Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Loyalty & Betrayal, Art, Trust & Doubt
Tags Romance, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction
Memorial Day Reads
Our selection of Memorial Day Reads highlights the voices of writers with experience serving in the military or living through conflict. Exploring the concepts of war and peace, these selections expound on the nature of conflict and its impacts on the people affected by it.
The Things We Leave Unfinished
The Thread Collectors
The Three Musketeers
The Tiger's Wife
The Tin Drum
The Titan's Curse
The Tragedy Of Great Power Politics
The Trojan War: A New History
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
The Tsar of Love and Techno
The Upstairs Room
The Venice Sketchbook
The War I Finally Won
The War on Warriors
The War Prayer
The Wars
The Warsaw Orphan
The War That Forged a Nation
The War That Saved My Life
The War Works Hard
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Loyalty & Betrayal, Art, Trust & Doubt
Tags Romance, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Community, Politics & Government, War, Justice
Tags Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1844
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Teamwork, The Past, Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Revenge
Tags Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, French Literature, European History, Military & War, Love & Sexuality, World History
The Three Musketeers (1844), by French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas, is a novel that borrows tropes from the swashbuckling genre, historical fiction, and romance to recount the adventures of a group of king’s guard who face off against the machinations of nefarious political factions set on destabilizing the monarchy. It was first published through serialization in 1844 to great popularity. Though set in the mid-1600s, the novel connected with the philosophical underpinnings of the... Read The Three Musketeers Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Animals, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Set in an imaginary modern-day Balkan country, Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife chronicles the effects of prejudice, isolation, and war on both a personal and universal scale. Obreht’s characters struggle to survive and live meaningful lives under the shadow of a lengthy war and its aftermath.Natalia Stefanović, a young female doctor and the narrator of the novel, learns that her beloved grandfather has died far from home on his way to visit her. Her investigation... Read The Tiger's Wife Summary
Publication year 1959
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, Regret, War, Family, Memory
Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, German Literature, Classic Fiction
The Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by German author Gunther Grass. In the novel, a man named Oskar tells the story of his life, particularly focusing on his experiences during World War II. The novel employs satire, absurdism, magical realism, and allegory to wrestle with the pain and trauma of life under Nazi rule. The Tin Drum was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1979 and has been hailed as a landmark in literary... Read The Tin Drum Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Hate & Anger, Appearance & Reality
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Relationships, Arts & Culture, Military & War, American Literature, Children`s Literature
The Titan’s Curse (2007) is the third installment in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, following The Lightning Thief (2005) and The Sea of Monsters (2006) and preceding The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008) and The Last Olympian (2009). The series centers around the adventures of Percy Jackson, a boy who is the son of the Greek god of the sea Poseidon and a mortal woman named Sally Jackson. Percy learns that he... Read The Titan's Curse Summary
Publication year 2001
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Order & Chaos
Tags Politics & Government, Military & War, Education, Education, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy
Publication year 2006
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Marriage
Tags European History, Military & War, Classical Period, World History, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Recorded in Homer’s epic poems, which are widely considered seminal in the canon of western literature, the Trojan War continues to enjoy mythic status within contemporary culture over two millennia later. In the light of new archaeological evidence, Barry Strauss re-examines the most fabled war in history in his 2006 text The Trojan War: A New History. Strauss returns to the era when the war actually took place, some 500 years before Homer, and examines... Read The Trojan War: A New History Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Memory
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Fairy Tale & Folklore
Louise Murphy’s The True Story of Hansel and Gretel is a work of historical fiction originally published in 2003. Loosely based upon the classic fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, the novel reimagines Hansel and Gretel’s story as a World War II narrative. The San Francisco Chronicle selected it as a “Best Book of the Year,” and it received a starred review from Kirkus. This guide references the 2003 paperback edition.Plot SummaryIt is the winter... Read The True Story of Hansel and Gretel Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Russian Literature, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History
In the follow-up to his award-winning novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, American writer Anthony Marra released The Tsar of Love and Techno (2015), a collection of interconnected short stories. Shifting from first to third person narration across various characters’ perspectives in different time periods, The stories begin in Communist Russia in the 1930s and end in modern Russia the 2010s, connecting the characters to their descendants and ancestors. Marra weaves together a tapestry whose common... Read The Tsar of Love and Techno Summary
Publication year 1972
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger
Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History
The Upstairs Room (1972) is a novel based on the experiences of author Johanna Reiss as a Jewish girl during World War II. The novel follows protagonist Annie de Leeuw and her sister Sini as they hide from the Nazis during the German occupation of Holland. Annie’s story, which is told from her first-person perspective, celebrates human resilience and compassion while exploring themes concerning the loss of childhood innocence, the sacrifices people make during wartime... Read The Upstairs Room Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Art, Self Discovery, Love, Family, War, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, Italian Literature, World History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Fear, Love, Mothers
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, Children`s Literature, World History
The War I Finally Won is a work of historical fiction written by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley. The novel is intended for middle grade readers. It was published in 2017, and has won numerous awards, including qualifying for the New York Times Best Seller list, winning the California Young Reader’s Medal, and being named one of the Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books of the Year. The War I Finally Won is a sequel to Bradley’s highly... Read The War I Finally Won Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Teamwork, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Wins & Losses
Tags Politics & Government, World History, Military & War
Publication year 1905
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes War, Religion & Spirituality, Nation
Tags Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, American Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government
Publication year 1977
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, War
Tags Military & War, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Canadian Literature, World War I, Classic Fiction
The Wars by Timothy Findley is a 1977 novel about Robert Ross, a young Canadian officer who enlists in the military and fights in the First World War. The novel uses first, second, and third person narrative points of view. By switching between the different perspectives, the novel gives the reader the sense that they are a historian searching through archives, looking at photographs, and interviewing people from Robert’s life. The book is an example... Read The Wars Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Gender Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Nation, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed
Tags World War II, Military & War, Historical Fiction, European History
Publication year 2015
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Race, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice
Tags American Civil War, World History, US History, Military & War, Politics & Government
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Disability, Family
Tags Disability, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History
The War That Saved My Life is a work of historical fiction by bestselling author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The novel is intended for middle-grade readers and was published in 2015. It has won several awards, including the Newbery Honor for being among the most distinguished American children’s book of its year. The Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly listed the book as among the best children’s books in 2015, and it won 14 state book... Read The War That Saved My Life Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Poem, Nonfiction
Themes War
Tags Lyric Poem, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Modern Classic Fiction