Crash is a novel for middle-grade readers by Jerry Spinelli that traces the adventures of Crash Coogan, a seventh-grade athlete who evolves from a bully to become best friends with one of his victims.Jerry Spinelli has written three dozen books for children. He’s a winner of both the Newbery Award and a Newbery Honor. Two of his books have been adapted for television, including the New York Times bestselling novel, Stargirl. With his wife, book... Read Crash Summary

“Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop” belongs with Anglo-Irish poet William Butler Yeats’s late poems about vitality, aging, death, and the persistence of the creative impulse. Published as part of Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems in 1932, collected in The Winding Stair and Other Poems, the full Crazy Jane sequence and other poems in this collection address Irish history and folk culture. Yeats weaves together English and Irish traditions, pagan and Christian beliefs... Read Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop Summary

Crime and Punishment is a novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1866. The story charts the alienation of a student named Raskolnikov who decides to commit the perfect crime to philosophically proving his superiority over others. The novel traces the depths of his mental disintegration as he comes to grips with the psychological consequences of being a murderer, exploring themes like Alienation and Shame, Criminality, and The Necessity of Suffering.Dostoevsky, a stalwart... Read Crime and Punishment Summary

Cursed Fates (2020) is a dark fantasy romance novel by British writing duo Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It is the fifth book in the internationally bestselling Zodiac Academy series, which is part of the larger United States of Solaria interconnected universe. The series gained significant popularity through social media platforms, particularly TikTok, and has appeared on bestseller lists from outlets including the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The novel continues the story of... Read Cursed Fates Summary

Cyrano de Bergerac: An Heroic Comedy in Five Acts by Edmond Rostand was originally published in 1898. Rostand was a popular poet and playwright in France during his lifetime. Cyrano de Bergerac is a five-act verse drama—a tragic romance, set in France in the mid-1600s. It was far more popular than all of Rostand’s other works and has been performed and adapted countless times since its initial successful run.Cyrano de Bergerac explores themes of Unrequited... Read Cyrano de Bergerac Summary

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. is a self-help book for professionals written by American researcher and lecturer Brené Brown. The text explores how to become a “daring” leader who motivates and inspires employees to develop their skills and fulfill their fullest potential, highlighting the importance of Vulnerability, Honest Communication, and Operationalizing Courage.Brown, who is trained in social work and has a PhD in philosophy, bases much of her advice on her... Read Dare to Lead Summary

Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (2012) is a self-help book that argues people need to embrace vulnerability and live courageously. Rooted in 12 years of ground-breaking research, the book shows that vulnerability is not a weakness but instead it is a measure of courage and the key to a fulfilling life. Daring Greatly is a New York Times best seller and... Read Daring Greatly Summary

Recipient of the Man Booker International Prize in 2007 for his literary career, Nigerian writer and critic Chinua Achebe is known as the “Father of Modern African Literature.” His short story “Dead Men’s Path” raises issues central to many works of postcolonial writing such as modernity versus tradition, urban versus rural life, and Christianity versus Indigenous religion, as well as the overall effects of European colonization on life in his native Nigeria. Originally published in... Read Dead Men’s Path Summary

Death in Her Hands (2020) is a work of psychological suspense and metafiction by American author Ottessa Moshfegh. Moshfegh is known for her novels featuring alienated and unreliable female narrators, including the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning Eileen (2015) and the New York Times bestseller My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018). Death in Her Hands was also a New York Times bestseller and was named a Best Book of 2020 by several publications. The novel follows an... Read Death in Her Hands Summary

First published in 1973, Judy Blume’s middle grade novel Deenie follows seventh-grader Deenie Fenner’s journey toward self-acceptance after she is diagnosed with scoliosis. American author Judy Blume is best known for her fiction for children and young adults. She has written over 26 novels in her decades-long career, and her work has earned critical success and enduring popularity, including titles like Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and... Read Deenie Summary

James Dickey’s 1970 novel Deliverance explores themes of masculinity, the relationship between images and reality, and ideas about civilization and nature through the experience of four urban men on a canoe trip gone awry. Dickey, an influential American poet and novelist, was born in 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia. His poetry is known for its vivid imagery and exploration of nature and the human condition. Before turning to writing full time, Dickey served in World War... Read Deliverance Summary

The Diary of a Nobody by brothers George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith is a classic British humorous novel that chronicles the life and misadventures of Charles Pooter, a lower-middle-class clerk with social aspirations that often lead to comic misfortunes. First published in serial form from 1888 to 1889 in Punch magazine, the novel is a satirical look at middle-class pretensions and frustrations in late Victorian England, presented through Pooter’s diary entries. The entries are filled... Read Diary of a Nobody Summary

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the first graphic novel in the titular series by Jeff Kinney. Since its initial publication in 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid has become a New York Times bestseller and 16 sequels have followed in the series, including Rodrick Rules (2008) and The Last Straw (2009). Diary of a Wimpy Kid is written in a diary format and documents the misadventures of middle school student Greg Heffley, who longs... Read Diary of a Wimpy Kid Summary

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is the debut novel of author Crystal Smith Paul. The novel tells the story of Kitty Karr Tate, who was born to a Black mother in the American South in the 1930s. At age 18, Kitty moves to Hollywood, where she builds a successful acting career while “passing” as a white woman. The narrative opens with the revelation that Kitty, who has just died, is leaving her massive fortune... Read Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? Summary

Doctor Sleep is a 2013 horror novel by Stephen King. It is a sequel to the events that occurred in King’s popular novel The Shining and features the return of Danny Torrance. Decades after the horrors at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance must now reckon with the renewed threat of the spirits. When the novel begins, the dead woman from the Overlook’s Room 217 has returned and threatens Danny in his bathroom. King uses this... Read Doctor Sleep Summary

British author Charles Dickens, a notable figure in the canon of modern English literature, is a Victorian novelist famous for such stories as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol. A prolific author who blends sentiment, comedy, and social realism with a satiric edge, Dickens was enormously popular in his lifetime and deeply influential in the development of the English novel. Dombey and Son is considered one of his more mature if less popular... Read Dombey and Son Summary

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (2002) is a memoir by Alexandra Fuller. Fuller recounts her childhood during the tumultuous years of the Rhodesian Bush War and life in post-independence Southern Africa. The author details her family‘s tragedies against the backdrop of political upheaval and social change as they settle on a series of struggling farms in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia), Malawi, and Zambia. The memoir was a New York Times Notable Book for... Read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Summary

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence is a 2021 book by Dr. Anna Lembke, a clinical psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. In the book, Lembke explores the biological processes behind addictive behaviors and conditions. Using patient anecdotes from her clinical practice, Lembke examines the significant role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in addiction. While the book offers informative reading, Lembke’s ultimate purpose is to persuade people to... Read Dopamine Nation Summary

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, published by Random House in 1992, is the second novel in the highly successful romance series, Outlander. Continuing the story of Claire Randall Fraser and Jamie Fraser, this novel returns the reader to 1744, as Claire and Jamie travel to France to escape the tyrannical forces led by Jack Randall, an ancestor of Claire’s first husband, Frank. The novel not only highlights the unlikely romance between a modern woman... Read Dragonfly in Amber Summary

Originally published in 1976, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsong is a young-adult fantasy novella that marks the first installment of the Harper Hall of Pern trilogy, which is set within the larger series called Dragonriders of Pern. The novel follows a teenage girl named Menolly: a talented musician who longs to become a professional Harper despite her community’s restrictions against it. After being forbidden to make music in the wake of her mentor’s death, Menolly flees into... Read Dragonsong Summary