Action & Adventure

The Maze Runner is a young adult dystopian novel set in a post-apocalyptic world. The story begins in a dark metal elevator, where a teenage boy awakens with no real memories other than the fact that his name is Thomas. When the elevator stops and the doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by teenage boys. Their leader, a boy named Alby, welcomes Thomas to the Glade. Thomas quickly sees that the Glade is surrounded by... Read The Maze Runner Summary

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood is a much-beloved adventure novel by Howard Pyle (1853-1911), published in 1883. Pyle, an American illustrator and children’s author, wove together several of the early ballads about the famed medieval outlaw Robin Hood and his companions, the Merry Men, in an episodic and entertaining plot aimed at young readers of the late nineteenth century. Written in a pseudo-archaic English actually modeled on Elizabethan-era English, the book reflects a colorful... Read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Summary

Kate DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, published in 2006, is a novel about the life of Edward Tulane, a three-foot tall china rabbit. While the book functions like a fairy tale, having magical content and a clear moral, both young and adult audiences can relate to the themes of love and loss that Edward endures. Although the chapters are short, and the language is geared towards children, the themes serve as a larger... Read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Summary

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Written by environmental advocate Edward Abbey in 1975, The Monkey Wrench Gang tells the story of a motley crew of environmental activists fighting industrialization in the American Southwest. Abbey's most famous work of fiction, this novel inspired a generation of eco-activists. Opening in the so-called "aftermath" (1) of the novel, Abbey immediately situates the reader in media res, at the site of a newly-built bridge between Arizona and Utah, over Glen Canyon. A "workman" (4)... Read The Monkey Wrench Gang Summary

The Moor’s Account (2014) is a fictionalized memoir of the first African explorer in the new world. Very little is known about him beyond the fact that he was one of only four survivors of the ill-fated Narváez expedition. In this historical novel, which cleverly employs flashbacks and first-person narration, author Laila Lalami imagines Mustafa telling his own story of endurance and survival.Mustafa was born in North Africa in the early 16th century. Despite his... Read The Moor's Account Summary

The Mosquito Coast, published in 1981 by Paul Theroux, is an adventure story narrated by 13-year-old Charlie Fox, the son of a brilliant inventor who uproots his family to establish a self-sustaining settlement in the jungles of Honduras. Writing in the tradition of novels like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson, and Lord of the Flies, Theroux cited the Jonestown Massacre and the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith as influences in... Read The Mosquito Coast Summary

Written in 1924, Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” has achieved fame as a popular short story worldwide. The story is an iconic tale that questions the value of human life and offers a commentary on the morality of man and instinct versus reason. It has sparked numerous adaptations and inspired other pieces of fiction, from poems and novels to several films and TV series.As the story opens, Sanger Rainsford, a game hunter, is on... Read The Most Dangerous Game Summary

Rodman Philbrick’s The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (2009) is a historical fiction novel for middle-grade readers. It won the Newbery Honor award for its story about a young boy’s travels across Civil War America in search of his lost brother. The 2011 e-book edition is the basis for this study guide. Plot SummaryHomer Figg, 12 years old in 1863, lives on a farm in Maine with his older brother, Harold. They’re in... Read The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg Summary

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The Motorcycle Diaries is, as its title suggests, a record of a motorcycle journey, based on a diary by its author – a young Argentinian medical student – kept during the trip. What makes it remarkable isthat the young medical student who wrote it was Ernesto “Che” Guevara de la Serna, now known as a leader of the Cuban revolution, a guerrilla strategist, a Cuban government official, and a fomenter of revolution in the Congo... Read The Motorcycle Diaries Summary

The Mountain Between Us (2010) is a survival romance novel by Charles Martin. It tells the story of Ben Payne, a surgeon who becomes trapped in the remote Utah wilderness with writer Ashley Knox. The novel interweaves Ben’s personal history with his growing feelings for Ashley as they rely on each other for survival, and their love begins to pose a potential complication in the lives to which they hope to return. Through their journey... Read The Mountain Between Us Summary

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The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007) by Trenton Lee Stewart is a New York Times best-selling children’s novel, the first in a mystery series that includes two sequels and a prequel. The book was included on reading lists published by notable several organizations, including the Association for Library Service to Children, Books for Youth, and the Texas Library Association.Plot SummaryFour children, Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington, Kate Wetherall, and Constance Contraire, respond to a newspaper advertisement for... Read The Mysterious Benedict Society Summary

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The Name of the Wind, published in 2007, is the first book in author Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle series. The fantasy novel is an incomplete coming-of-age-style tale about Kvothe, a legendary and extraordinary figure whose many heroic deeds are the subject of local lore. Kvothe has come to retire as an innkeeper in a small town where the people know him as “Kote.” However, disquieting events start to happen as a result of a... Read The Name of the Wind Summary