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Juno was a groundbreaking film at the time of its release in 2007 for many reasons. Its frank and un-precious depiction of teen pregnancy was witty and crowd-pleasing; the screenplay, by newcomer Diablo Cody was laugh-a-minute while also...

Published in 1972, Gorilla, My Love is Toni Cade Bambara's first book-length work of fiction. However, she had been publishing short fiction in periodicals for some time. "Sweet Home" (which appears in Gorilla, My Love under the title "Sweet...

In 1946, a former tail gunner during World War II was elected to represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate. His methods would become infamous in American history, known today as "McCarthyism." In a strikingly short period of time. Sen....

The novel is set during a tumultuous time in French history, when the country was in the throws of short-lived regimes and a series of revolutions. It is also during the height of the Industrial Revolution, which began in France later than it did...

Although the five books of Gargantua and Pantragruel are often presented chronologically, François Rabelais actually wrote the second book first, which is the story of Pantagruel. Research by Donald M. Frame indicates that Rabelais wrote his story...

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is the story of nine-year-old Oskar Schell, an imaginative but troubled boy who lost his father in the attacks of 09/11. The story follows Oskar's attempt to make peace...

Everything is Illuminated is Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel. Foer completed a full manuscript of the book while an undergraduate at Princeton under the mentorship of Joyce Carol Oates. Only the core of the novel is based in fact. When he was...

Enrique’s Journey first appeared in 2002 in the Los Angeles Times, as a series of six articles written by Sonia Nazario, with accompanying photographs by Don Bartletti. Both author and photographer were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their work....

Ender's Game began as a short story that Orson Scott Card wrote because his repertory theater company was collecting debts and had to be shut down. "Ender's Game" first appeared in Analog, a leading science fiction magazine, in August 1977. Card...

Confessions was written partly in response to individuals who had taken an unhealthy and prurient interest in the Bishop of Hippo's early life. His less-than-model youth and young adulthood provided gossip and scandal for the more puritanical...

Widely considered one of the greatest war films of all time, Dunkirk is a 2017 movie directed, co-produced, and written by Christopher Nolan. Nolan's tenth film, Dunkirk takes a highly specific perspective on a definitive moment in British...

Clueless is a coming-of-age teen film loosely based on Jane Austen's classic novel Emma written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, Stacey Dash, and Breckin Meyer. The film is set in Beverly...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was first published in 1968. The novel tells the story of Rick Deckard and his quest to "retire" six Nexus-6 androids, the most advanced type, in 24 hours. The novel follows Deckard and a secondary character -...

Divergent is the first novel in Veronica Roth's debut trilogy of the same name, followed by Insurgent and Allegiant. Since its publication in April 2011, it has won numerous awards, including Favorite Book of 2011 in the 2011 Goodreads Choice...

In 1957, the year that his signature book, On the Road, was first printed, Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac began work on what was to become his third published work, The Dharma Bums. It was written with legendary haste in only ten writing...

Set in the aftermath of the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Arms and the Man challenges romantic ideas about war and love. Captain Bluntschli, a fleeing soldier, climbs through a Bulgarian lady's bedroom window, triggering a series of events that...

Though the precise origins of Aristotle's Poetics are not known, researchers believe that the work was composed around 330 BCE and was preserved primarily through Aristotle's students' notes. Despite its vague beginning, the Poetics has been a...

Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret, one of Judy Blume's most successful young adult novels, was published in 1970. The book appeared only shortly after Blume began her literary career, while her young children were still in preschool. Are you...

The specific circumstances surrounding the origin of Greek drama were a puzzle even in the 4th century BC. Greek drama seems to have its roots in religious celebrations that incorporated song and dance. By the 6th century BC, Athenians had...

Anthem is one of Ayn Rand's earlier works, and presages the fears of collectivism that characterize Objectivism and her later work, such as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. The novel is set in the future and has a universal, timeless feel in...

Horror fans will be disappointed to learn that there are no spectral figures commonly identified as ghosts in Henrik Ibsen’s groundbreaking stage drama Ghosts. The “ghosts” of the title are metaphorical, referring to outdated traditions and the...

The Hate U Give (2018) is George Tillman Jr.'s film based on the book The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. Directed and produced by Tillman, the film was written by Audrey Wells, shot by Mihai Mălaimare Jr., and stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr,...

The secret to the enduring popularity of what is perhaps James Thurber’s most famous short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"—published first in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939 and then reprinted in Thurber's 1942 collection My World - and...

She's the Man is a romantic comedy film released in 2006 and starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. Its story was inspired by Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, and it takes many direct cues from this classical work. Director Andy Fickman...