Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Poverty
The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
A family's struggle to survive the Great Depression, their journey in search of a new life.
The narrative begins just after Tom Joad is paroled from McAlester prison , where he had been incarcerated after being convicted of homicide in self-defense. While hitchhiking to his home near ... (Wikipedia)
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
A story of resilience and strength in the face of poverty and struggle.
Young Jeannette Walls lives with her parents, Rex and Rose Mary, her older sister, Lori, her younger brother, Brian, and her younger sister, Maureen. When Jeannette is seven, the family moves to ... (Wikipedia)
The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
An exploration of the Indian class system, told from the perspective of a lower-caste man.
The entire novel is narrated through letters by Balram Halwai to the Premier of China, who will soon be visiting India. Balram is an Indian man from an impoverished background, born in the village of ... (Wikipedia)
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
An orphan's journey of survival and resilience in the face of poverty and injustice.
Oliver Twist is born into a life of poverty and misfortune, raised in a workhouse in the fictional town of Mudfog , located 70 miles (110 km) north of London . , , , He is orphaned by his father's ... (Wikipedia)
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Two migrant workers in Depression-era California, struggling against forces of fate.
Two migrant field workers in California on their plantation during the Great Depression—George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie Small, a bulky, strong man but mentally disabled ... (Wikipedia)
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
An orphan's rise from poverty to wealth, and the lessons he learns along the way.
The book includes three "Stages" of Pip's Expectations. On Christmas Eve, around 1812, , Pip, an orphan about seven years old, is visiting the graves of his parents and siblings in the village ... (Wikipedia)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
A story of class struggle between the 'greasers' and the 'socs' in a small town.
Ponyboy Curtis, a teenaged member of a loose gang of "greasers", is leaving a movie theater when he is jumped by "Socs", the greasers' rival gang. Several greasers, including Ponyboy's two older ... (Wikipedia)
The Boxcar Children
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Four orphaned siblings find adventure and solace in a deserted boxcar, learning the value of family and friendship.
The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather. ... (Goodreads)
Angela's Ashes
by Frank McCourt
A memoir of poverty and hardship in 1930s Ireland, and a family's struggle to survive.
Imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion. This is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic. "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to ... (Goodreads)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
by William Kamkwamba
An inspiring tale of a young boy from Malawi who, against all odds, invents a windmill to power his village.
Now a Netflix Film, Starring and Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land ... (Barnes & Noble)
A Modest Proposal
by Jonathan Swift
A satirical essay that mocks British policies in Ireland and offers a shocking solution.
Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
A social commentary on the English legal system, exploring themes of inequality, injustice and corruption.
Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually ... (Goodreads)
El coronel no tiene quien le escriba / No One Writes to the Colonel
by Gabriel García Márquez
A poor colonel's struggles to support his family amidst political and social turmoil.
The novel, written between 1956 and 1957 while living in Paris in the Hotel des Trois Colleges , and first published in 1961, , is the story of an impoverished, retired colonel , a veteran of the ... (Wikipedia)
My Sweet-orange Tree
by José Mauro de Vasconcelos
A young boy's story of resilience, growing up in an oppressive environment.
من هذا الطفل الذي يناديه الجميع بالشيطان الصغير ويصفونه بقط المزاريب؟ وأي طفل هذا الذي يحمل في قلبه عصفورا يغني؟ "شجرتي شجرة البرتقال الرائعة" للكاتب خوسيه ماورو دي فاسكونسيلوس عمل يدرس في المدارس ... (Goodreads)
Gap Creek
by Robert Morgan
A rural family's struggles with poverty and hardships of life in the Appalachians.
Gap Creek's main character is a young girl, Julie, who does everything she possibly can to help her family and her new husband, Hank. Julie works hard to help her family when they need it, some even ... (Wikipedia)
As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
A family's struggle to fulfill the dying wish of their mother, amidst personal and societal challenges.
The book is narrated by 15 different characters over 59 chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her poor, rural family's quest and motivations—noble or selfish—to honor her wish ... (Wikipedia)
Ham on Rye
by Charles Bukowski
A semi-autobiographical novel following a young man's struggles with poverty, violence and mental illness.
