Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Love, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Family, Fathers, Friendship
Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Philosophy, Children`s Literature, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction
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.
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
The Rest of Our Lives
The Rest of Us Just Live Here
The Return of Ellie Black
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
The Right Stuff
The Rise of Silas Lapham
The Ritual
The River Between
The River Between Us
The Road to Tender Hearts
The Rock and The River
The Rom-Commers
The Round House
The Same Backward as Forward
The Sandbox
The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1
The Saturdays
The School Story
The Schwa Was Here
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Love, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Family, Fathers, Friendship
Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Philosophy, Children`s Literature, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Apathy, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Race, Aging, Midlife, Death, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies
Tags Domestic Fiction, Relationships
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mental Health, Love, Family
Tags Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Mental Illness, Religion & Spirituality
The Rest of Us Just Live Here, a novel by critically acclaimed young adult (YA) author Patrick Ness, tells the story of Mikey, a high school senior living in a fictional town in the state of Washington. The novel follows Mikey as graduation approaches and he navigates the anxieties and uncertainties of love, friendship, and the fear of leaving behind everything he’s grown up with. Ness, the author of the widely lauded Chaos Walking trilogy... Read The Rest of Us Just Live Here Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, Mental Health, Family
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Memory, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Community, Immigration, Politics & Government
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, World History, Arts & Culture
Written by Sonia Manzano in 2012, The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano is a middle grade coming-of-age story set in the heart of Spanish Harlem, New York, in 1969. The novel introduces Evelyn Serrano, a young Puerto Rican girl caught between her conservative family and the vibrant, radical spirit of the Young Lords Movement. As Evelyn becomes more involved with the movement, she starts to uncover her family’s complex history and the struggles of the Puerto... Read The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Family, Space
Tags US History, Science & Nature, Journalism, Technology, Technology, World History, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction, Biography
The Right Stuff is a lively account of the early American space program and its roots in the subculture of military test pilots that developed after World War II. Wolfe’s eclectic, wide-ranging narrative combines numerous elements: technological advancements in mid-20th-century flight; the generation of daring pilots who pushed innovations to their limits; and reflections on the moral, cultural, and political significance of the first astronauts at the height of the Cold War. Taken together, these... Read The Right Stuff Summary
Publication year 1885
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Shame & Pride, Community, Family
Tags Classic Fiction, Gilded Age, American Literature, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction
The Rise of Silas Lapham is an 1885 Realist novel by William Dean Howells. The novel tells the story of Silas Lapham, who rises from poverty but struggles to grasp the social etiquette of elite American society. Howells is credited with establishing Realism as a literary genre in America. Realist novels such as The Rise of Silas Lapham were a response to the time period’s Sentimental novels, which Howells opposed. The novel explores themes of... Read The Rise of Silas Lapham Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Family, Power & Greed
Tags Love & Sexuality, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1965
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Place, Family, Fathers, Colonialism, Community, Education, Religion & Spirituality
Tags African Literature, Historical Fiction, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, African American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
The River Between is Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s second novel and was published in 1965 after his debut title, Weep Not, Child. While The River Between is widely interpreted as an anticolonial work, its denouncement of colonial institutions is subtler than that of Ngugi’s later, more critical works on colonialism. His later novels were originally written in the Gikuyu language rather than in English; discourse surrounding the modern-day role of African literature is ongoing... Read The River Between Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Equality, Family, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, American Civil War, Children`s Literature, World History
The River Between Us by Richard Peck is a young adult historical fiction novel about the Civil War. Peck was the author of over 35 novels for children and young adults and won a Newberry Medal, Newberry Honor, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the Christopher Medal. The River Between Us, published in 2003, won the Scott O’Dell Award and was a National Book Award finalist. The book deals with... Read The River Between Us Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Mental Health, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Death, Animals, Family, Self Discovery
Tags Humor
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Race, Coming of Age, Justice
Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Race & Racism
The Rock and the River is a young adult historical fiction work that earned author Kekla Magoon the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award upon its publication in 2009. Set in the 1960s Civil Rights era, the story’s protagonist, Samuel Childs, is the son of a famous activist who worked alongside Dr. King and the brother of a teenager involved with a local Black Panther group. The tensions between the historical “passive resistance”... Read The Rock and The River Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Love, Regret, Family, Fathers, Siblings, Truth & Lies
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
The Round House is a harrowing work of fiction evolving around the rape and near murder of Geraldine Coutts, a Native American woman on a North Dakota reservation. The events are told by Joe, Geraldine’s thirteen-year-old son. In the narrative, Joe and his father, Bazil, must piece together a series of flimsy clues to try to make sense of Geraldine’s attack. The story is fast-paced, and the riveting chapters are interspersed with the daily lives... Read The Round House Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Love, Family
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Romance, Fantasy
Publication year 1959
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Death, Appearance & Reality, Family
Tags Drama, Absurdism
First produced in 1960, Edward Albee’s play The Sandbox is one of the celebrated playwright’s early one-acts and serves as a front-runner of American absurdist theater, an avant-garde artistic movement that began in Europe in the 1950s. Absurdism likens humanity to the Greek mythological figure Sisyphus, whose punishment for angering the gods was to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down each time.The term Theatre of the Absurd... Read The Sandbox Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Family, Truth & Lies, Apathy, Conflict, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature, Justice, Fate
Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death
Publication year 1941
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Siblings, Community, War, Safety & Danger
Tags Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Grief, Perseverance, Mothers, Truth & Lies, Fathers, Childhood & Youth
Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Grief & Death
Andrew Clements’s The School Story is a 2001 middle grade fiction novel about two sixth-grade girls who set out to get a book published. The School Story is Andrew Clements’s fourth full-length novel. Prior to writing novels, Clements worked extensively on picture books, and his familiarity with the publishing industry allowed him to create a realistic yet fantastical story about two children trying to navigate it. The School Story explores themes of loss, honesty, and... Read The School Story Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Humor
Wise-cracking eighth-grader Anthony “Antsy” Bonano befriends Calvin Schwa, a nondescript boy who is virtually invisible to his classmates in Neal Shusterman’s humorous young adult novel, The Schwa Was Here (2004). As Antsy and the Schwa experiment on his invisibility, they meet the crotchety neighborhood recluse Old Man Crawley and fall for his granddaughter, Lexie, who is blind. Antsy learns about the Schwa’s challenging family life and makes discoveries about his own sense of self, his... Read The Schwa Was Here Summary