Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History (2017) by Bill Schutt is a popular science book that explores the phenomenon of cannibalism across various species, including humans, through a scientific lens. The book delves into the evolutionary, cultural, and biological aspects of cannibalism, challenging the taboo surrounding cannibalism through research and humorous storytelling. This guide uses the 2018 Algonquin Books edition of Cannibalism.Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death.SummaryIn the prologue to Cannibalism, Bill... Read Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History Summary

Captive Prince (2013) is the first novel by C. S. Pacat and the first in her Captive Prince trilogy. Originally published serially on the social media platform LiveJournal, the novel began as an “m/m slashfic,” or “slash fiction,” which refers to fan fiction that pairs characters of the same sex in romantic relationships. Though Captive Prince was initially self-published in 2013, Penguin Random House acquired and published the book in 2015.In writing Captive Prince, Pacat... Read Captive Prince Summary

Catch and Kill is a 2019 nonfiction book by the American journalist Ronan Farrow. The book details Farrow’s investigation into decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups committed by Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein as well as numerous institutional attempts to prevent his abuse coming to light. Catch and Kill begins with investigative journalist Ronan Farrow searching for a story with producer Rich McHugh in 2016. Although rumors about Harvey Weinstein’s abusive behavior are beginning to reach... Read Catch and Kill Summary

Catching Fire (2009) is the sequel to The New York Times bestseller The Hunger Games (2008), and the second novel in author Suzanne Collins’s trilogy of the same name. Catching Fire is a young adult dystopian science fiction novel that takes place in the future, amidst the ruins of what was once America. Catching Fire details the aftermath of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark’s victory in the 74th Hunger Games from the first novel. Despite... Read Catching Fire Summary

Cato, a Tragedy is a play written by Joseph Addison in 1712. Set in the Roman Republic during the reign of Julius Caesar, the play centers on the final days of the Stoic Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, a man of virtue who fiercely opposed Caesar. The play focuses on themes such as the importance of virtue and the battle between liberty and tyranny, and takes place in Utica, Tunisia, in the kingdom of Numidia, where... Read Cato, a Tragedy Summary

Check & Mate (2023) is a contemporary young adult romance by Ali Hazelwood. The novel tells the story of Mallory Greenleaf, who at eighteen has sworn off chess, the sport she and her father loved. She supports her family now that her father has died, and her mother struggles with basic tasks many days due to her chronic illness. Mallory’s inadvertent defeat of Nolan Sawyer, the reigning World Champion of professional chess, leads her back... Read Check & Mate Summary

China Rich Girlfriend is an adult novel published by Doubleday in 2015, the sequel to Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan’s internationally bestselling romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2013) and second in a trilogy which concludes with Rich People Problems (2017). Billed as a satire, a mock-epic, and a sprawling family saga that peers into the lives of the ultra-wealthy in Asia, China Rich Girlfriend depicts the efforts of Rachel Chu, a Chinese-born American university professor, and... Read China Rich Girlfriend Summary

Robert Kimmel Smith’s classic children’s novel Chocolate Fever (1972) is a modern cautionary fable about a boy whose greatest love becomes his biggest problem. The story follows Henry Green, a child whose passion for chocolate is so extreme that he consumes it for every meal. His unrestrained appetite leads to a bizarre and unprecedented medical condition: He breaks out in spots made of pure chocolate. Declared a medical marvel and frightened by the ensuing commotion... Read Chocolate Fever Summary

Alan Hlad’s Churchill’s Secret Messenger (2021), is a historical novel of espionage, resilience, and sacrifice set against the backdrop of World War II. After losing her family in the London Blitz, a young civilian typist named Rose Teasdale is recruited into Winston Churchill’s secret spy network, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). In Nazi-occupied Paris, a young Jewish man named Lazare Aron joins the French Resistance after his parents are arrested in a mass roundup. Their... Read Churchill's Secret Messenger Summary

City Spies is a middle-grade mystery-adventure spy novel written by James Ponti and originally published in 2020. James Ponti has since written three more novels in the series, including Golden Gate, Forbidden City, and City of the Dead. Ponti has a love for history and spy stories, and actively chooses to create a cast of diverse characters in his novels to challenge typical notions of friendship and family. He also battles misconceptions of autism by... Read City Spies Summary

