The Trouble With Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery is a children’s chapter book by American author Doreen Cronin. Jonathan Joseph Tully, or J.J. for short, is a former rescue dog bored by his retired life in the countryside. J.J. reluctantly agrees to help his neighbor Moosh, a strange but caring chicken, find her missing chicks, Poppy and Sweeties. J.J. follows the clues and discovers that the inside dog, Vince, has taken the chicks. J.J. has... Read The Trouble With Chickens Summary

The True Love Experiment is a contemporary romance written by the author duo known as Christina Lauren and published in 2023. The novel brings back Felicity “Fizzy” Chen, a supporting character from Lauren’s best-selling The Soulmate Equation, this time making her the star of a reality dating show that uses the previous book’s DNA-based technology. A romance writer in a slump in both her writing and dating life, Fizzy agrees to appear on the show... Read The True Love Experiment Summary

The True Meaning of Smekday (2007) is a middle-grade science fiction adventure novel by Adam Rex. It is multimodal, containing news articles, assignment prompts, letters, photographs, and comic strips. The novel follows Gratuity “Tip” Tucci as she recounts living through an extraterrestrial occupation by “the Boov” and attacks from the Gorg. A sympathetic Boov named J.Lo, Tip, and her cat, Pig, survive a series of misadventures to find Tip’s abducted mother and reclaim Earth for... Read The True Meaning of Smekday Summary

The Twits (1980) by Roald Dahl is a fantastical and absurd children’s story about a mean couple and how they are eventually outsmarted by the animals they mistreat. The Big Read listed The Twits as one of the 200 greatest books of all time according to the British public in 2003, and in 2012, the Twits appeared on a commemorative postage stamp. The book was adapted for the stage in 2007, and an animated feature... Read The Twits Summary

British author Alan Bennett’s 2007 satirical novella The Uncommon Reader, set in modern-day Britain, focuses on the “uncommon reader”—Queen Elizabeth II—who narrates the story as she becomes passionate about reading after a random encounter with a mobile library. As she becomes more interested in reading than with the duties of the monarchy, her fascination with books has major consequences for her, her council of advisors, her family, and her position as monarch. She begins questioning... Read The Uncommon Reader Summary

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (2022) is the first novel in a new romantasy series by American author Megan Bannen, whose previous works include Soulswift (2020) and The Bird and Blade (2018). The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy follows a curmudgeonly demigod marshal, Hart Ralston, and his enemies-to-lovers romance with a bubbly human undertaker named Mercy Birdsall. Amid this dynamic, the two must navigate a dangerous plot involving old gods, zombies, and a rival... Read The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy Summary

The Unhoneymooners is a 2019 romance novel by Lauren Billings and Christina Hobbs, writing under the pen name Christina Lauren. The duo has received significant recognition and acclaim for their work, including Amazon and Audible romance of the year. They have won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine and been inducted into the Library Reads Hall of Fame. Their notable books for adults include Josh and Hazel’s Guide... Read The Unhoneymooners Summary

The second installment in Beth Brower's series, this novel takes the form of journal entries written by Emma M. Lion, a young woman of limited means living in the garret of Lapis Lazuli House, her family home in the eccentric London neighborhood of St. Crispian's, during the spring and summer of 1883. Orphaned, financially precarious, and fiercely independent, Emma chronicles two months of social maneuvering, unlikely friendships, and the slow work of building a future.The... Read The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 Summary

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman is a contemporary middle grade novel that follows a special class of “troubled” kids and their teacher at Greenwich Middle School as they learn what it means to be different, reform, and resolve a 27-year-old scandal.Published in 2019, the book won the Red Cedar Award (BC Young Readers' Choice for 2021) and was shortlisted for several others. Gordon Korman has written over 70 titles for teens and young readers, including... Read The Unteachables Summary

In R.K. Narayan’s novel The Vendor of Sweets, the tension between old and young India is the backdrop against which a father and son clash. Jagan, a 55 year old man who is steeped in tradition, is a bundle of contradictions. He is a passionate follower of Gandhi, embracing non-violent cooperation and an ascetic lifestyle. However, he is also boastful when it comes to his own self-control. It is not enough that he has renounced... Read The Vendor of Sweets Summary

