Loyalty & Betrayal

The texts in this thematic collection organized around the idea of Loyalty & Betrayal range from Dennis Lehane's Mystic River to Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. But each book explores the idea in its own way, revealing the intricate ways we may maintain loyalty at all costs — or test the bonds of family and friend relationships through deep betrayal.

Pretty Little Liars

by Sara Shepard

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Community, Safety & Danger, Revenge, Memory, Guilt, The Past, Shame & Pride, Fear, Trust & Doubt, Grief, Coming of Age, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, Horror & Suspense

Pretty Little Liars is a young adult fiction novel written by Sara Shepard. It is the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series, which features 16 books, along with seven companion novels. The highly successful series was featured on The New York Times best-seller list and adapted into a television show in 2010. The popular show lasted seven seasons and aired on the Freeform Network. Although Shepard had only written eight books in the... Read Pretty Little Liars Summary

Private Lives

by Noël Coward

Publication year 1930

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Love, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Humor, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

IntroductionPrivate Lives is a comedy of manners by English playwright, composer, and actor Noël Coward. The play, which opened in London in 1930 and was adapted into a film in 1931, is a social satire on the frailties of marriage and pretensions of high society.Five years after their divorce, Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne have married new spouses; the two couples accidentally book the same hotel in France for their respective second honeymoons. Realizing that... Read Private Lives Summary

Queen of Shadows

by Sarah J. Maas

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Love, Femininity, Race, Coming of Age, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Colonialism, War, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure, Fairy Tale & Folklore

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Rabbit, Run

by John Updike

Publication year 1960

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Love & Sexuality

John Updike’s novel Rabbit, Run (1960) is the first installment in his acclaimed Rabbit tetralogy, which chronicles the life of its protagonist, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. The series follows Rabbit from his restless youth into his middle age through the subsequent novels Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit Is Rich (1981), and Rabbit at Rest (1990), the latter two both winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Set in 1959, the literary fiction novel introduces Rabbit as a 26-year-old... Read Rabbit, Run Summary

Race

by Elizabeth Alexander

Publication year 2001

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Equality, Race, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hate & Anger, Love, Shame & Pride, Nation, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies, Safety & Danger

Tags Narrative Poem, Race & Racism

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Ragged Dick

by Horatio Alger

Publication year 1868

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Childhood & Youth, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fate, Wins & Losses

Tags Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Social Class, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History

Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks was Horatio Alger, Jr.’s first bestselling book. Ragged Dick was serialized in 1867 in the monthly American children’s magazine, Student and Schoolmate, prior to its successful publication as a novel in 1868. The first volume in a six-volume series, Ragged Dick established Alger’s primary theme of a boy’s rise from humble beginnings to prosperity and respectability. Alger’s “rags to riches” narrative built on... Read Ragged Dick Summary

Raymie Nightingale

by Kate DiCamillo

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Coming of Age, Family, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Raymie Nightingale is a 2016 middle grade novel by two-time Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo. The novel was a National Book Award finalist in the year of its publication. Set in Florida in the summer of 1975, it tells the story of 10-year-old Raymie Clark as she copes with loss and forms a deep friendship that helps her and her new friends in unexpected ways.Plot SummaryRaymie Clark is determined to win the Little Miss Central... Read Raymie Nightingale Summary

Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier

Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Social Class, Coming of Age, Loyalty & Betrayal, The Past, Hate & Anger, Marriage, Fear, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Beauty, Appearance & Reality, Power & Greed, Grief, Conflict, Memory, Truth & Lies, Loneliness

Tags British Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Gothic Literature, Modernism, Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction

Rebecca, a bestselling novel by famed English writer Daphne du Maurier, was published in 1938, and has never gone out of print. The winner of the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1938, Rebecca has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film version, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a 1997 television miniseries. It was most recently adapted for a Netflix film in 2020 by the same name. Rebecca... Read Rebecca Summary

Rebel Witch

by Kristen Ciccarelli

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Fantasy, Romance

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Reckless

by Lauren Roberts

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Love, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Children`s Literature, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

... Read Reckless Summary

Reckless Girls

by Rachel Hawkins

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Trust & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Grief, Gender Identity, Friendship, Social Class, Equality, Justice, Revenge

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction

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Red Mars

by Kim Stanley Robinson

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Conflict, Perseverance, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Future, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Food, Place, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Immigration, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy

Red Mars, a 1992 science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, is the first book in the Mars trilogy about settling and terraforming the planet Mars. Red Mars follows the first 100 people who land on Mars and begin the complex process of terraforming the planet. In 1993, Red Mars won the Nebula Award and the British Science Fiction Association Award. This guide uses the 2009 HarperVoyager edition.Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions... Read Red Mars Summary

Reflections in a Golden Eye

by Carson McCullers

Publication year 1941

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Sexual Identity, Mental Health

Tags Southern Gothic, LGBTQ+, Love & Sexuality, American Literature, Southern Literature, Classic Fiction

Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941), Carson McCullers’s second novel, is set at an American Southern army base during the 1930s and portrays the lives of six interconnected people who are alienated from themselves and the world in different ways. Though the story involves murder, voyeurism, sadism, self-mutilation, and repressed gay desire, it examines these topics through the filter of quotidian domestic life. Reflections in a Golden Eye is one of the few works of... Read Reflections in a Golden Eye Summary

Releasing 10

by Chloe Walsh

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Forgiveness, Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger

Tags Romance, New Adult

... Read Releasing 10 Summary

Remain

by Nicholas Sparks, M. Night Shyamalan

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Mental Health, Midlife, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, New Age, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Fantasy

... Read Remain Summary

Rendezvous with Rama

by Arthur C. Clarke

Publication year 1973

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Conflict, Fear, Hope, Memory, Masculinity, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy

Published in 1973, Rendezvous With Rama is a science fiction adventure novel by British author Arthur C. Clarke. In his time, Clarke was known as one of the “Big Three” writers of science fiction alongside American authors Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein. Clarke’s expertise in space flight prompted him to develop the novel and screenplay for his best-known work, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Rendezvous With Rama won major speculative fiction awards, including the... Read Rendezvous with Rama Summary