Popular Study Guides

The Popular Study Guides Collection brings together a selection of our most-visited Guides in one convenient place. Featuring titles ranging from classic literature with enduring appeal to popular book club picks, this Collection represents a diverse array of literature readers can't get enough of.

100 Cupboards

by N. D. Wilson

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure

100 Cupboards is the first novel in a series of young adult fantasy books following main character Henry York, a boy who moves to Henry, Kansas with his aunt and uncle after his parents are kidnapped during a bike expedition in South America. One night, Henry and his adventurous cousin, Henrietta, discover a key to their deceased grandfather's locked bedroom; inside, they uncover a network of cupboards that each open into a different, fantastical world... Read 100 Cupboards Summary

11.22.63

by Stephen King

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Fate, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, US History, Cold War

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Abduction!

by Peg Kehret

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hope, Safety & Danger, Siblings, Family

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature

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Absolution

by Alice McDermott

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Guilt, Conflict, Femininity, Friendship, Colonialism, War

Tags Historical Fiction, Vietnam War, Military & War, World History, Fantasy

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A Case Of Identity

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Publication year 1891

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction

“A Case of Identity,” published in September 1891, is the fifth episode in the series of four novels and 56 short stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It follows the first two novel-length Holmes tales, A Study in Scarlet (1887) and The Sign of Four (1890), as well as the shorter stories “A Scandal in Bohemia” and “The Red-Headed League,” both of which appeared earlier that same year in... Read A Case Of Identity Summary

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

Publication year 1843

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Social Class, Birth

Tags Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Special Occasions, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction

Originally published in 1843, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol defined and popularized quintessential Christmas tropes while condemning Victorian England’s harsh social division between the rich and poor. The Poor Laws (referenced by Scrooge in Stave 1) were England’s response to pervasive poverty; the workhouses associated with these laws subjected the desperate and destitute to demeaning conditions, and people who could not pay debts were sent to debtors’ prison—a circumstance that Dickens deals with in detail... Read A Christmas Carol Summary

Across Five Aprils

by Irene Hunt

Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Coming of Age, Perseverance

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, American Civil War, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction

Across Five Aprils (1964) is a young adult (YA) historical novel written by the American children’s book author Irene Hunt. A coming-of-age story, the novel follows young Jethro Creighton through four years of his life from the beginning to the end of the American Civil War. Irene Hunt based the novel largely on the experiences of her own grandfather who, like Jethro, was only nine years old when the Civil War began.The book was Hunt’s... Read Across Five Aprils Summary

Address Unknown

by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

Publication year 1938

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Revenge

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Relationships, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

Address Unknown (1938) by American writer Kathrine Taylor details the rise of Nazi Germany through the correspondence of two men, one of whom is Jewish and one of whom is not. The short novel explores themes such as Radicalization, The Impact of Paranoia and Fascism, and The Loss of Friendship and Family.Chapter 1 Summary: “November 12, 1932”A Jewish German man named Max writes to his business partner, a German gentile, or individual who isn’t Jewish... Read Address Unknown Summary

A Great Reckoning

by Louise Penny

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Memory, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Love, Grief, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Conflict, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Trauma & Abuse

A Great Reckoning (2016) is the 12th novel in the Inspector Gamache series. The series consists of contemporary mysteries written by the Canadian author Louise Penny. Like the other novels in the series, A Great Reckoning revolves around the small village of Three Pines, Quebec, and its inhabitants. The novel includes a standalone murder mystery plot and references to events in other novels within the series; Penny explores themes of parenthood, loss, and betrayal. This... Read A Great Reckoning Summary

All Thirteen

by Christina Soontornvat

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Teamwork, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Action & Adventure, Sports, Asian History, Leadership, Science & Nature, Religion & Spirituality, Children`s Literature, World History

... Read All Thirteen Summary