Simon Sort of Says is a middle grade realistic fiction novel written by Erin Bow and originally published in 2023. The novel deals with the subject of coping with the aftermath of surviving a school shooting and is narrated from the perspective of seventh-grader Simon. Simon consistently demonstrates The Importance of Humor in Life’s Darkest Moments and heals through The Redemptive Power of Friendship. Simon’s story also illustrates Healing From Trauma as a Family and... Read Simon Sort of Says Summary

Sisters is a middle-grade graphic novel written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier and colored by Braden Lamb. Raina Telgemeier wrote the graphic novel about a real experience she had on a road trip with her sister, Amara. The graphic novel is thus autobiographical of this time in her life and of her complicated relationship with her younger siblings and parents. Sisters looks at issues of facing fears, connecting with others, and finding one’s place in... Read Sisters Summary

Barbara Park’s 1982 middle grade novel Skinnybones follows protagonist Alex Frankovitch as he navigates issues with self-esteem, bullies, dishonesty, and baseball. Skinnybones is Park’s third full-length novel; it debuted to critical acclaim for its humor and realistic portrayal of children. Skinnybones has earned numerous awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Awards in 1982 and 1985, the Tennessee Children’s Choice Book Award, and the Georgia Children’s Book Award.This guide refers to the 1997 paperback First Yearling edition... Read Skinnybones Summary

Skipping Christmas is a 2001 satirical novella by John Grisham. It tells the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a married couple whose adult daughter, Blair, moves to Peru a month before Christmas. Facing their first Christmas without their daughter, and disillusioned by the holiday’s excesses, they decide to forego Christmas that year and go on a cruise instead. However, their decision brings them into conflict with their friends and neighbors, who expect them to... Read Skipping Christmas Summary

Skippy Dies, published in 2010, is a tragicomic novel by Irish author Paul Murray. Murray originally wrote the novel as a short story before expanding it into a longform work of fiction, basing the Catholic boarding school where the book is set on the prestigious secondary school the author attended in Dublin.The novel was nominated for the longlists and shortlists of several distinguished awards, including the Booker Prize, the Irish Novel of the Year, and... Read Skippy Dies Summary

Kate Folk’s 2025 novel, Sky Daddy, is a work of satirical literary fiction. The novel is narrated by Linda, a content moderator in San Francisco who harbors a secret and all-consuming desire: to achieve a spiritual marriage with an airplane by dying in a spectacular crash. The novel uses this surreal premise to explore themes of deep disconnection and The Alienating Nature of Modern Life.Folk is also the author of the acclaimed story collection Out... Read Sky Daddy Summary

Gordon Korman’s Slacker is a 2016 middle-grade novel following the struggles of slacker-turned-club-president Cameron Boxer after he accidentally causes the fire department to break into his smoking house. Slacker explores themes of community, cooperation, and self-fulfillment as Cameron navigates his unintentional new life as a leader of his peers. Korman wrote his first book when he was in ninth grade. As of 2022, Korman has written 100 novels for children and young teen audiences. In... Read Slacker Summary

Slam (2007) is a young adult novel written by Nick Hornby. It tells the story of Sam Jones, a skateboarder who finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant when they are both 16 years old—his mother’s age when she had him. The novel explores themes such as Navigating Teenage Parenthood, How a Few Seconds Can Change Everything, and Relationships, Wisdom, and Growing Up.Nick Hornby is a renowned English writer known for his humorous fiction about... Read Slam Summary

David Lubar’s young adult novel Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie (2005) was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 2006 and a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book. Lubar, a computer programmer-turned-author, has published many books for young readers, including Hidden Talents (1999) and the Weenies series.The story follows 14-year-old Scott Hudson as he navigates his first year of high school with both hilarious and tragic results. Lubar’s novel humorously addresses coming-of-age issues such as changing relationships... Read Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie Summary

Pete Hautman’s middle grade novel Slider (2017) follows the story of David Miller, a middle child who has an older sister with perfectionist tendencies and a younger brother with autism. As David works to pursue his competitive eating aspirations and repay an accidental charge on his mother’s credit card, the narrative explores The Importance of a Family Support System, The Consequences of Lying by Omission, and the complexities of Navigating Morally Ambiguous Scenarios. Pete Hautman’s... Read Slider Summary