The novel focuses on the protagonist, Henry Chinaski, between the years of 1920 and 1941. , It begins with Chinaski's early memories. As the story progresses the reader follows his life through the ... (Wikipedia)
A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams
A woman's struggle to come to terms with her past and present in a post-war New Orleans.
After the loss of her family home to creditors, Blanche DuBois travels from the small town of Laurel, Mississippi , to the New Orleans French Quarter to live with her younger married sister, Stella , ... (Wikipedia)
Cannery Row
by John Steinbeck
An exploration of the lives of the inhabitants of a small town in California.
Cannery Row has a simple premise: Mack and his friends are trying to do something nice for their friend Doc, who has been good to them without asking for reward. Mack hits on the idea that they ... (Wikipedia)
The Cider House Rules
by John Irving
A moral journey through the rural landscape of 1940s Maine, exploring issues of responsibility, family, and love.
Homer Wells grows up in an orphanage where he spends his childhood trying to be "of use" as a medical assistant to the director, Dr. Wilbur Larch, whose history is told in flashbacks : After a ... (Wikipedia)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
Exploring the roots and reality of systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system.
"Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting ... (Goodreads)
Martin Eden
by Jack London
A young sailor's ambition for a better life leads him on a journey of self-improvement and exploration of the upper classes.
Living in Oakland at the beginning of the 20th century, Martin Eden struggles to rise above his destitute, proletarian circumstances through an intense and passionate pursuit of self-education, ... (Wikipedia)
The Paul Street Boys
by Ferenc Molnár
A group of boys navigate their way through the streets of Budapest, facing their fears and learning about friendship.
The war between two groups of Hungarian boys living in Budapest. One with Hungarian national colours (red, white, green) is defending the square from redshirts (from Garibaldi's redshirts), who want ... (Goodreads)
A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A young girl's courageous spirit as she overcomes adversity and discovers a life of joy.
Captain Richard Crewe, a wealthy English widower, has been raising his only child, Sara, in India where he is stationed with the British Army. Because the Indian climate is considered too harsh for ... (Wikipedia)
The Godfather
by Mario Puzo
A mafia family's tumultuous path to power and glory, with unexpected consequences.
The Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon. Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced ... (Goodreads)
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
A story of humble farmers facing the struggles of poverty and the upheaval of social change.
The story begins on Wang Lung 's wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes. The House of Hwang, a family of wealthy landowners, lives in the nearby town, where Wang Lung's future ... (Wikipedia)
David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens
A rags-to-riches story of a young boy's adventures, trials, and tribulations.
David Copperfield is the story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously ... (Goodreads)
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof
Examining the global struggle of women and how to empower them in the face of oppression.
From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. With Pulitzer ... (Goodreads)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
An exploration of eviction’s devastating consequences on the lives of the urban poor.
NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF, TIME,’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic “has set a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
by Ron Hall
A story of unlikely friendship and redemption, set in the backdrop of racial and economic divides.
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so ... (Goodreads)
Salvage the Bones
by Jesmyn Ward
A family struggles to survive in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane.
The novel follows a working-class African-American family living in southern Mississippi in 2005. The family consists of Daddy, his daughter Esch (the narrator), and his sons Randall, Skeetah, and ... (Wikipedia)
The Coldest Winter Ever
by Sister Souljah
Coming of age story of a young girl's survival in a harsh, inner-city environment.
Renowned hip-hop artist, political activist, and bestselling author Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel. I came busting into the ... (Goodreads)
Kane & Abel
by Jeffrey Archer
Two rival men, from different backgrounds, fight for success and power in a cutthroat world.
The book tells the stories of two men born worlds apart. They have nothing in common except the same date of birth (18 April 1906 in the book, and 1901 in the miniseries based on it) and a zeal to ... (Wikipedia)
The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair
An expose of the brutal working conditions in the early 20th century meatpacking industry.
