Spy School is a 2012 middle grade action novel by Stuart Gibbs. It is the first in an ongoing series of books that follows Benjamin Ripley, an ordinary middle schooler, who is suddenly recruited to the CIA’s academy for espionage. The book was well-received and nominated for several awards, including the South Carolina Picture Book Award, the Nutmeg Book Award, the Volunteer State Book Award, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award. It was listed on... Read Spy School Summary

Squeeze Me by American journalist and author Carl Hiaasen was published in 2020 and debuted on the New York Times best-seller list. Hiaasen is primarily known for his humorous mystery novels, and Squeeze Me is a political satire written from a liberal-leaning perspective that sharply criticizes an incompetent fictional president and his disastrous policies. A southern Florida native, Hiaasen began his career as an investigative reporter and later penned a weekly column for the Miami-Herald... Read Squeeze Me Summary

Squirm (2018) is a children’s novel by author Carl Hiaasen, who is primarily known for his humorous mysteries. He is a South Florida native who began his career as an investigative reporter and eventually penned a weekly column for the Miami-Herald. Always a prolific writer, Hiaasen turned to fiction in 1981. Since that time, he has written 16 adult novels, 7 middle school mysteries, and 6 nonfiction works. His writing has earned him numerous awards... Read Squirm Summary

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (March 2020) is the debut novel by Korean American author Jessica Kim. When first published, it made several 2020 award lists, including Kirkus Best Children’s Books and Amazon Best Books of the Month. The author followed this title with Make a Move, Sunny Park! (2023), which covers similar material as her first book. Like her characters, Kim was born in California and is currently a SoCal resident. She is also a... Read Stand Up, Yumi Chung! Summary

John Scalzi’s Starter Villain, published in 2023, is a satirical science fiction novel that explores themes of money, power, good, and evil as 32-year-old Charlie Fitzer uncovers his uncle Jake’s nefarious enterprises. Scalzi, a Hugo award winner and former president of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, has written both fiction and nonfiction, including books on finance, video games, politics, and astronomy. His use of humor is a defining feature of his writing style... Read Starter Villain Summary

Stay (2011) is a middle grade novel by Bobbie Pyron. It follows the story of 12-year-old Piper, whose family has recently lost their home and moved into a shelter, and her efforts to reunite a dog, Baby, with his owner who goes missing. The book explores themes of Resilience in the Face of Adversity and The Positive Impact of Community and Purpose. As with several of Pyron’s books aimed at younger readers, Stay also explores... Read Stay Summary

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a nonfiction book about the cultural history of the human cadaver, written by Mary Roach. Roach explores how, for nearly two thousand years, the deceased human body has been used in research and experimentation leading to some of the most consequential innovations of the medical, scientific, and mechanical (among others) fields throughout human history. Across cultures and civilizations, death has been shrouded in mystery and taboo, yet... Read Stiff Summary

Still Life with Woodpecker, Tom Robbins’s third novel, was published in 1980 by Bantam Books. The novel—which includes elements of fantasy, magical realism, absurdism, satire, and philosophy—centers on protagonist Leigh-Cheri Furstenberg-Barcalona, an exiled princess who falls in love with bomber and outlaw Bernard Mickey Wrangle, who is also known as the Woodpecker. As their love story unfolds in the form of a postmodern fairy tale, Robbins explores the animalistic nature of humans in the modern... Read Still Life with Woodpecker Summary

Story of My Life (2025) is a contemporary romantic comedy by Lucy Score that follows a big-city rom-com author, Hazel Hart, who has lost all writing inspiration following a failed marriage to her toxic ex-husband, Jim. To save her career, Hazel must regain her confidence and her inspiration, so she makes the impulsive decision to buy a ramshackle mansion in the small town of Story Lake. As Hazel finds inspiration—mainly in the grumpy contractor Campbell... Read Story of My Life Summary

Strong Female Character is a 2023 memoir by Fern Brady, an Irish-Scottish comedian. Brady was diagnosed with autism in 2021 at the age of thirty-five, and Strong Female Character chronicles her experiences as an undiagnosed child and young adult through the lens of feminism. The memoir’s audiobook edition, narrated by Brady herself, was awarded the 2024 British Book Award for best nonfiction audiobook of the year. This guide refers to the 2023 Kindle edition of... Read Strong Female Character Summary