Slob is a middle grade novel written by bestselling children’s book author Ellen Potter and released in 2009. Potter’s novel uses tropes from mystery fiction to highlight psychological issues of trauma and recovery as well as social issues such as childhood obesity and bullying culture within the context of an adolescent Bildungsroman, a novel of growth and identity development. This guide refers to the 2009 Penguin edition of the book.Content Warning: The source material features... Read Slob Summary

Smile by Raina Telgemeier is an autobiographical graphic novel and the winner of the 2011 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens. It originated as a weekly webcomic in 2004 before Telgemeier expanded it into a book in 2010. Telgemeier is the writer and illustrator, while Stephanie Yue is the colorist. Smile is a coming-of-age tale, set in a San Francisco suburb from 1989 to 1992, in which Telgemeier struggles with preteen life after losing... Read Smile Summary

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory is a 2014 memoir by American author Caitlin Doughty. The memoir, which was Doughty’s debut book, was a bestseller that received critical acclaim. Doughty is a practicing mortician and death positivity advocate. This book chronicles her first six years working in the funeral industry, starting shortly after her college graduation. It examines the prevailing attitudes toward death in North America, which Doughty believes are... Read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory Summary

“Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby” is a short story by American author Donald Barthelme. Originally published in a 1973 issue of The New Yorker, it was later included in Barthelme’s 1976 anthology, Amateurs. The narrative follows the extended and absurd deliberation of a group of friends about how to hang their friend for committing an unnamed offense. With the friends embodying a range of logistical roles and viewpoints concerning the act... Read Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby Summary

Written by British novelist and journalist Jojo Moyes in 2023, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story of loss, solidarity, and growth that interweaves the lives of two middle-aged women from different backgrounds as they try to cope with major life changes. By reinventing the classic trope of having her characters “trade places,” Moyes creates a unique space in which to explore how these two very different women learn to recognize their own unhealthy patterns and... Read Someone Else's Shoes Summary

Something Wilder is a contemporary romance novel written by Christina Lauren. Christina Lauren is the pen name of an authorial collaboration between writing partners and best friends, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. Under the pen name, Christina Lauren has published numerous New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. The writing duo has written 28 romance titles in total, including the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Twice in a Blue Moon, The Unhoneymooners, Love and Other... Read Something Wilder Summary

Son of the Mob is a young adult novel by Gordon Korman, published in 2002. It is a comedic adventure story that concerns a teenaged boy named Vince Luca, and his attempts to come to terms with his Mafia family.Vince’s life is a mixture of mundane teenaged concerns (girls, grades) and adult criminal activity. This is established in the first chapter of the book, when he takes a girl named Angela out on a date... Read Son of the Mob Summary

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (2015) by Jon Ronson is a nonfiction exploration of the phenomenon of public humiliation in the era of social media. Ronson is an immersive journalist, newspaper columnist, and documentarian who has written about a wide variety of fringe social contexts, including extremists, people who have psychopathy, military experiments with paranormal powers, and the pornography industry. Ronson assesses each of these topics, including humiliation on social media, through case studies, interviews... Read So You've Been Publicly Shamed Summary

Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, first published in 2014, is the first in a science-fiction series about Moon Base Alpha. Stuart Gibbs is an award-winning young adult author with two other series: The FunJungle series and The Spy School series. In Space Case, Gibbs establishes a fictional future in which humanity has built a colony on the moon in a preliminary effort to live more permanently in space. The protagonist of the story is 12-year-old... Read Space Case Summary

Spy Camp is the 2013 sequel to the first book in the Spy School series. It features an ordinary middle school student recruited to a secret CIA Academy that trains future spies. The series is written by Stuart Gibbs, a middle-grade author with several other successful series, such as FunJungle, MoonBase Alpha, and Charlie Thorne. Spy Camp was a nominee for the 2014 Texas Bluebonnet Award, but other texts in the series have received more... Read Spy Camp Summary