Jurgis Rudkus marries his fifteen-year-old sweetheart, Ona Lukoszaite, in a joyous traditional Lithuanian wedding feast. They and their extended family have recently immigrated to Chicago due to ... (Wikipedia)
Where the Heart Is
by Billie Letts
A journey of resilience and courage, as a young woman faces her struggles with poverty and hardship.
This novel opens with Novalee and Willy Jack, her then boyfriend, traveling from Tennessee to California , where Willy Jack claims he was promised by his cousin, J. Paul, a job working at a train ... (Wikipedia)
A Christmas Carol / The Chimes / The Cricket on the Hearth
by Charles Dickens
Stories of redemption and hope, showing the power of the spirit of Christmas.
A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, and The Cricket on the Hearth , by Charles Dickens , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student ... (Barnes & Noble)
Bastard Out of Carolina
by Dorothy Allison
A young girl's coming of age amidst poverty, abuse, and a broken family.
The book opens with Bone relating the details of her birth. Bone's 15-year-old mother Anney gives birth to her after being seriously injured in a car accident. Anney, who is comatose during the ... (Wikipedia)
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
A black family's struggle for a better life and the dreams that accompany their journey.
Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, along with Walter's mother Lena (Mama) and Walter's sister Beneatha, live in poverty in a dilapidated two-bedroom apartment on Chicago's south side. Walter ... (Wikipedia)
Germinal
by Émile Zola
Depicts the harsh conditions of miners in 19th century France, a story of hope and revolution.
The novel's central character is Étienne Lantier, previously seen in, L'Assommoir, (1877), and originally to have been the central character in Zola's "murder on the trains" thriller, La Bête ... (Wikipedia)
A Fine Balance
by Rohinton Mistry
A gripping story of four unlikely lives intertwined in the tumult of India's caste system.
The book exposes the changes in Indian society from independence in 1947 to the Emergency called by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . Mistry was generally critical of Indira Gandhi in the book. ... (Wikipedia)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.
The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)
The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace D. Wattles
A manual on how to use the power of thought to manifest wealth and abundance.
As featured in the bestselling book, The Secret, here is the landmark guide to wealth creation republished with the classic essay “How to Get What You Want.” Wallace D. Wattles spent a lifetime ... (Goodreads)
Winter's Bone
by Daniel Woodrell
A teenage girl's struggle to save her family from poverty and despair in the rural Ozarks.
In the rural Ozarks of Missouri , seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly looks after her mentally ill mother, twelve-year-old brother Sonny, and six-year-old sister Ashlee. She makes sure her siblings eat and ... (Wikipedia)
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less
by Jeffrey Archer
Four strangers' desperate attempts to reclaim their stolen fortunes.
The conned: an Oxford don, a revered society physician, a chic French art dealer, and a charming English lord. They have one thing in common. Overnight, each novice investor lost his life's fortune ... (Goodreads)
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
by Isabel Wilkerson
An exploration of the life-changing journeys of the millions of African-Americans who migrated from the South to the North, Midwest, and West from 1915 to 1970.
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black ... (Goodreads)
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
by Jeff Hobbs
A poignant biography of a man's rise and fall, caught in the crossfire of economic and social inequality.
An instant, New York Times, bestseller, named a best book of the year by, The New York Times Book Review, Amazon, and, Entertainment Weekly, among others, this celebrated account of a young ... (Barnes & Noble)
One Plus One
by Jojo Moyes
A single mother's struggle to make a better life for her and her daughter.
One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Giver of Stars, American audiences have fallen in love with ... (Goodreads)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
A coming of age story set in Brooklyn, depicting a young girl's struggles and growth.
The novel is split into five "books", each covering a different period in the characters' lives. Book One opens in 1912 and introduces 11-year-old Francie Nolan, who lives in the Williamsburg ... (Wikipedia)
The Winter of Our Discontent
by John Steinbeck
A journey of self-reflection and moral reckoning as a man struggles to regain his lost integrity.
