Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Inspired by his experiences as an orphan and young student, Maugham composed his masterpiece. Adapted several times for film, Of Human Bondage is a story of tragedy, perseverance, and the eternal search for happiness which drives us as much as it haunts our every move. Orphaned as a boy, Philip Carey is raised in an affectionless household by his aunt and uncle. Although his Aunt Louisa tries...

With an Introduction by Anthony Briggs Translated by Louise Maude This powerful novel, Tolstoy's third major masterpiece, after War and Peace and Anna Karenina, begins with a courtroom drama (the finest in Russian literature) all the more stunning for being based on a real-life event. Dmitri Nekhlyudov, called to jury service, is astonished to see in the dock, charged with murder, a young woman whom he once seduced, propelling her into prostitution....

Sisters Rachel and Sylvia are faced with the tough choices of teenage life, which mirror the fires in the surrounding hillsides of their typical Italian town, as one decision or another leads to unsettled feelings and desires.

After a scandal breaks out involving a famous Irish Nationalist politician, Stephen Dedalus finds his family being torn apart over their differing opinions of the matter. Shaken by all the fighting and animosity, Stephen begins to wonder where he can place his faith. Questioning the Irish and Catholic ideology that he was raised on, Stephen begins to rebel against expectations as he departs for college. While he excels in his studies, Stephen struggles...

"All I really wanted was to try and live the life that was spontaneously welling up within me. Why was that so very difficult?" Generations of readers have recognized the impassioned cry that introduces the young narrator of Demian, and embraced this tale of a troubled young man's struggle toward self-awareness. Initially published in Berlin in 1919, the novel met with instant critical acclaim, as well as great popular success among people seeking...

"Caleb has almost kissed his best friend Evie fourteen times. Here are some of his favorites: 1. We were thirteen, playing hide-and-seek with my brothers. I caged her in with my hands against the wall of our garage and probably would have done it if she hadn't ducked under my arm and run. 4. A year later, I held her during a panic attack until she stopped shaking and crying. I wanted to kiss every one of those tears off her face. 7. That winter, we...

Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago's life has been about making the tough decisions, doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen. There, she lets her hands tell her what to cook, listening to her intuition and adding a little something magical every time, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she's always dreamed of working in a kitchen...

Belen Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have a boyfriend or at least just lose her virginity. But nothing is normal in East Oakland. Her father left her family. She's at risk of not graduating. And Leti, her super-Catholic, nerdy-ass best friend, is pregnant-by the boyfriend she hasn't told her parents about because he's Black and her parents are racist.

"Boys are being trained at one school for geniuses, girls at another. And neither knows the other exists--until now. The innovative author of Bird Box invites you into a tantalizing world of secrets and lies. J is a student at a school deep in a forest far away from the rest of the world. J is one of only twenty-six students, who think of their enigmatic school's founder as their father. His fellow peers are the only family J has ever had. The students...

[Movie trailer narrator voice]: In a world where humanity has crumbled?wait, no, wrong story. Sorry! Let's try that again. [YA movie trailer narrator voice:] Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. Elliot McHugh isn't one of those people. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot's mind when she's too busy experiencing all that college has to offer?from dancing all night at off-campus...