Robert Kimmel Smith is the author of The War with Grandpa, which he published in 1984. The author of several other humorous books for young readers, like Bobby Baseball (1991) and Chocolate Fever (1972), Smith has a history of making readers laugh, and he does so again with The War with Grandpa. The book isn’t all laughs; Smith addresses serious themes like Conflict Within Families, The Difficulty of Change, and Poor Communication Versus Effective Communication... Read The War With Grandpa Summary

The Way of the World is a play by William Congreve, first performed in 1700 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The Way of the World is a Restoration comedy, meaning it is a comedy written and performed in the boom of theater following the restoration of the Stuart Dynasty after the Interregnum period in England. As with many Restoration comedies, Congreve focuses his satire on the upper classes, but The Way of the World is notable... Read The Way of the World Summary

The Wedding People (2024) is a work of contemporary fiction by Alison Espach. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, the novel follows Phoebe Stone’s journey to recover her purpose and sense of self while unexpectedly situated among a group of weddinggoers. The story explores themes of Navigating Societal Expectations in Marriage, Love, and Intimate Relationships, Motherhood and the Expectation of Sacrifice, and Cultivating Unexpected Connections to Find Fulfillment Amidst Life’s Challenges. The Wedding People was on... Read The Wedding People Summary

Gary Schmidt’s middle grade novel, The Wednesday Wars, follows seventh grader Holling Hoodhood as he navigates the difficulties of junior high in the late 1960s. Published in 2007, Schmidt’s novel blends historical fiction with a coming-of-age theme, and was given the Newbery Medal in 2008. Other works by Schmidt include Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2004), Okay for Now (2011), and The Labors of Hercules Beal (2023).This guide refers to the Clarion Books 2009... Read The Wednesday Wars Summary

Freida McFadden’s The Widow’s Husband’s Secret Lie is a 2024 humorous novella that parodies the conventions of domestic thrillers. Protagonist Alice is simply trying to rebuild her everyday life after her husband Grant’s death. When she begins seeing a man watching her in various spots around town, she is understandably alarmed—especially since the man bears an uncanny resemblance to Grant. This mysterious figure is just one of several characters who may not be who they... Read The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie Summary

The Willoughbys is a whimsical middle grade novel written by Lois Lowry. Originally published in 2008 and adapted into a Netflix animated film in 2020, The Willoughbys is a story about four children whose parents dislike them and attempt to get rid of them; in revenge, the children plot to kill their parents. The story utilizes a dark but humorous perspective to illustrate what happens when parents fail to love their children. As the story... Read The Willoughbys Summary

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (2021) is a historical romance/fantasy novel by New Zealand-based author India Holton. The story takes place in an alternate reality Victorian England that has magic: Women can use an incantation to fly their houses, which the Wisteria Society ladies use to their advantage in their piracy. The narrative centers on Cecilia Bassingthwaite, the niece of one of the women of the Wisteria Society, and her romance with the pirate... Read The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels Summary

The Witches (1983) is a children’s novel by Roald Dahl. As with his other well-known stories for young readers—Matilda (1988), James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), and The BFG (1982)—the book has elements of fantasy and addresses themes like identity, family, and good versus evil. There are film adaptations of several of Dahl’s books, and there are two movie versions of The Witches—one from 1990 and another from 2020... Read The Witches Summary

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl is a collection of short stories and nonfiction works originally published together in 1977. The titular story follows Henry Sugar—a wealthy, egotistical man—who stumbles across a doctor’s account of a circus conjurer named Imhrat Khan who could see without his eyes. Inspired, Henry attempts to develop Khan’s ability himself. The dark and macabre stories in the collection are juxtaposed with true accounts from... Read The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More Summary

Essayist and commentator Sarah Vowell published her historical and social commentary The Wordy Shipmates in 2008. A humorous but seriously critical examination of the Puritan emigrants that traveled with the flagship Arbella from England to Massachusetts in 1630, the book revisits leading Puritan figures and the colonial events and ideologies they created while trying to establish the “city upon a hill” that defined their Christian mission in, what was to them, a New World.Though colonial... Read The Wordy Shipmates Summary