Stuntboy, in the Meantime is a 2021 realistic fiction graphic novel written by American author Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raúl the Third, and colored by Elaine Bay. In addition to Stuntboy, in the Meantime, Reynolds has written several other books for children. As a former reluctant reader himself, Reynolds creates stories that inspire young boys who don’t like to read. Stuntboy, in the Meantime features Portico Reeves, a boy who is dealing with The Effects... Read Stuntboy, in the Meantime Summary

Fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein hits puberty and transforms from a nerd to an athlete but struggles to cope with his mom’s growing mental health struggles in Geoff Herbach’s young adult novel, Stupid Fast (2011). Bullied and teased most of his young life, Felton has anxiety caused by his dad’s death by suicide. Now, he grows huge and fast, joins the football team, and gains new jock friends and a smart, talented girlfriend named Aleah. Outwardly things... Read Stupid Fast Summary

Superfudge is a children’s novel written by Judy Blume first published in 1980. Blume is an author of children’s novels that have won several awards. Superfudge won the Children’s Choice Award in 1981 and the Early Readers Award in 1991. It was adapted into a television series which ran from 1995-1997. Superfudge is the third book in the Fudge series. This guide utilizes the 1988 publication of this novel.Plot SummaryAt the beginning of the novel... Read Superfudge Summary

Supergifted is a middle-grade novel by Gordon Korman that explores the challenges and triumphs of students at Hardcastle Middle School. It serves as a sequel to Korman’s earlier work, Ungifted, and explores themes like Embracing Differences, Dynamics of Identity, Growth and Self-Acceptance, and Friendship and Loyalty. With its blend of humor and serious messages, the book showcases the power of friendship and the impact it can have on an individual’s growth and self-confidence.Gordon Korman’s career... Read Supergifted Summary

Gary Shteyngart’s 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story is a futuristic tale of love, mortality, family, and technology. In the tradition of science fiction and apocalyptic storytelling, Shteyngart creates a world full of all-consuming technology that distracts from the fall of America and the rise of a new global economy. Told through the diaries of an old-timey Russian Jewish protagonist, Lenny Abramov, and the online messages of his youthful Korean-American love interest, Eunice Park... Read Super Sad True Love Story Summary

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character is the first memoir of Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist Richard Feynman, published in 1985. The book is directed primarily at non-scientists, and the anecdotes Feynman recalls concentrate on explaining how he came to have a reputation as an eccentric who craved adventure and mischief. The conversational tone of the autobiography derives in part from the way it was produced; most of the text is transcribed... Read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Summary

Surviving the Applewhites is a children’s novel written by American author Stephanie S. Tolan and was first published in 2002.The narrative follows Jake Semple, a troubled teenager forced to move in with the unconventional and eccentric Applewhite family following an incident at school. Jake struggles to fit in at first but gradually sheds his past transgressions and undergoes a transformative journey toward self-discovery and redemption. The novel touches on Personal Growth and Transformation, Individuality Versus... Read Surviving the Applewhites Summary

Suttree by Cormac McCarthy is a piece of Southern Gothic fiction published in 1979. Considered a modern classic of American literature, it exemplifies McCarthy’s characteristic use of imagery, existentialist exploration, and societal criticism.McCarthy is the author of 12 novels, including bestsellers Blood Meridian (1985), All the Pretty Horses (1992), and the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Road (2006). The Road and his novel No Country for Old Men (2005) were adapted into celebrated films. McCarthy was born... Read Suttree Summary

Swami and Friends, set in British-colonial India in the year 1930, begins with an introduction to Swaminathan and his four principal friends: Somu, Sankar, Mani, and the Pea. Swaminathan appreciates his friends’ dramatically different personalities, and these differences only strengthen their powerful bond. The arrival of Rajam, who is the son of Malgudi’s new police superintendent, changes everything. Initially, Swaminathan and Mani despise Rajam, but the three boys become best friends after confronting him. Likewise... Read Swami and Friends Summary

Swindle is a middle-grade novel published in 2008 by Canadian American author Gordon Korman. In the story, 6th-grader Griffin Bing enlists a group of his classmates to retrieve a rare Babe Ruth baseball card from an unscrupulous collector known as Swindle, who has conned Griffin out of the card. The book is the first of eight books, as of 2019, in the popular Swindle series. Nickelodeon made a film of the same name based on the novel in... Read Swindle Summary