East of Eden and The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck -USED BCE GOOD, CLASS

East of Eden: Widely considered Steinbeck's most ambitious, sweeping masterpiece. Set in California's Salinas Valley, it re-enacts the biblical story of Cain and Abel across generations of the Trask and Hamilton families. Steinbeck considered it his definitive work.

The Wayward Bus: Published a few years earlier, this is a brilliant, tight social satire and character study. It follows a group of stranded, colorful passengers on a broken-down bus in post-WWII California, exposing human frailties, illusions, and class dynamics.