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 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction

Burial Rites is a 2013 novel by Australian author Hannah Kent. Based on the true story of the last woman to be publicly executed in Iceland, Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, a servant who is sentenced to death for the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer and lover. Two teenagers, Fridrik Sigurdsson and Sigridir Gudmundsdottir, are accused of aiding in the murders. While awaiting execution, she is placed... Read Burial Rites Summary


Publication year 2006

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration

Tags LGBTQ, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Immigration / Refugee, Biography


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Vietnam War, Asian Literature, Military / War, Realistic Fiction, Asian Literature, History: World


Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Family

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

Bystander (2011) is a teen/young adult novel by James Preller that explores middle school bullying and the factors that enable it. Griffin Connelly, a two-faced bully, uses his charisma and good looks to keep members of his school clique in line as he perpetrates acts of cruelty against weaker classmates. No one stands up to Griffin until Eric Hayes, a newcomer, disrupts the status quo—questioning Griffin’s bullying and the silent complicity of the other students.The... Read Bystander Summary


Publication year 1963

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Humor


Publication year 1939

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude

Tags Classic Fiction, Children's Literature, Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, History: World


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community

Tags Humor, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Race / Racism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman


Publication year 2004

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Family, Identity: Language

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Latin American Literature, Arts / Culture


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Great Depression, Race / Racism, Poverty, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Crime / Legal


Publication year 2014

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Aging, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Humor, Grief / Death, Biography


Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Caramelo (2002) is a multi-generational family epic by American-Chicana author Sandra Cisneros. The novel follows the coming-of-age stories of Soledad Reyes; her son, Inocencio Reyes; and her granddaughter, Celaya “Lala” Reyes. The narrative takes place as the family moves among Chicago, Mexico City, and San Antonio. Written in a unique bilingual English and Spanish voice, Caramelo features themes of memory, Mexican-American heritage, female strength, and the search for a “home” between and beyond national borders.In interviews... Read Caramelo Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Relationships, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Identity: Disability

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


Publication year 1955

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Southern Gothic, Play: Drama, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, American Literature, Southern Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy

First performed in 1955, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one of American playwright Tennessee Williams’s best-known works. This classic play won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle award for Best American Play, and was adapted into a 1958 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. Adapted from Williams’s short story “Three Players of a Summer Game,” the three-act Cat on a Hot Tin Roof occurs in real-time as the Pollitt family gathers... Read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Summary


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, History: Middle Eastern, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction

Celestial Bodies is a novel by Omani author Jokha Alharthi, translated into English by Marilyn Booth. Charting the lives of various generations of a family in the fictional town of al-Awafi, it depicts an evolving Omani society that is still coming to grips with the post-colonial world and the abolition of slavery. It won the 2019 Man Booker International Prize.Plot SummaryThe plot for Celestial Bodies skips around in time, alternating between Abdallah’s reminiscences on a... Read Celestial Bodies Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Relationships: Family

Tags Education, Education, African American Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Race / Racism, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World

Laurie Halse Anderson's middle-grade novel Chains (2008), a National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award winner, is the first installment in her Seeds of America series. The historical fiction, set in 18th-century New York City, follows a young Black girl on her journey to escape slavery while the sparks of the colonists’ rebellion gradually ignite the American Revolution. The protagonist, 13-year-old Isabel Finch, narrates her search for identity while caring for her... Read Chains Summary