Book Summaries

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid, written by Freida McFadden, is a psychological thriller following Millie Calloway, a young ex-con who becomes a housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family. As Milli...

The Housemaid's Secret

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid's Secret, written by Freida McFadden, is a gripping psychological thriller that follows Millie, a dedicated housemaid helping abused women to escape dangerous marriag...

The Housemaid Is Watching

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid Is Watching, written by Freida McFadden, is a gripping psychological thriller. It follows a woman who moves into her dream home with her family, seeking a fresh start...

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara, follows the lives of four friends in New York City, diving deep into their experiences with friendship, trauma, substance abuse, sexual assault,...

If He Had Been With Me

Laura Nowlin

If He Had Been With Me, written by Laura Nowlin, is a coming-of-age story that focuses on Autumn and Finny, who were best friends in childhood but grow apart in high school. As Aut...

If Only I Had Told Her

Laura Nowlin

If Only I Had Told Her, by Laura Nowlin, is a young adult novel that tells the story of Finn Smith, who looks back on his concealed love for Autumn and the moments that lead to his...

It Starts With Us

Colleen Hoover

It Starts With Us is a contemporary romance by Colleen Hoover that continues Lily Bloom's story from It Ends With Us. In this novel, Lily rekindles her relationship with her first ...

It Ends With Us

Colleen Hoover

It Ends With Us is a novel by Colleen Hoover, following the life of Lily Bloom, a young woman caught in a challenging and abusive relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. While...

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses, written by Sarah J. Maas, tells the story of 19-year-old Feyre, a huntress who is taken to the world of Prythian after killing a wolf. In this magical ...

A Court of Mist and Fury

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas centers on Feyre, who deals with nightmares and a stifling engagement to Tamlin after surviving dangerous trials. As she explores her deep...

A Court of Wings and Ruin

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas, centers on Feyre Archeron as she returns to the Spring Court to gather secrets and prepare for a significant battle against the formida...

A Court of Frost and Starlight

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas, is a novella that takes place after the war in the magical land of Prythian. It focuses on Feyre, Rhysand, and their friends as th...

A court of Silver Flames

Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Silver Flames, written by Sarah J. Maas, centers on Nesta Archeron, who faces her past trauma and navigates her complicated relationship with the warrior Cassian. The st...

Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing is a new adult fantasy novel by Rebecca Yarros, centered on Violet Sorrengail. Facing pressure from her mother, a military general, Violet must attend Basgiath War Coll...

Iron Flame

Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame, by Rebecca Yarros, tracks Violet Sorrengail's return to Basgiath War College for her second year, where she faces dangerous political secrets and threats from dark wiel...

Onyx Storm

Rebecca Yarros

Onyx Storm, by Rebecca Yarros, is the third book in the Empyrean fantasy romance series. The story follows Violet as she embarks on a mission to find a cure for Xaden, who is becom...

The Wager

David Grann

The Wager, written by David Grann, is a nonfiction book that details the harrowing journey of the British ship Wager, which faced shipwreck during a secret mission in 1740. The sto...

Wicked

Gregory Maguire

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire, is a darker retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It tells the story of Elphaba, a green-skinned girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Thr...

The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller by Alex Michaelides that tells the story of Alicia Berenson, a renowned painter who shoots her husband and then stops speaking. Drive...

All the Colors of the Dark

Chris Whitaker

All the Colors of the Dark is a gripping novel written by Chris Whitaker. Set in 1975 Missouri, it intertwines a missing-person mystery, a dark serial-killer thriller, and a love s...

Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead is a novel by Barbara Kingsolver that revolves around Damon Fields, known as Demon, who comes of age in the Appalachian region of Virginia while facing poverty and...

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who brings a creature to life through unusual experiments. As the creature ex...

Verity

Colleen Hoover

Verity, by Colleen Hoover, is a psychological thriller that follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer given the task of finishing a bestselling series for the injured author Veri...

Beowulf

Unknown

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that follows the heroic warrior Beowulf, who aids King Hrothgar of the Danes by defeating the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother. After ...

Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger that follows 16-year-old Holden Caulfield over two days after he's expelled from prep school. Throughout the story, Holden grappl...

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures, written by Shelby Van Pelt, tells the touching story of Tova, a seventy-year-old widow who works at an aquarium. There, she forms an unexpected friends...

First Lie Wins

Ryan Holiday

First Lie Wins is an exciting thriller featuring Evie Porter, a woman adept at taking on false identities for secret missions. When a mysterious boss gives her a new name and targe...

