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 1974
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Crime / Legal, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Religion / Spirituality, Biography
Vincent Bugliosi (1934-2015), the lead prosecutor in the case of the murders committed by Charles Manson and his followers, wrote the book Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders as a detailed account of the trial, evidence, and interviews with the witnesses that eventually put these horrific criminals behind bars. Written with the help of ghostwriter Curt Gentry, the book highlights Bugliosi’s insider’s perspective on the events, with detailed explanations of the gory... Read Helter Skelter Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Action / Adventure, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2014
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Objects, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Beauty
Tags Historical Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, History: World, Arts / Culture
Here by Richard McGuire is a graphic novel published on December 4, 2014, by Pantheon Books. The graphic novel focuses on the same corner of a room over billions of years. It depicts the area long before the house is built and long after it falls. By using different visual styles, overlapping panels, and non-chronological narration, McGuire creates a narrative that comments on the nature of time and life. Here is considered a transformative work... Read Here Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Sports
Published in 2010, Hero is an adventure novel for middle-grade readers about a teenage boy who develops superpowers and uses them to avenge the murder of his superhero father. In the process, he must learn to control his emotions, find a mentor he can trust, protect those he loves, and defeat powerful assailants.Author Mike Lupica is a sports columnist, TV commentator, and bestselling writer whose more than three dozen books range from sports biographies to... Read Hero Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Children's Literature, Mental Illness, Arts / Culture
Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction is a 2018 graphic memoir by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. A finalist for the National Book Award, it earned praise for its compassionate and honest portrayal of a child growing up in a family marked by addiction and abuse. This guide refers to the 2018 Graphix edition.Plot SummaryThe story traces Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s childhood and his family. Beginning and ending with... Read Hey, Kiddo Summary
Publication year 1995
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Creative Nonfiction, Science / Nature, Military / War, Parenting, War On Terrorism / Iraq War, Biography
High Tide in Tucson is a series of essays by heralded American novelist Barbara Kingsolver, collected and published in 1995. The essays are wide-ranging in subject matter, addressing topics from politics, to nature, to midcentury domestic life, but all reflect Kingsolver’s observations about herself and the people around her. Prior to her writing career, Kingsolver had a wide range of other professional experiences that influence essays in the book.Most of the essays in High Tide... Read High Tide in Tucson Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism
Publication year 2016
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Sociology, Poverty, History: World, Biography
American author J. D. Vance’s 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, chronicles Vance’s Appalachian upbringing in a poor Scots-Irish working-class culture. As Vance tells the story of his journey from broken Ohio homes to the Marine Corps, Ohio State University, and Yale Law School, he also documents the numerous factors that comprise white, working-class Appalachians’ descent into poverty, addiction, and despair, leaving them ostracized and, often, in danger... Read Hillbilly Elegy Summary
Publication year 428
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period
Hippolytus is a tragedy by Euripides, originally produced in Athens at the City Dionysia of 428 BCE. The tetralogy to which Hippolytus belonged earned Euripides the first prize that year. According to ancient authorities, this was Euripides’s second attempt at a play on the myth of Hippolytus, his earlier play having apparently horrified contemporary Athenians with its allegedly sensational depiction of Phaedra. Euripides’s original Hippolytus no longer survives, but the revised play quickly came to... Read Hippolytus Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Action / Adventure
Publication year 1959
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Confessional
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1914
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family
Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Blank verse, Grief / Death
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Classical Period, Romance
Homecoming (1981) is Cynthia Voigt’s first book in the Tillerman Cycle series, a seven-book young adult series. The novel earned praise and recognition as a National Book Award finalist; other books in the series won a Newberry medal and a Newberry honor. Following four young, abandoned siblings navigating large stretches of New England and the Northeastern United States, the novel explores themes about home, family, and resilience. This guide refers to the 1981 edition, which... Read Homecoming Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Holidays & Occasions
Publication year 1984
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration, Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism
Tags Lyric Poem, Latin American Literature