The story concerns mainly Ethan Allen Hawley, a former member of Long Island 's aristocratic class. Ethan's late father lost the family fortune, and thus Ethan works as a grocery store clerk. His ... (Wikipedia)
Los Secretos de la Mente Millonaria: Como Dominar el Juego Interior de A Riqueza
by T. Harv Eker
An examination of the psychology of wealth, outlining strategies to build financial success.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind reveals the missing link between wanting success and achieving it! Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get rich easily, while others are destined for a life ... (Goodreads)
Factotum
by Charles Bukowski
A portrait of a struggling writer, seeking solace in alcohol and women.
Set in the 1940s, the plot follows Henry Chinaski , Bukowski's perpetually unemployed, alcoholic alter ego , who has been rejected from the World War II draft and makes his way from one menial job to ... (Wikipedia)
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.
In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)
Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
by Jessica Bruder
A chronicle of a new American subculture of nomadic older adults, coping with economic precarity.
An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780393356311 can be found, here., The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's 2020 Golden Lion award-winning film starring Frances McDormand. From the beet fields of North ... (Goodreads)
Nickel and Dimed: On
by Barbara Ehrenreich
A journalist's exploration of poverty in the U.S., exposing the struggles of low-wage workers.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which ... (Goodreads)
The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
by Jennifer Worth
A midwife's story of bringing life into the world and the joys and struggles of living in poverty-stricken East London.
At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London's East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while ... (Goodreads)
Down and Out in Paris and London
by George Orwell
An exploration of the dark side of two cities, and how life can be different for the privileged and the destitute.
This unusual fictional memoir - in good part autobiographical - narrates without self-pity and often with humor the adventures of a penniless British writer among the down-and-outs of two great ... (Goodreads)
A Painted House
by John Grisham
A young boy's journey of growing up on an Arkansas cotton farm, learning life lessons along the way.
"The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked ... (Goodreads)
Sing, Unburied, Sing
by Jesmyn Ward
A family's journey through the Mississippi Delta, confronting a traumatic past.
It is Jojo's thirteenth birthday. To step into his new role as a man, Jojo tries to bravely help his grandfather, Pop, kill a goat. Jojo ends up throwing up at the sight although Pop is sympathetic. ... (Wikipedia)
Making Money
by Terry Pratchett
A daring attempt to control gold and currency markets in an alternate world.
Moist von Lipwig is bored with his job as the Postmaster General of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office, which is running smoothly without any challenges, so the Patrician tries to persuade him to take over ... (Wikipedia)
Little Dorrit
by Charles Dickens
A tale of injustice, exploring the social and economic inequalities of Victorian England.
The novel begins in Marseilles "thirty years ago" (c. 1826), with the notorious murderer Rigaud telling his prison cellmate John Baptist Cavalletto how he killed his wife, just prior to being ... (Wikipedia)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
A story of one man's journey to fight poverty, illness, and injustice around the world.
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, ... (Goodreads)
Ellen Foster
by Kaye Gibbons
A young girl's struggle to find a permanent home and family in the face of abuse and neglect.
Ellen is an only child who does not have a real home, even at the time when both her parents are still alive. Her father is " trash " and has a drinking problem , and the whole atmosphere is one of ... (Wikipedia)
The Bookseller of Kabul
by Åsne Seierstad
An intimate look into the lives of an Afghan family, exploring culture and faith.
In spring 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, Åsne Seierstad spent four months living with a bookseller and his family in Kabul. For more than twenty years Sultan Khan defied the authorities—be ... (Goodreads)
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset
by Suzanne Collins
A teenage girl's struggle for survival in a dystopian society, where the poor are exploited and oppressed.
Suzanne Collins's worldwide-bestselling Hunger Games trilogy is now available in a paperback box set! This edition features the books with the classic cover art in a striking new package. Now ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Pearl
by John Steinbeck
A poor diver's dream of wealth is dashed when his newfound riches ultimately bring unhappiness and tragedy.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their ... (Goodreads)
Behold the Dreamers
by Imbolo Mbue
A Cameroonian family’s struggle to build a better life in America.