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a rich man who hosts extravagant parties in 1920s New York. His main goal is to win back his true l...

Good Girl Bad Blood

Holly Jackson

Good Girl, Bad Blood" by Holly Jackson continues the story of Pip Fitz-Amobi, who takes on a new investigation into the disappearance of a classmate's older brother. As Pip dives d...

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of a young woman's decline into madness as a result of the restrictive rest cure her husband enforces after she ...

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, tells the story of a group of English schoolboys stranded on a deserted island. They attempt to create their own society, but without...

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, tells the story of Miss Emily Grierson, a solitary Southern woman dealing with her father's death. As time goes on, she struggles to accept ...

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel by Ray Bradbury that follows Guy Montag, a fireman in a future society where books are burned to keep people from thinking critically. As Montag starts to...

Antigone

Sophocles

Antigone, a tragedy by Sophocles, tells the story of Antigone, who goes against King Creon's command by giving her brother Polynices a proper burial. She believes family loyalty is...

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart is a novel by Chinua Achebe that centers on Okonkwo, a revered Igbo leader grappling with the impacts of colonialism and Christianity on his traditional Nigerian ...

Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian is a violent Western novel by Cormac McCarthy. The story centers around a teenage runaway called "the kid" who becomes part of a brutal gang of scalp hunters along t...

None of This Is True

Lisa Jewell

None of This Is True is a psychological thriller by Lisa Jewell. It follows Alix Summer, a well-known true crime podcaster, who encounters Josie Fair—her birthday twin with a troub...

Animal Farm

George Orwell

Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a satirical novel that tells the story of farm animals who rebel against their human owner to create a society where everyone is equal. However, t...

Funny Story

Emily Henry

Funny Story, written by Emily Henry, follows the journey of Daphne and Miles, who find themselves living together after their childhood-best-friend exes marry each other. As a rese...

The Great Alone

Kristin Hannah

The Great Alone, written by Kristin Hannah, tells the story of the Allbright family who moves to the wilds of Alaska for a fresh start. As they face extreme conditions and the fath...

Reminders of Him

Colleen Hoover

Reminders of Him, written by Colleen Hoover, tells the story of Kenna Rowan, a young mother just released from prison after a tragic mistake. Desperate to reunite with her four-yea...

The Perfect Couple

Elin Hilderbrand

The novel The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand centers on a glamorous wedding in Nantucket, which takes a dark turn when the maid of honor, Merritt, is discovered dead. This shoc...

The Perfect Marriage

Jenna McCarthy

The Perfect Marriage, written by Jenna McCarthy, follows Sarah Morgan, a successful defense attorney, as she defends her husband, Adam, who is accused of murdering his mistress. Th...

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is about a blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a German boy named Werner, whose paths cross during World War II. As Marie-Laure...

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a tale about Santiago, a young shepherd from Andalusia, who embarks on a journey to Egypt after dreaming of treasure hidden near the pyramids. Thro...

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a novel by Charlotte Brontë that follows the life of an orphaned girl, Jane Eyre. She faces a tough childhood, becomes a governess, and finds love with her employer, M...

Powerless

Lauren Roberts

Powerless by Lauren Roberts follows seventeen-year-old Paedyn, known as Pae, who is an Ordinary in a kingdom ruled by a ruthless king. This setting forces Pae into deadly Purging T...

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Taylor Jenkins Reid

The novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid follows the life of Evelyn Hugo, a glamorous Old Hollywood actress. Now 79, she chooses to reveal the truth about...

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried, written by Tim O'Brien, tells the story of a group of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. It highlights the physical objects they carry, along with t...

Hadestown

Anaïs Mitchell

Hadestown, written by Anaïs Mitchell, is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this story, Eurydice struggles to escape her bleak life in the und...

The Crucible

Arthur Miller

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, revolves around the Salem witch trials in a Puritan town, showcasing how fear and hysteria lead to wrongful accusations and tragic outcomes....

The Giver

Lois Lowry

The Giver is a novel by Lois Lowry that follows an 11-year-old boy named Jonas in a controlled, emotionless society where pain and choices are removed to keep peace. When Jonas b...

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

Then She Was Gone, written by Lisa Jewell, is a gripping psychological thriller centered around Laurel, a mother whose teenage daughter, Ellie, vanished without a trace ten years a...

The Last Letter

Lisa Wingate

The Last Letter, written by Lisa Wingate, is a historical novel that follows a woman's journey to uncover her family's hidden history connected to a children's home in Tennessee an...

