East of Eden is the story of the Trask and Hamilton families, both of whom live primarily in the Salinas Valley region of California. The families are interwoven and experience intense dysfunction over a period ranging from the turn of the century to the end of the First World War. It deals with themes of family, forgiveness, peace, and redemption. It also spends a great deal of time considering the devastation caused by the War.
Boasting the largest collection of book summaries, BookRags is the best option for titles you can't find elsewhere. They offer all of the basics (quotes, chapter summary, characters, historical context, literary criticism) but also walk through a few major topics that recur throughout the book, which can be particularly useful for essay writing.
The most popular website for book notes. SparkNotes was created by students for students, and their summaries are accessible and extremely well-written. Besides the usual plot overview, chapter summaries, and character analysis, SparkNotes differentiates itself with a section discussing themes, motifs, and symbols.
You won't get any frills with GradeSaver -- just the content you expect. Their study guides include a full plot summary, themes and character analysis, study questions, and the e-text of the book. One hidden gem is their collection of literature essays, but you'll have to pay for it.
This provider offers quality content and all of the sections you'd expect in a study guide, like quotes, chapter by chapter summary, theme analysis, author biography, and even metaphor analysis. However, the main downside is that the website is not well-formatted and the text can be difficult to read.
Use this website only if you're extremely pressed for time, like the morning of an exam. They offer a very short plot summary and a list of characters and quotes. However, you won't find much analysis or even a chapter summary.