his first confession in the Catholic Church. The story was first published as “Repentance” in 1935 but heavily revised in later editions. This guide follows the version most reprinted today from O’Connor’s 1951 collection Traveller's Samples: Stories and Tales. O’Connor (1903-1966), who published more than... Read First Confession Summary

Flashlight

by Susan Choi

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Forgiveness, Loneliness, Memory, Language, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Place, Family, Marriage, Community, Immigration

Tags Coming of Age

... Read Flashlight Summary

Float

by Laura Martin

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Loneliness, Disability, Friendship, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Humor

... Read Float Summary

Forged By Fire

by Sharon M. Draper

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Mothers, Siblings, Fear

Tags Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Social Class, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

Forged by Fire is a novel for young adults written by Sharon M. Draper. It is the second book in the Hazelwood High trilogy, which focuses on the lives of high schoolers in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first published in 1997 and won the Coretta Scott King Award. Forged by Fire focuses on the life of Gerald Nickelby, a young African American boy, and his struggles with physical and emotional abuse. Other books in the... Read Forged By Fire Summary

For Whom the Bell Tolls

by Ernest Hemingway

Publication year 1940

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Marriage, War, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Military & War, World History

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) is a novel by the Modernist American author Ernest Hemingway. The novel tells the story of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer working as a demolition specialist for the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. Robert, sent to blow up a bridge to aid a Republican offensive, enlists the aid of a band of guerrilla fighters in the mountains. Robert falls in love with a woman in their care... Read For Whom the Bell Tolls Summary

Four Perfect Pebbles

by Lila Perl, Marion Blumenthal Lazan

Publication year 1996

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Love, Race, Death, The Past, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags World War II, Holocaust

Four Perfect Pebbles is a Holocaust memoir written by Marion Blumenthal Lazan and co-authored by Lila Perl. It was originally published in 1996, 51 years after Marion and her family were liberated from the death train by Russian troops in Nazi Germany. Marion was five years old when she and her family moved to a refugee camp in Holland, which was later converted into a transit camp for Auschwitz. The Blumenthals also lived at the... Read Four Perfect Pebbles Summary