Friendship

The solace and comfort of true friendship — and the pain of its loss — can rival any romantic or familial relationship. In this collection, we present texts that examine the unique qualities and costs of deep friendships.

Full Measures

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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Full of Beans

by Jennifer L. Holm

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Friendship, Family, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Community

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Humor, Historical Fiction, Great Depression

Jennifer L. Holm’s Full of Beans is a 2016 middle-grade historical novel set in 1934. Main character and first-person protagonist Beans Curry is a 10-year-old boy born and raised in Key West, Florida. The Great Depression causes difficulties for the locals of the dilapidated town, including Beans’s family. “New Dealer” Mr. Julius Stone, Jr. arrives with the plan to boost Key West’s failing economy by recreating it as a tourist destination, but Beans decides that... Read Full of Beans Summary

Fuzzy Mud

by Louis Sachar

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Friendship, Community, Fear, Food, Animals, Perseverance, Education, Globalization, Loneliness, Self Discovery, Future, Politics & Government, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense, Survival Fiction, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction

In Newbery medalist Louis Sachar’s sci-fi thriller Fuzzy Mud (2015), Tamaya and Marshall cut through the restricted woods behind their school to avoid a bully—but encounter a strange mud that has the potential to destroy nearly all life on Earth. While Marshall struggles with the emotional effects of being bullied, Tamaya develops an unusually aggressive rash from the mud and worries that in protecting Marshall she has gravely injured Chad. Each character faces difficult ethical... Read Fuzzy Mud Summary

Game Changer

by Tommy Greenwald

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Forgiveness, Guilt, Memory, Conflict, Hope, Mothers, Fathers, Childhood & Youth, Masculinity, Truth & Lies, Fear, Family

Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Gardens of the Moon

by Steven Erikson

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Narrative Poem

Steven Erikson’s Garden of the Moon is an epic fantasy novel and the first installment in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Published in 1999, the novel follows a large cast of characters as they contend with the threat of an ever-expanding empire and grapple with ancient magical forces. Erikson, an anthropologist and archeologist by training, sets the novel in a fictional world peopled by human and non-human races, magic users, and a pantheon... Read Gardens of the Moon Summary

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

by Talia Hibbert

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Friendship, Art, Forgiveness, Animals, Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Love, Hate & Anger, Grief, Fear, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope

Tags Romance, Humor, Health, British Literature, Disability, Modern Classic Fiction

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Ghost Soldiers

by Hampton Sides

Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, War, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope

Tags Military & War, World War II, World History, US History, Biography

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission by American journalist and historian Hampton Sides tells the story of a daring rescue raid on the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan Allied prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines at the end of World War II. 121 US Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and hundreds of armed and unarmed Filipino guerillas successfully rescued over 500 remaining POWs on January 30, 1945. The book details the stories of the American POWs... Read Ghost Soldiers Summary

Ghost Squad

by Claribel A. Ortega

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grandparents

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Religion & Spirituality

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Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

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Girl in the Blue Coat

by Monica Hesse

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction

Monica Hesse’s 2016 novel Girl in the Blue Coat was the winner of the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery. Its events take place over two weeks in January 1943 during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. The narrator, Hanneke Bakker, is an 18-year-old girl who lost her boyfriend, Sebastian “Bas” Van de Kamp, two years before the events of the novel. As far as her parents know, Hanneke works as a receptionist for an undertaker... Read Girl in the Blue Coat Summary

Glitch

by Laura Martin

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes The Past, Friendship, Teamwork, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Science & Technology

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

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Go Ask Alice

by Beatrice Sparks

Publication year 1971

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Depression & Suicide, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

Initially advertised as an anonymous, true story of a teenage girl, Go Ask Alice (1971) by Beatrice Sparks is an epistolary novel, or a fictional work structured as a diary. The diary entries chronicle two years of a teen girl’s experience with social acceptance, family relationships, and drugs—primarily marijuana, LSD, and amphetamines. Although Beatrice Sparks initially claimed to be the diary’s editor, considerable evidence suggests that she’s the sole author of the fictional work. Nevertheless... Read Go Ask Alice Summary

God of Malice

by Rina Kent

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hope, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Horror & Suspense, New Adult

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