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.
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Family
Tags Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ, Humor
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1929
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Military / War, Historical Fiction, WWI / World War I, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
All Quiet on the Western Front is a 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque which details the experiences of German soldiers at the frontlines of World War I. At the heart of the novel are graphic portrayals of trench warfare and the psychological trauma inflicted on the soldiers as a result. The novel presents a realistic portrait of a horrific war and provides unflattering accounts of the elite classes responsible for such mass destruction. The... Read All Quiet on the Western Front Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Historical Fiction
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Disability, Self Discovery, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Korean Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Mental Illness
Publication year 1975
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship
Tags History: U.S., History: World, Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, American Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
American Buffalo is a 1975 off-Broadway play written by American playwright David Mamet. It first premiered in Chicago’s Goodman Theater in 1975, reaching Broadway in 1977. Along with two other plays, The Duck Variations (1971) and Sexual Perversity in Chicago (1974), American Buffalo established Mamet as a reputable writer. The play explores friendship and greed among the working classes. The 1976 publication from Grove Press (New York) serves as the basis for this guide.The play... Read American Buffalo Summary
Publication year 1927
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: Class
Tags Classic Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Action / Adventure, Satire, Class
Publication year 2020
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Teams, Society: Community, Society: Class, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Sports, Race / Racism, History: U.S., African American Literature, History: World, Inspirational, Biography
Publication year 1964
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Travel Literature, American Literature, French Literature, Classic Fiction, Biography
A Moveable Feast was written by Ernest Hemingway and published posthumously in 1964, three years after his death. The title, A Moveable Feast, is a play on the term used for holy days that do not consistently fall on the same date every year. The memoir’s structure mirrors this concept, featuring 20 separate yet related stories that make up Hemingway’s own collection of inconsistent holy days. The memoir blends fact with fiction as Hemingway recalls... Read A Moveable Feast Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Historical Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam, a satirical novel published in 1998, won the prestigious Booker Prize. McEwan is a highly regarded British author, known for acclaimed works such as Atonement, The Children Act, and Saturday. Set in London during the late 1990s, Amsterdam captures the cynical atmosphere of post-Thatcherite Britain, particularly the codependent relationship between politics and the press. The novel follows two successful middle-aged friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, who make a fateful euthanasia... Read Amsterdam Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Society: War
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Book DetailAn Ember in the Ashes, published by Razorbill in 2015, is the first in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes series. The novel debuted at number two on the young adult New York Times best seller list and was also a USA Today and international bestselling book. In addition, TIME magazine named it one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of all Time. It won the People’s Choice Award for favorite fantasy in... Read An Ember in the Ashes Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor
Publication year 1909
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables series, is the heralded sequel that brings readers back to the second chapter in Anne Shirley’s life from age 16 to 18. First published in 1909 by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea is set in the latter part of the 19th century in fictional Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Filled with many familiar characters from the first... Read Anne of Avonlea Summary
Publication year 1908
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Anne of Green Gables is a world-renowned classic children’s novel first published in 1908 by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery. Set in the latter part of the 19th century in fictional Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the story follows the accidental arrival of a precocious 11-year-old orphan girl, Anne Shirley, at Green Gables, the family homestead of middle-aged siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Many mishaps, adventures, and ultimate successes follow Anne... Read Anne Of Green Gables Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Race / Racism, Historical Fiction
Another Brooklyn is a 2016 novel by Jacqueline Woodson. After the narrator, August, returns home to care for her dying father, she runs into her former friend Sylvia. This encounter leads her to reflect on her childhood in Brooklyn in the 1970s and the way she coped with her mother’s death. The novel unfolds in fragments: each chapter moves between August’s girlhood memories and adult life as an ivy-league educated anthropologist who studies cultural rituals... Read Another Brooklyn Summary
Publication year 1962
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags LGBTQ, Race / Racism, Love / Sexuality, Depression / Suicide, Relationships, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, American Literature, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Romance, New Adult