The Things We Leave Unfinished

Rebecca Yarros

The Things We Leave Unfinished, written by Rebecca Yarros, explores the life of Georgia Stanton as she comes back home after a tough divorce. She is given the task of finishing her...

Better Than the Movies

Lynn Painter

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter is a young adult romance that follows Liz Buxbaum, a high school senior who adores romantic films. As she attempts to create her dream romanc...

Cruel Prince

Holly Black

In The Cruel Prince, Holly Black tells the story of Jude Duarte, a mortal girl who witnesses her parents' murder and is taken to the dangerous High Court of Faerie. At seventeen,...

Shatter Me

Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me is a young adult dystopian novel by Tahereh Mafi that follows 17-year-old Juliette, whose touch can kill. Imprisoned by a severe regime known as The Reestablishment, J...

From Blood and Ash

Jennifer L. Armentrout

From Blood and Ash, authored by Jennifer L. Armentrout, is a fantasy novel that follows Penellaphe Balfour, or Poppy, a Maiden chosen to “Ascend” as a tribute to the gods. As her f...

Lightlark

Alex Aster

Lightlark is a young adult fantasy novel by Alex Aster, featuring Isla Crown, a 19-year-old ruler from Wildling. She competes in the Centennial, a perilous game held every centur...

Esperanza Rising

Pam Muñoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising is a young adult historical fiction novel written by Pam Muñoz Ryan. The story follows Esperanza, a privileged girl in Mexico, whose life turns upside down after h...

Once Upon a Broken Heart

Stephanie Garber

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber tells the story of Evangeline Fox, who makes a risky deal with the Prince of Hearts to prevent her ex-lover from marrying her step-...

One Dark Window

Rachel Gillig

One Dark Window is a dark gothic fantasy novel by Rachel Gillig that tells the story of Elspeth Spindle, a young woman with a dangerous spirit known as the Nightmare living in he...

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, tells the story of a young girl named Liesel who grows up in Nazi Germany during World War II. Living with her foster parents, she finds solace in ...

Things We Never Got Over

Lucy Score

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score is a contemporary romance that follows Naomi Witt, a runaway bride who flees to a small town to assist her mischievous twin sister, T...

Twisted Love

Ana Huang

Twisted Love is a contemporary romance novel by Ana Huang, featuring Ava Chen, a photographer, and her brother’s best friend, Alex Volkov. Their relationship becomes intense as A...

Ugly Love

Colleen Hoover

Ugly Love is a contemporary romance by Colleen Hoover that tells the story of Tate and Miles, who agree to a casual relationship with clear rules: no questions about the past and...

Heir of Fire

Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire is a novel by Sarah J. Maas that centers on Celaena Sardothien, a skilled assassin who learns she is Aelin Galathynius, the rightful heir to a lost kingdom. As she j...

Queen of Shadows

Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas centers on Aelin Galathynius as she returns to claim her throne and seek revenge on those who ruined her life. Aelin confronts dark truths, fo...

Butcher and Blackbird

Lydia Fitzpatrick

The novel Butcher and Blackbird, by Lydia Fitzpatrick, mixes dark humor with romance in a quirky tale about finding the right partner to handle a dead body. This unusual story ad...

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is about two lifelong friends, Sam Masur and Sadie Green, who connect over video games while in a hospital. Their bond leads them to create a...

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, tells the story of the Younger family, a Black family living on Chicago's South Side. They face challenges like racial segregati...

Allegory of the Cave

Plato

The Allegory of the Cave by Plato is a philosophical story that shows how people can be trapped by their illusions, mistaking shadows for reality. In this tale, prisoners are stu...

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is a Southern Gothic short story by Flannery O'Connor. It centers on a family's road trip from Georgia to Florida that takes a dark turn when they meet ...

Girl in Pieces

Kathleen Glasgow

The novel Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow tells the story of Charlie Davis, a teenage girl facing trauma, self-harm, and deep loss. Following a suicide attempt, she leaves a p...

The Cask of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask of Amontillado is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that explores themes of revenge and betrayal. In the story, Montresor plans a lethal revenge against Fortunato, whom...

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe

The Fall of the House of Usher, authored by Edgar Allan Poe, tells a haunting tale about a visitor returning to the decaying mansion of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. The st...

The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin

The Story of an Hour is a short story by Kate Chopin, focusing on Louise Mallard, a woman with a heart condition who hears about her husband's death in a railroad accident. While s...

Three Body Problem

Liu Cixin

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin is a science fiction novel that explores Earth's contact with an alien civilization from a three-sun system known as Trisolaris. The story sta...

