Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a biography by Laura Hillenbrand that tells the life story of Louie Zamperini, an Italian-American from Torrance, California who lived from 1917 to 2014. Published in 2010, Unbroken was a The New York Times bestseller for over four years.Plot SummaryIn his youth, Louie Zamperini was the town troublemaker, a boy who used his cunning to commit acts of petty theft and public nuisance... Read Unbroken Summary

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara chronicles the journey of Eleven Madison Park (EMP) as Guidara transforms it from a moderately respected New York City restaurant to the top restaurant in the world. Published in 2022, the book has already impacted popular culture—it’s been featured on TV shows such as The Bear and Billions. In Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara imparts business insights through a personal lens. The... Read Unreasonable Hospitality Summary

Unsinkable (2011) by Canadian author Gordan Korman is the first book in a children’s action/adventure trilogy about the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Unsinkable belongs to the subgenre of books and media related to the sinking of the Titanic—a defining moment of the early 20th century—and offers a way to understand this tragedy through a youthful lens while exploring class in society, the effects of change, and the bonds formed by circumstance. Korman... Read Unsinkable Summary

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (2023) by Jesse Sutanto is a cozy mystery about 60-year-old Vera Wong, a bored, lonely woman looking for a new lease on life—which comes in the form of a corpse on the floor of her tea shop. She sets out to solve the crime herself, and in the process, she meets four young people who need the mothering that she was born to give. This guide is based on... Read Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Summary

Voyager (1993) is a historical fiction novel by the best-selling novelist Diana Gabaldon and the third book in the Outlander series. A novel about love, family, and history, Voyager centers on the experiences of Claire Fraser—an English woman from the 20th century—and her husband, Jamie—a Scottish Highlander from the 18th century—as they navigate the tumultuous historical moments in which they live. By employing elements of science fiction and romance, Gabaldon explores themes of Reconciling Past... Read Voyager Summary

Mary Downing Hahn’s eerie middle grade novel Wait Till Helen Comes (1986) is a ghost story that explores themes of family, friendship, and the emotional toll of death and guilt. Wait Till Helen Comes received a starred review from Booklist and was awarded the Texas Bluebonnet Award in 1989. The novel was also adapted into a Lifetime movie titled Little Girl’s Secret (2016), with Hahn making a cameo appearance in the film as the town... Read Wait Till Helen Comes Summary

Wandering Stars (2024) is a continuation of author Tommy Orange’s debut novel There There (2018). There There is a New York Times Bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Tommy Orange, a registered member of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes, grew up in Oakland, California where Wandering Stars is, in part, set. The novel deepens Orange's exploration of the fraught identities of Indigenous American people across the US. Wandering Stars stretches across time and circumstance, using a... Read Wandering Stars Summary

Way of the Warrior Kid is a 2017 middle grade novel by Jocko Willink. The story is heavily based on the lessons that Willink, a decorated former Navy SEAL, has developed as a consultant, author, and podcaster, focusing on how the methods and ethos of one of America’s elite military units can shape the lives of all kinds of people for the better; in particular, the novel explores themes of Confidence and Humility as Mutually... Read Way of the Warrior Kid Summary

Tracey Lange’s novel We Are the Brennans is a family drama published in 2021 by Celadon Books. The novel focuses on the loving but flawed Brennan family, whose interpersonal dramas and dark family secrets come out after the only daughter Sunday Brennan gets into a drunk-driving accident in Los Angeles and returns to her family home in West Manor, New York, at her brother’s request. The novel tackles several themes, including The Importance of Family... Read We Are the Brennans Summary

Published in 2025, We Did OK, Kid is a memoir by celebrated Welsh actor Sir Anthony Hopkins. The book traces the actor’s life from his upbringing in the industrial town of Port Talbot, Wales, where he felt like a lonely and misunderstood outsider, to his celebrated six-decade career on stage and screen. Plagued by anxiety and a volatile temper, Hopkins found a path forward through the discipline of acting, channeling his inner turmoil into his... Read We Did OK, Kid Summary

