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.

A Dog's Life

by Ann M. Martin

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Death, Animals, Food, Place, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Animals, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction

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A First Time for Everything

by Dan Santat

Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Friendship, Love, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Joy, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Future, The Past, Self Discovery, Community, Art, Beauty, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Children`s Literature, Romance, Biography, Coming of Age, Travel Literature

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After Tupac and D Foster

by Jacqueline Woodson

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Race, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Community, Justice, Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Music, African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

After Tupac and D Foster, published in 2008, is Jacqueline Woodson’s fifth middle grade novel and her 24th book overall. It is a coming-of-age story of three African American girls who are best friends growing up in Queens, NY, in the 1990s. During this time, the cultural icon Tupac Shakur is shot, imprisoned, and ultimately killed in a second shooting. These events have a huge impact on the main characters as they grow up and... Read After Tupac and D Foster Summary

After Twenty Years

by O. Henry

Publication year 1906

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History

Note: Readers can access the source on Project Gutenberg here.With a complex relationship between two characters and an unexpected yet inevitable twist at the climax, “After Twenty Years,” published in the collection The Four Million (1906), is a typical example of O. Henry’s storytelling style. The story explores the themes of identity and change, perception and reality, and loyalty, and the twist ending means that each reading of the story is a new experience.The story... Read After Twenty Years Summary

A Game of Thrones

by George R. R. Martin

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal, Love, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Femininity, Grief, Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Justice, Social Class, War, Economics, Siblings, Mothers, Fathers, Marriage, Family, Daughters & Sons, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Disability, Gender Identity, Birth, Childhood & Youth, Death, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Social Class, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Trauma & Abuse, Grief & Death

A Game of Thrones is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by George R. R. Martin and is the first in his long-running A Song of Ice and Fire series. The novel introduces the audience to the fictional world of Westeros, where characters become embroiled in a complicated web of plots, conspiracies, and betrayals as they pursue power. A Game of Thrones won numerous awards on publication and was adapted for television in 2011. This guide... Read A Game of Thrones Summary

A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, Russian Literature, World History

A Gentleman in Moscow is a historical fiction novel by American author Amor Towles, published in 2016. The story follows Count Alexander Rostov, a Russian nobleman who is sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in Moscow’s Metropol Hotel after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.The Count must adjust not only to his new circumstances in a small room in the hotel’s belfry but also to the knowledge that his way of life is disappearing under the Bolshevik regime... Read A Gentleman in Moscow Summary

A Handful of Stars

by Cynthia Lord

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Hope, Loneliness, Regret, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Grandparents, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Immigration, Art, Beauty

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Animals, Arts & Culture

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Alabama Moon

by Watt Key

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Friendship, Grief, Politics & Government

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

First published in 2006, Alabama Moon by Watt Key is a realistic middle grade novel set in 1980 in rural Alabama. After being raised by his survivalist father, 10-year-old Moon Blake knows he can acquire anything he needs from the forest. When his father dies, Moon sets out for Alaska as Pap instructed. On his journey, Moon finds conflict with authorities, peers, “the system,” and a constable intent on breaking his spirit. Alabama Moon was... Read Alabama Moon Summary

Al Capone Shines My Shoes

by Gennifer Choldenko

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Disability, Siblings, Fame, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Disability, Realistic Fiction, World History

Al Capone Shines My Shoes (2009) is the second book in Gennifer Choldenko’s Tales from Alcatraz series. The novel is set on the prison island of Alcatraz during the height of the Great Depression. The protagonist and narrator is 12-year-old Matthew “Moose” Flanagan, whose father works as a guard and electrician at the notorious prison. When Moose receives a note from Al Capone, a famous gangster and prisoner of Alcatraz, he finds himself caught up... Read Al Capone Shines My Shoes Summary

A Lesson Before Dying

by Ernest J. Gaines

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Education, Race

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, is an award-winning work of fiction published in 1993. It received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction that same year. The story is arguably a work of historical fiction based on true accounts of young Black men on death row in Louisiana in the 1940s. Other works by this author include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Gathering of Old Men, and The Sky... Read A Lesson Before Dying Summary

A Little Life

by Hanya Yanagihara

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Masculinity, Disability

Tags Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Relationships, LGBTQ+, Trauma & Abuse, Depression & Suicide, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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