Mortality & Death

"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.

Memory Wall

by Anthony Doerr

Publication year 2010

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Memory, Science & Technology, Hope, Death, Self Discovery, Social Class

Tags Science Fiction

Memory Wall (2010) is a collection of short stories by Anthony Doerr, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See (2014). Doerr’s writing career began in 2002, with the publication of his short story collection The Shell Collector (2002), and he is also the author of novels About Grace (2004) and Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021), and a memoir titled Four Seasons in Rome (2007). Memory Wall won the 2011 Story Prize and... Read Memory Wall Summary

Me (Moth)

by Amber McBride

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Grief, Love, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Friendship

Tags Fantasy, Coming of Age, Romance

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Metamorphoses

by Ovid

Publication year 8

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Death

Tags Education, Education, Mythology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classical Period, Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Ancient Greece, Narrative Poem

Publius Ovidius Naso, known more commonly today as Ovid, originally composed his Metamorphoses in Latin and completed the work around 8 CE. The Metamorphoses combines hundreds of Greco-Roman mythological tales into 15 books of poetry, brief summaries of which follow.This guide follows A. D. Melville’s 1986 translation for Oxford World’s Classics, and citations reference page numbers rather than line numbers. This guide follows Melville’s divisions of the various myths, although not all editions will make... Read Metamorphoses Summary

Mexikid

by Pedro Martín

Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Language, Race, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Immigration

Tags Children`s Literature, Humor, Biography

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Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe

by Heather Webber

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Regret, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Food, Daughters & Sons, Family, Grandparents, Mothers, Social Class, Community, Economics, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy

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Miracle's Boys

by Jacqueline Woodson

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Regret, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Death, The Past, Siblings, Social Class, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Realistic Fiction, African American Literature

Miracle’s Boys (2000) is a young adult novel by Jaqueline Woodson. The novel tells the story of three brothers, ages 21, 15, and 12, coping with the sudden death of their mother a year before. The middle brother, Charlie, recently returned home from a juvenile detention facility, where he was serving a two-year sentence for attempting to rob a candy store at gun point. Set in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York City, Miracle’s... Read Miracle's Boys Summary

Moo

by Sharon Creech

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Loneliness, Memory, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Animals, Environment, Siblings, Teamwork, Community, Fate, Safety & Danger, Self Discovery

Tags Realistic Fiction, Animals, Children`s Literature

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Moon Over Manifest

by Clare Vanderpool

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Regret, Nostalgia, Memory, Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, The Past, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Family, Friendship, Community, Social Class, Economics, Immigration, Education, War, Politics & Government, Nation, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, World History

Moon Over Manifest is a 2010 novel by author Claire Vanderpool. It relates the story of 12-year-old Abilene Tucker, a drifting girl in search of her father, a home, and a sense of belonging. When the novel starts, her father, Gideon Tucker, has just sent Abilene to the Kansas town of Manifest, claiming that he can’t take her to Iowa, where he is allegedly taking a railroad job. It is 1936, and the Great Depression... Read Moon Over Manifest Summary

Moon Tiger

by Penelope Lively

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Femininity, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, British Literature, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction

Penelope Lively’s 1987 novel Moon Tiger is a work of historical fiction. Set primarily in England and Egypt during the 20th century, the novel is a frame story that joins protagonist Claudia Hampton on her deathbed as she reflects on the relationships, memories, and historical forces that shaped her life. The author was awarded the 1987 Booker Prize for the novel. Moon Tiger explores the subjective nature of memory, the difference between lived and linear... Read Moon Tiger Summary

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

by Robert C. O'Brien

Publication year 1971

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Science & Technology, Grief, Aging, Death, Place, Friendship, Safety & Danger, Mothers, Animals, Family, The Past, Future, Education, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Technology, Grief & Death, Agriculture, Parenting, Science & Nature, Philosophy, Sociology

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a children’s science fiction novel written in 1971 by Robert C. O’Brien. It tells the story of a field mouse whose son becomes ill as moving day approaches, so she enlists the help of a group of highly intelligent experimental rats for help. Robert C. O’Brien was inspired to write the Rats of NIMH after a visit to the National Institute of Mental Health’s experimental rat compound... Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Summary