Weedflower, Cynthia Kadohata’s 2006 historical fiction young adult novel, tells the story of 12-year-old Japanese American Sumiko amid Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the US government’s ensuing involvement in World War II. Kadohata depicts the conditions of Japanese internment camps from Sumiko’s perspective, providing unique insight and education on the racism that Japanese Americans faced and the US government’s poor decisions.This guide references the 2009 paperback reprint edition from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.Plot... Read Weedflower Summary

“Welcome to the Monkey House” is a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut that was originally published in Playboy Magazine in 1968. It was republished in a short story collection entitled Welcome to the Monkey House that same year. Set in a not-too-distant dystopian future, Vonnegut uses science fiction to darkly satirize the moral restrictions on birth control in 1968. The characters of Nancy McLuhan, a suicide hostess responsible for administering lethal injections, and Billy... Read Welcome to the Monkey House Summary

Josh Sundquist is a cancer survivor, Paralympic ski racer, motivational speaker, and stand-up comedian. Sundquist’s memoir Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made It Down the Mountain was published in 2010 and became a national bestseller. While his first memoir showed how he was able to overcome health challenges to become a sporting hero, his second book We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story (2014) deals with the most... Read We Should Hang Out Sometime Summary

We Who Wrestle With God by Jordan B. Peterson is an examination of biblical narratives through the lens of psychology, philosophy, and theology. Peterson, a professor and psychologist with a wide following as a cultural commentator, explores the lessons that these stories offer about the human condition, morality, and the pursuit of a meaningful life, presenting them as universal, enduring guides for personal and societal development. The book surveys nine different episodes from the Old... Read We Who Wrestle with God Summary

When Lemons Give You Life (2026) is the second novel by Australian author Anna Johnston, following her internationally bestselling debut, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife (2024). A work of contemporary fiction, the novel centers on Griffith “Griff” Barlow, a 64-year-old acclaimed chef who is faking early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in a neglectful nursing home. His ruse began as a desperate act to remain with his husband, Beau, who had the disease and recently died. Consumed... Read When Lemons Give You Life Summary

Written by Kelly Barnhill and published in 2022, When Women Were Dragons is a work of speculative fiction with all the trappings of a realistic novel. True to the genre, Barnhill creates a world in which dragons exist and builds a sober, authentic tone by crafting seemingly historical documents to introduce the narrative, the most dominant of which is a memoir written from the perspective of protagonist Alex Green. Named one of the best fantasy/science... Read When Women Were Dragons Summary

Whiskey Tender is a 2024 memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa, who is Quechan (Yuma) and Laguna Pueblo. Winner of the Southwest Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Award, Whiskey Tender tells the story of Taffa’s coming of age as a young Indigenous girl growing up in mainstream America. Throughout the text, Taffa blends historical context from the colonization of the United States and the systemic erasure of Indigenous people with her own... Read Whiskey Tender Summary

White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer is a middle grade historical fiction novel first published in 1993. It tells the story of Rose Lee, a young Black girl living in Dillon, Texas, in 1921. When the white citizens of Dillon vote to force the Black community out of their homes to turn the area into a city park, Rose Lee and her family battle against racism, violence, and injustice as they search for options.Meyer is the... Read White Lilacs Summary

Wildfire (2023) is a new adult contemporary romance novel by BookTok sensation Hannah Grace. Grace is a romance author based in Manchester who got her start self-publishing on Wattpad before transitioning to traditional publishing. Wildfire follows a forbidden romance between two camp counselors, Aurora Roberts and Russ Callaghan. After a one-night stand, Aurora and Russ expect to go their separate ways for the summer yet end up as coworkers at Honey Acres sleepaway camp. Russ... Read Wildfire Summary

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a 2012 memoir by Cheryl Strayed, an American author whose work centers on personal struggle, perseverance, and self-discovery. The book chronicles Strayed's 1,100-mile journey on the Pacific Crest Trail four years after her mother’s sudden death. Interweaving the story of the hike with flashbacks of Strayed's earlier life, the book addresses the physical and emotional challenges of long-distance hiking and her personal growth on... Read Wild Summary