"The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream—and he knew what he was talking about. A text from this study guide collection might be just the thing to remind you of the bliss and pain of love.
Publication year 1813
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Classic Fiction, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Romance, British Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction
Published anonymously in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s most well-known book. A “novel of manners,” which presents a realistic picture of society through the customs and manners of everyday life, Pride and Prejudice offers a glimpse into 19th-century English social hierarchies, as well as women’s roles and the importance of marriage. While Austen’s books were popular during her lifetime, she died before she was acknowledged as their author; when Persuasion was published posthumously, her... Read Pride and Prejudice Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Romance, Class, Urban Development, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1986
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth
Tags Romance, Southern Literature, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Depression / Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action / Adventure
Princess Academy (2005) is the first novel in the Princess Academy trilogy by American writer Shannon Hale. This children’s fantasy novel follows 14-year-old Miri Larensdaughter, who, along with other girls from her village, is sent to an academy to train for the chance to become the future bride of the prince. At the academy, Miri learns to overcome interpersonal conflicts with her rivals and a stern tutor, confront her fears and insecurities about her place... Read Princess Academy Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Prodigy (2013) is the second installment in the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. In this young adult series set in a dystopian future, the United States is divided into two warring nations, the Republic and the Colonies. Prodigy follows the first-person perspectives of two teen protagonists first introduced in Legend (2011), June and Day, as they join a rebel group called the Patriots in hopes of overthrowing the corrupt government. As they work to take... Read Prodigy Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Korean Literature, Asian Literature, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
P.S. I Still Love You is a young adult novel by Jenny Han, published by Scholastic in 2015. It is a sequel to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, published in 2014. The two books share the same main character and narrator, Lara Jean Song Covey, a Korean-American teenaged girl. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before concerns Lara Jean’s habit of writing secret love letters to boys she’s had crushes on, and P.S. I... Read P.S. I Still Love You Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Relationships: Teams, Identity: Sexuality
Tags Romance, Sports, LGBTQ, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Sports, LGBTQ
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Romance, Sports
Publication year 1913
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Language
Tags British Literature, Play: Drama, Play: Comedy / Satire, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Humor
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw was first published in 1914, with an updated version published in 1941. The play was Shaw’s most popular and most critically acclaimed work. It inspired the heavily romanticized musical and movie adaptation My Fair Lady, which won both a Tony for Best Musical and an Oscar for Best Picture.Shaw began his career as a novelist, but his novels were largely unsuccessful. After he moved from Dublin to London, he shifted... Read Pygmalion Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Indian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Romance, Action / Adventure
The novel Q & A, by Vikas Swarup, chronicles the various misadventures of protagonist Ram Mohammad Thomas, a penniless teenager who has been arrested for answering twelve questions correctly on the TV quiz show Who Will Win a Billion? Defying conventional temporal chronologies, each chapter, connected to a question from the quiz show, helps to explain how Thomas knew the correct answer, while alsoserving as a vignette of Thomas’s life. Q & A is a... Read Q & A Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action / Adventure, Fairy Tale / Folklore
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Objects, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Publication year 1844
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature, Love / Sexuality, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Fantasy, Romance, Classic Fiction
“Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1844) is a Gothic short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) first published in The United States Magazines and Democratic Review. In 1846, it was republished in a collection of stories and sketches, Mosses from an Old Manse. Hawthorne was a leader of the Dark Romantic or Gothic movement in American literature. His close friends included fellow Massachusetts writers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson.The work is prefaced by Hawthorne, who claims to... Read Rappaccini's Daughter Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness
Reality Boy (2013) is a young adult novel by American writer A.S. King. Told through the first-person perspective of Gerald Faust, a teenage boy who grapples with trauma, the narrative explores Gerald’s childhood abuse and the public spotlight which facilitated it when his family is selected for a reality television series. Gerald’s account takes place during his teenage years and features chapters that flash back to the filming of the series.Plot SummaryWhen Gerald Faust was... Read Reality Boy Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Femininity, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Humor, Relationships, Depression / Suicide
Publication year 1938
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness
Tags British Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Gothic Literature, Modernism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rebecca, a bestselling novel by famed English writer Daphne du Maurier, was published in 1938, and has never gone out of print. The winner of the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1938, Rebecca has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film version, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a 1997 television miniseries. It was most recently adapted for a Netflix film in 2020 by the same name. Rebecca... Read Rebecca Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Fantasy, Romance
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Children's Literature, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Action / Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction