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 Reckoning

by John Grisham

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Guilt, Grief, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Shame & Pride, War, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Race, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Femininity, Masculinity, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Death, Coming of Age, The Past, Nation

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Race & Racism, Military & War, World History

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The Red and the Black

by Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle)

Publication year 1830

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Social Class, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, French Literature, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction

The Red and the Black (in French, Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIX siècle) is an 1830 historical novel by Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by the pen name Stendhal. The Red and the Black follows the rise and fall of Julien Sorel, a bright and ambitious, but in many ways naïve, young man of lowly birth, who resolves to work his way up in the highly stratified French society during the Bourbon Restoration... Read The Red and the Black Summary

The Red Pencil

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Hope, Childhood & Youth, Family, War, Art, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military & War, Arts & Culture, Education, Gender & Feminism, Coming of Age, African Literature, History: African , Children`s Literature

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The Red Pyramid

by Rick Riordan

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Family, Appearance & Reality, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Hyperion Books for Children, 2010) is the first installment in the middle-grade fantasy adventure Kane Chronicles series and is followed by The Throne of Fire (2011) and The Serpent’s Shadow (2012). The book follows siblings Carter and Sadie Kane on a journey across North America to stop the Egyptian god of chaos from destroying the world. The Red Pyramid won a School Library Journal Best Book Award and was... Read The Red Pyramid Summary

The Refugees

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Publication year 2017

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Family, War, Aging

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Vietnam War, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, World History

The Refugees is a 2017 collection of short stories by celebrated Vietnamese American author, Viet Thanh Nguyen. Nguyen has written fiction, academic nonfiction, and children’s books, and his novel The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Nguyen received his doctorate in English at the University of California Berkeley, and he currently is a literature professor at the University of Southern California. Nguyen’s scholarship and literary works focus on the experiences of Vietnamese communities in... Read The Refugees Summary

The Rest of Our Lives

by Ben Markovits

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

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The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

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

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano

by Sonia Manzano

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

The Right Stuff

by Tom Wolfe

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

The Rise of Silas Lapham

by William Dean Howells

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

The River Between

by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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

The River Between Us

by Richard Peck

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

The Rock and The River

by Kekla Magoon

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