School Book List Titles

... Read On the Banks of Plum Creek Summary

... Read On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness Summary

... Read On the Far Side of the Mountain Summary

Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic (1887) is an analysis of the development of morality in human history. The renowned 19th-century philosopher wrote On the Genealogy of Morals to entice readers to his larger works. In it, he challenges traditional ideals about Christian morality and the origin of virtue and ethics. Nietzsche argues that moral values are products of social power. Qualities which society has deemed virtues—such as honesty, meekness, patience, and... Read On the Genealogy of Morals Summary

... Read O Pioneers! Summary

... Read Oranges Summary

Written in 458 BC by Greek playwright Aeschylus, The Oresteia is a trilogy of plays that includes Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, as well as the lost satyr play, Proteus. The plays of The Oresteia are classic tragedies, a dramatic genre focused on the piteous and cathartic downfall of great heroes. The plays were written to be performed at the City Dionysia festival which celebrated Dionysus, god of wine and theater. The festival was... Read Oresteia Summary

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... Read Orlando Furioso Summary

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Our Mutual Friend is a Victorian Realist novel by Charles Dickens, published in serial form from 1864 to 1865. The novel is notable among Dickens’s work for its scathing satire of social conditions in London during the era. Our Mutual Friend has been adapted for film, television, and radio and explores themes of The Tension Between Poverty and Dignity, The Relationship Between Names and Identity, and The Rigidity of Social Class.This guide uses the 2008... Read Our Mutual Friend Summary

Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference (2007) is the second book by former New York Times journalist Warren St. John. It follows one season with the Fugees, a soccer team for refugee boys in Clarkston, Georgia. Weaving personal stories with local and international histories, St. John demonstrates The Value of Organized Sports for Young People and the systemic injustices preventing refugees from equal participation in... Read Outcasts United Summary

Out of Darkness is a young adult historical novel written by Ashley Hope Pérez and published in 2015 by Holiday House of New York. Pérez holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Indiana University, where her research focused on Latin American literature. A professor of World Literatures at Ohio State University, she is also the author of What Can’t Wait (2011), The Knife and The Butterfly (2012), and Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions about... Read Out of Darkness Summary

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... Read Ox Cart Man Summary

Pale Fire is a 1962 experimental novel by Vladimir Nabokov, the author of seminal novels like Lolita and Pnin. The novel consists of a 999-line poem by a fictional poet and the accompanying notations by a fictional editor. Rather than analyze the poem, however, the notations create a new narrative. Pale Fire has been heralded as a landmark example of metafiction and one of the most important novels of the 20th century.This guide is written... Read Pale Fire Summary

IntroductionPamela is an epistolary novel (told through letters), written by Samuel Richardson and first published in 1740. It is considered one of the first novels written in English, and significantly contributed to the development of this genre. Richardson, a 51-year-old printer when the novel was published, began the project to provide moral instruction to young women who might find themselves vulnerable to seduction while employed by wealthy men. The novel advocates for the importance of... Read Pamela Summary

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Paradiso is the third and concluding part of The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri’s three-part epic narrative poem. It completes the allegorical journey initiated by the first two parts, Inferno (Hell) and Purgatorio (Purgatory). Beatrice, who symbolizes Dante’s ideal woman and who had previously accompanied him through the past part of Purgatory, here accompanies him as he journeys through the nine levels or spheres of Heaven, which are represented by various celestial bodies. In each sphere... Read Paradiso Summary

Parzival is a medieval romance poem written by Wolfram von Eschenbach, likely written during the early 1200s. In the poem, a knight named Parzival searches for the Holy Grail. Commonly associated with the stories of King Arthur, Parzival is regarded as one of the most important verse poems of the medieval German period. The story has been adapted many times, notably as an opera named Parsifal by the composer Richard Wagner. This guide uses the... Read Parzival Summary