Never Lie

Freida McFadden

Never Lie by Freida McFadden is a gripping mystery-thriller featuring newlyweds Tricia and Ethan, who find themselves stuck in a remote manor during a snowstorm. This eerie house...

The Secret History

Donna Tartt

The Secret History, by Donna Tartt, follows a group of elite Classics students at a Vermont college who get entangled in murder after forming a close yet secretive bond. Narrated b...

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel by Zora Neale Hurston that follows Janie Crawford, a black woman in the American South, as she seeks true love and self-discovery through ...

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck that tells the story of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, during the Great Depression. They have a dream of owning a...

Othello

William Shakespeare

Othello, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that tells the story of a Moorish general in Venice named Othello. He is manipulated by his dishonest ensign, Iago, into thi...

Parable of the Sower

Octavia Butler

Parable of the Sower is a dystopian novel by Octavia Butler that follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman who flees from a violent and crumbling America. As she journeys north, she ...

Screwtape Letters

C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters, written by C.S. Lewis, is a novel that features 31 letters from Screwtape, a senior devil, to his nephew Wormwood. Through these letters, Screwtape guides Wo...

The Outsiders

S. E. Hinton

The novel The Outsiders, written by S. E. Hinton, centers on 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his two brothers as they face the intense social divide between the working-class Grease...

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that centers on Uncle Tom, a kind-hearted and devout enslaved man, and the people around him who face ...

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a dark, passionate story by Emily Brontë that explores the lives of two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, on the Yorkshire moors. The plot revolves ar...

The Berry Pickers

Garry Disher

The novel The Berry Pickers by Garry Disher weaves a tale of complex human relationships and social expectations in a rural Australian setting. It centers on a small community wh...

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows Esther Greenwood, a young woman grappling with depression and a mental breakdown amid societal pressure...

King Lear

William Shakespeare

King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, explores the tragic tale of an old king who splits his kingdom among his three daughters, driven by their flattery. He casts out Cordelia...

Small Things Like These

Claire Keegan

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan follows Bill Furlong, a coal merchant in a small Irish town in 1985. As Christmas approaches, he uncovers troubling secrets about a...

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

Tom Lake is a novel by Ann Patchett that focuses on a mother named Lara, who recounts her youthful romance with a well-known actor, Peter Duke, while participating in summer theate...

Haunting Adeline

H.D. Carlton

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton is a dark romance that follows Adeline Reilly, a young author who moves into her grandmother’s house and discovers hidden family secrets linked t...

The Lost Bookshop

Emma Davis

The Lost Bookshop, written by Emma Davis, is a magical women's fiction novel set in modern-day Dublin. It tells the story of Martha, who escapes an abusive relationship; Henry, a P...

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, tells the story of a young man named Dorian Gray who stays young while his portrait ages, showing the effects of his immoral cho...

The Measure

Michele Wucker

The Measure, by Michele Wucker, explores how cultures view and deal with risk. It helps you understand how personal and collective attitudes toward uncertainty play a big role in o...

Pretty Girls

Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls, by Karin Slaughter, is a gripping thriller that follows two estranged sisters as they come together to uncover hidden family secrets. Their journey begins with the my...

I Who Have Never Known Men

Jacques Roubaud

I Who Have Never Known Men is a novel by Jacques Roubaud that tells the story of forty women held captive in an underground prison, observed by armed guards without understanding...

The Housemaid

The Housemaid

The Housemaid's Secret

The Housemaid's Secret

The Housemaid Is Watching

The Housemaid Is Watching

A Little Life

A Little Life

If He Had Been With Me

If He Had Been With Me

If Only I Had Told Her

If Only I Had Told Her

It Starts With Us

It Starts With Us

It Ends With Us

It Ends With Us

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Frost and Starlight

A Court of Frost and Starlight

A ​court of Silver Flames

A ​court of Silver Flames

Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing

Iron Flame

Iron Flame

Onyx Storm

Onyx Storm

The Wager

The Wager

Wicked

Wicked

The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient

All the Colors of the Dark

All the Colors of the Dark

Demon Copperhead

Demon Copperhead

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Verity

Verity

Beowulf

Beowulf

Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Remarkably Bright Creatures

First Lie Wins

First Lie Wins

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Good Girl Bad Blood

Good Girl Bad Blood

The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

Antigone

Antigone

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart

Blood Meridian

Blood Meridian

None of This Is True

None of This Is True

Animal Farm

Animal Farm

Funny Story

Funny Story

The Great Alone

A court of Silver Flames

A court of Silver Flames