The novel opens in fall 2007 with the interview of an immigrant from Cameroon, Jende Jonga, who is hoping to be hired as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a Lehman Brothers executive. Jonga's job allows ... (Wikipedia)
Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña
A young boy's journey through the city, learning to appreciate the beauty of everyday life.
A young African-American boy named CJ exits a church, accompanied by his grandmother (nicknamed Nana), during a rainstorm . As they walk to a bus stop, CJ asks Nana why they have to walk in the rain, ... (Wikipedia)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
by Katherine Boo
Explores the lives of the people living in Mumbai's slums and the harsh realities they face.
From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the ... (Goodreads)
The Bean Trees
by Barbara Kingsolver
A young woman's journey of self-discovery and resilience as she takes on motherhood and a new life.
Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she ... (Goodreads)
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
by Mohsin Hamid
A rags-to-riches story of a young man's journey to success in a changing world.
From the internationally bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist , the boldly imagined tale of a poor boy's quest for wealth and love. His first two novels established Mohsin Hamid as a ... (Goodreads)
Native Son
by Richard Wright
A young African American man's exploration of his identity, facing the harsh realities of systemic racism.
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black ... (Goodreads)
Sold
by Patricia McCormick
A young girl's fight for freedom after being sold into the sex trade in Nepal.
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl living with her family in a small hut in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor, but her life is full of simple pleasures, like raising her ... (Wikipedia)
Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
by Rutger Bregman
Explores bold ideas to improve the world, promoting a revolutionary shift in thinking.
Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today. "A more politically ... (Goodreads)
Hunger
by Knut Hamsun
The story of a man's battle against poverty and his descent into near-madness.
The novel's first-person protagonist, an unnamed vagrant with intellectual leanings, probably in his late twenties, wanders the streets of Norway's capital, Kristiania ( Oslo ), in pursuit of ... (Wikipedia)
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
by Daron Acemoğlu
Examination of the economic and political forces that shape the success and failure of nations.
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail, answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health ... (Goodreads)
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
by Ron Chernow
Biography of the influential business magnate, chronicling his journey from poverty to riches.
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.–history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty--is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now Ron Chernow, the ... (Goodreads)
A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story
by Linda Sue Park
A boy's story of courage and perseverance, as he faces the civil war in Sudan.
A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ ... (Goodreads)
A Piece of Cake
by Cupcake Brown
A woman's raw story of resilience and survival in the face of hardship and trauma.
The story begins in January 1975 when the female protagonist gives a short account of why her mother named her Cupcake Brown. Brown's mother died in 1976, when Brown was age 11. Since her biological ... (Wikipedia)
Noble House
by James Clavell
Epic tale of business deals, struggles for power, and the constant battle for control of Hong Kong.
Noble House is set in 1963. The tai-pan , Ian Dunross, struggles to rescue Struan's from the precarious financial position left by his predecessor. To this end, he seeks partnership with an American ... (Wikipedia)
Cheaper by the Dozen
by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
An autobiographical account of a large family living in the early 1900s, navigating the joys and challenges of a large family.
The book tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth , and their children as they reside in Montclair, New Jersey , for many ... (Wikipedia)
Zoo Station: The Story of Christiane F.
by Christiane Vera Felscherinow
An autobiographical account of a teenage girl's battle with addiction, amidst a chaotic and turbulent life.
13-year-old Christiane Felscherinow lives with her mother, younger sister, and her pet cat in their small apartment in an unkempt multi-storey, concrete social-housing building in a dull ... (Wikipedia)
Tortilla Flat
by John Steinbeck
A comedy of friendship and adventure, focusing on a group of paisanos living in California during the Great Depression.
Above the town of Monterey on the California coast lies the shabby district of Tortilla Flat, inhabited by a loose gang of jobless locals of Mexican-Indian - Spanish-Caucasian descent (who typically ... (Wikipedia)
Kisses from Katie
by Katie Davis
A young woman's journey of faith, service, and love in the slums of Uganda.
What would cause an eighteen-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s ... (Goodreads)
The Rainbow Troops
by Andrea Hirata
A story of 10 children in a small Indonesian village, their struggles and triumphs.