Stephanie Land’s Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education (2023) is her follow-up to Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive (2019). Both memoirs began as shorter papers, essays, and online writing; she developed and expanded the ideas for these texts in nonfiction courses at the University of Montana.Maid is considered to be a gripping examination of poverty in America and received wide acclaim, including praise from former-President Barack... Read Class Summary

Clean Getaway is a middle grade novel written by Nic Stone published in 2020. The story draws on history to bring the stories and experiences of African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s to life while also illustrating how its protagonist, William “Scoob” Lamar, deals with his family’s history and its connections to the larger American story. Stone’s first novel, Dear Martin (2017), focuses on a teenager writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr... Read Clean Getaway Summary

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself (Revised and Updated) is a self-help book written by Melody Beattie, a renowned author and expert on codependency. First published in 1986, this work has become a cornerstone in the field of codependency recovery, selling over eight million copies and being translated into more than a dozen languages. Beattie draws from her personal experiences with alcoholism, addiction, and codependency to provide a... Read Codependent No More Summary

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski, PhD, presents a new way of thinking about sex and desire that challenges the traditional male-centric narrative. Dr. Nagoski is a writer and lecturer with a background in women’s sexuality and health. Come as You Are presents an understanding of sex that emphasizes the roles of “accelerators” and “brakes” in arousal and desire. When she worked as a... Read Come As You Are Summary

Communion: The Female Search for Love is a 2002 nonfiction feminist philosophy book by author, theorist, educator, and social critic bell hooks (born Gloria Jean Watkins). It is the third book in her Love Trilogy, following her 1999 book All About Love: New Visions, which explores new ways to think about love and self-love, and her 2001 book Salvation: Black People and Love, which examines the role of love in the history and culture of... Read Communion Summary

Published in 2000, Confessions of a Shopaholic was the breakout success of British novelist Sophie Kinsella (the pen name of Madeleine Wickham), a former financial journalist from London. Before adopting the Kinsella pseudonym, Wickham published several traditional novels, but she gained international recognition through the Shopaholic series, along with later stand-alone works such as Can You Keep a Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess.The novel follows Rebecca Bloomwood, a journalist whose compulsive spending habits clash comically... Read Confessions of a Shopaholic Summary

“Cora Unashamed,” by Langston Hughes, was first published in his 1934 short story collection The Ways of White Folks. Like the collection as a whole, “Cora Unashamed“ explores racial consciousness and the relationships between Black and white individuals and communities. Known for his literary contributions to the Harlem Renaissance movement, a revival of African American culture in the 1920s and 1930s, Hughes wrote about Black identity and the experiences of African Americans in a segregated... Read Cora Unashamed Summary

Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, likely written around 1607-1608. The play is set in Ancient Rome, much like Shakespeare’s other plays Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, and Antony and Cleopatra. Coriolanus dramatizes the life of the legendary Roman soldier Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, a patrician who was exiled from the Roman Republic in the 5th century BC after an unsuccessful bid to become consul. Through this narrative, Shakespeare explores themes of the difficulties of controlling... Read Coriolanus Summary

“Counterparts” is the ninth chapter in Irish author James Joyce’s Dubliners collection. Each chapter stands alone as an individual short story, yet compiled forms a chronological presentation of the citizens of Dublin, Ireland, in the early 20th century. As the ninth chapter in the book, “Counterparts” falls under the category of those related to adult life. James Joyce innovated modernism in literature by creating characterization and setting with a limited amount of exposition. His restraint... Read Counterparts Summary

Varsha Bajaj’s Count Me In (2019) is a middle grade novel set in contemporary Houston, Texas. Written in the first person, its chapters alternate between the perspectives of main characters Karina Chopra and Chris Daniels. The last thing Karina and Chris expect is to become friends—that is, until Karina’s grandfather tutors Chris in math. After the characters are violently attacked by a racist man on the street, Karina and Chris learn how to stand up... Read Count Me In Summary