Family

Leo Tolstoy famously begins the novel Anna Karenina with the sentence: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In this thematic collection, we have gathered noteworthy texts that navigate the joyous and sorrowful emotional terrain of the family unit.

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Auto/Biographical Fiction, Race / Racism, September 11 Attacks, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi is a 2018 semi-autobiographical young adult novel set in America one year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Sixteen-year-old Shirin, a Muslim girl born in America to Persian immigrant parents from Iran, experiences intolerance and hatred in her school and the outside world. Shirin tries to maintain emotional distance from peers to protect herself, but the hesitant romance that develops between Shirin and Ocean... Read A Very Large Expanse of Sea Summary


Publication year 1964

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags African American Literature, Black Arts Movement

“A Visit to Grandmother” is a short story by American author William Melvin Kelley, first published in his collection Dancers on the Shore (1964). The story centers around Chig, a 17-year-old boy, and his father, Dr. Charles Dunford, as they visit Chig’s grandmother in Nashville, Tennessee. During their visit, Charles challenges issues that have long damaged his relationship with his mother, and the confrontation reaches a breaking point when he exposes his long-held resentment over... Read A Visit to Grandmother Summary


Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

A Walk to Remember is a 1999 novel by bestselling American romance writer Nicholas Sparks. It was adapted into a movie in 2002. The novel, set in 1958 in the coastal North Carolina town of Beaufort, builds on the brand Sparks established in his earlier bestselling 1996 novel, The Notebook, which is a historical romance set in a North Carolina coastal town during the 1940s. This North Carolina setting is also a locale of subsequent... Read A Walk to Remember Summary


Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Romance, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Animals, Children's Literature, Action / Adventure, Survival Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Animals

Tags Children's Literature, Science / Nature, Animals, Action / Adventure, Survival Fiction


Publication year 1941

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Allegory / Fable / Parable, Race / Racism, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is considered one of the author’s finest works and a classic in the repertory of American Southern literature. First published in 1941 as a stand-alone piece in The Atlantic Monthly, it was also included in her first short story collection, A Curtain of Green and Other Stories, published that same year. The story established Welty as a notable new voice in American literature. In addition to short stories... Read A Worn Path Summary


Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

Back Roads is a 1999 novel by Tawni O’Dell. It follows the story of Harley Altmyer, a 19-year-old boy who takes custody of his three sisters after his mother murders his abusive father. As Harley struggles with day-to-day life, truths about the past are revealed, forcing him to face a reality he worked hard to suppress. Back Roads was an Oprah’s Book Club selection in March 2000. The novel was also adapted into a 2018... Read Back Roads Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Magical Realism


Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Indigenous, Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Self Discovery, Society: Nation, Society: Community

Tags History: U.S., Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Depression / Suicide, Education, History: The Americas, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, History: World, Biography


Publication year 1936

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Future, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Education, Society: Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Children's Literature, Historical Fiction, British Literature


Publication year 1990

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Globalization, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, Gender / Feminism, Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family

Tags Relationships, Historical Fiction, Vietnam War, Asian Literature, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military / War, Latin American Literature, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 1841

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period


Publication year 2018

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Society: Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Harlem Renaissance, History: U.S., Race / Racism, African American Literature, Anthropology, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Grief / Death, History: African , Social Justice, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World, Biography

Originally written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018) is the transcribed posthumous autobiography of the life of Oluale “Cudjo Lewis” Kossola (1841-1935), written by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Known for her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was a writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and filmmaker. In all her work, she held a special appreciation for Black life and Black culture of the US South. Her works... Read Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" Summary


Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Southern Literature, LGBTQ, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Bastard out of Carolina is a 1992 semi-autobiographical novel by American writer Dorothy Allison. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was adapted for film in 1996. Set in Greenville County, South Carolina, where the author herself grew up in the 1950s, it chronicles the childhood and adolescence of Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright against the backdrop of poverty, class-based discrimination, and both physical and sexual abuse. Like much of Allison’s work, Bastard... Read Bastard Out Of Carolina Summary


Publication year 2011

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Education, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature

Tags Parenting, Asian Literature, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Education, Education, Chinese Literature, Biography

Amy Chua’s memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011), depicts Chua’s experience raising two American daughters according to Chinese cultural standards. Chua is a Yale law professor specializing in globalization and ethnic conflict. She is also a second-generation Chinese American, and her husband is Jewish. Chua’s strict approach is influenced by the parenting methods used by her own parents, which clash with those of her husband. Chua’s memoir was a New York Times bestseller... Read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Summary