Begitu banyak hal menakjubkan yang terjadi dalam masa kecil para anggota Laskar Pelangi. Sebelas orang anak Melayu Belitong yang luar biasa ini tak menyerah walau keadaan tak bersimpati pada mereka. ... (Goodreads)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
A poetic story of a young girl's endurance through a time of great hardship.
When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it ... (Goodreads)
Flight Behavior
by Barbara Kingsolver
A woman's struggle to reconcile her faith and environmentalism as she faces a mysterious ecological disaster.
Dellarobia Turnbow is a 28-year-old discontented housewife living with her poor family on a farm in Appalachia . On a hike to begin an affair with a telephone repairman, Turnbow finds millions of ... (Wikipedia)
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
by Wes Moore
Two men of the same name, with different life stories, highlighting the power of choices.
Two kids with the same name lived in the same decaying city. One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life ... (Goodreads)
Drown
by Junot Díaz
A collection of interconnected stories of a young Dominican-American struggling to find his place in the world.
With ten stories that move from the barrios of the Dominican Republic to the struggling urban communities of New Jersey, Junot Diaz makes his remarkable debut. Diaz's work is unflinching and strong, ... (Goodreads)
The Broker
by John Grisham
A lawyer on the run from the FBI and CIA must use his expertise to help them uncover a powerful conspiracy.
Joel Backman is "the Broker," a considered to be one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington, D.C. . However, Backman's life falls apart when a deal collapses involving a hacked spy satellite ... (Wikipedia)
Post Office
by Charles Bukowski
A poetic and darkly humorous narrative about a man's struggles with poverty and loneliness.
In Los Angeles, California , down-and-out barfly Henry Chinaski becomes a substitute mail carrier ; he quits for a while and lives on his winnings at the race track, then becomes a mail clerk. ... (Wikipedia)
The Silver Star
by Jeannette Walls
Two sisters embark on an epic journey across the U.S. in search of their long-lost mother.
It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to ... (Goodreads)
Nobody's Boy
by Hector Malot
A young boy's journey of survival, relying on his own resourcefulness to make his way in the world.
A compelling story in which orphaned Remi gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer when his foster parents fall on hard times. Going from village to village with its act, ‘nobody’s boy’ has ... (Goodreads)
The Blind Side
by Michael Lewis
Story of an underprivileged African-American teen who is rescued and mentored by a wealthy white family.
The #1 New York Times Bestseller "Lewis has such a gift for storytelling…he writes as lucidly for sports fans as for those who read him for other reasons." —Janet Maslin, New York Times When we first ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Rent Collector
by Camron Wright
A poor Cambodian family's story of resilience in the face of hardship.
Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be ... (Goodreads)
Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island
by Regina Calcaterra
True story of five siblings who survive abuse and neglect, finding strength to rise above their circumstances.
#1 International Bestseller Regina’s Calcaterra memoir,, Etched in Sand, is an inspiring and triumphant coming-of-age story of tenacity and hope.,, Regina Calcaterra is a successful lawyer, former ... (Barnes & Noble)
Girl in Translation
by Jean Kwok
A young immigrant girl's struggles to keep up academically and financially in the US.
Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from ... (Goodreads)
The Breadwinner
by Deborah Ellis
A young girl in Afghanistan must take on the mantle of breadwinner to protect her family.
Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives in Kabul , Afghanistan with her mother Fatima, her father, her older sister Nooria, and two younger siblings, Maryam and Ali. Taliban soldiers enter her house ... (Wikipedia)
The Hour of the Star
by Clarice Lispector
A poor Brazilian girl's life story, illustrating the struggles of the working class.
The novel starts with the narrator, Rodrigo S.M., discussing what it means to write a story. He addresses the reader directly and spends a lot of time talking about his philosophical beliefs. After ... (Wikipedia)
The Distance Between Us
by Kasie West
A teenage girl's journey of self-discovery as she navigates her conflicting emotions and class differences.
Money can't buy a good first impression. Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her ... (Barnes & Noble)
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