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 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family

Tags Race / Racism, Modern Classic Fiction, Social Justice


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Siblings

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Irish Literature


Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Grandparents, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Race / Racism


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, Japanese Literature, Arts / Culture, WWII / World War II, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman

Weedflower, Cynthia Kadohata’s 2006 historical fiction young adult novel, tells the story of 12-year-old Japanese American Sumiko amid Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the US government’s ensuing involvement in World War II. Kadohata depicts the conditions of Japanese internment camps from Sumiko’s perspective, providing unique insight and education on the racism that Japanese Americans faced and the US government’s poor decisions.This guide references the 2009 paperback reprint edition from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.Plot... Read Weedflower Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Gender, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Immigration

Tags Gender / Feminism, LGBTQ, Immigration / Refugee, Religion / Spirituality, Biography


Publication year 1999

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Grandparents

Tags Humor, Education, Education, Southern Literature

Tim Gautreaux’s “Welding with Children” debuted in the March 1997 issue of The Atlantic. Gautreaux was born in Louisiana, and his novels and short stories, like this one, draw from his experience of growing up in a Southern, blue-collar family. His characters include a range of rural Louisiana residents, many of whom struggle with societal and generational changes. Gautreaux has received numerous awards, most notably the 1999 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Book Award for... Read Welding with Children Summary


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Midlife, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Fame, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Incarceration, Relationships, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Psychology, Psychology

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver. It is an epistolary novel, comprising the letters that Eva Khatchadourian writes to her husband Franklin in the aftermath of their son’s crime. The novel explores themes of nihilism, motherhood, the relationship between violence and depravity, and much more. The book won the Orange Prize for Literature in 2005 and was adapted into an acclaimed feature film starring Tilda Swindon and John... Read We Need To Talk About Kevin Summary


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Arts / Culture

We Were Here is a Newbury-Award-winning, young adult novel written by Matt De La Pena. Published in 2011, the first person narrative is written in diary form in the voice of the teenaged protagonist, Miguel Castaneda. The story begins with Miguel’s description of his admission to juvenile hall, a detention facility near his family home in Stockton, California. His father, a member of the US Army, was killed in action the preceding year. While the... Read We Were Here Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Music

Tags Historical Fiction, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World

We Were the Lucky Ones, written by Georgia Hunter and published in 2017, is a historical novel based on the actual experiences of the author’s family during World War II. Hunter’s grandfather, Addy Kurc, came from a family of Jews in Radom, Poland. The book follows the story of Addy, his parents Nechuma and Sol, and his siblings Genek, Mila, Jakob, and Halina, along with their spouses, as they struggle to survive the Holocaust and... Read We Were the Lucky Ones Summary


Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

We Were the Mulvaneys is a novel by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, originally published in the US in 1996. Set largely in the rural Northeastern United States in the 1970s, this story deals with the myth of the ideal American family and the ruinous effects it can have when real-life events threaten the appearance of familial unity. After having been featured as an Oprah Book Club selection in January 2001, the novel became a... Read We Were the Mulvaneys Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction


Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Education, Education, Science / Nature, Parenting, Psychology, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction