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 1986

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Food


Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers

Tags Music


Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Indigenous, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Community, Relationships: Family

Tags Inspirational, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Biography


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Race / Racism, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Front Desk is the debut novel of Asian-American author Kelly Yang. First published in 2018, the children’s book became a New York Times bestseller and was mentioned on multiple Best Books of the Year lists including NPR, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, the Washington Post, Amazon, School Library Journal, the New York Public Library, and the Chicago Public Library. Front Desk also made ALA’s Booklist of the Top Ten Debut Novels of 2018. It won the 2019... Read Front Desk Summary


Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

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


Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family

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

Winner of the APALA Literature Award, Marilyn C. Hilton’s Full Cicada Moon (2015) is a historical novel-in-verse that examines themes of racism and gender norms in 1969 New England. Composed of poems, the novel delves into the experiences of Mimi, a middle-school student of African American and Japanese descent who initially struggles with her identity but eventually learns to feel confident in herself. This study guide references the 2017 Puffin Books Reprint Edition, an imprint... Read Full Cicada Moon Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: Community

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

Jennifer L. Holm’s Full of Beans is a 2016 middle-grade historical novel set in 1934. Main character and first-person protagonist Beans Curry is a 10-year-old boy born and raised in Key West, Florida. The Great Depression causes difficulties for the locals of the dilapidated town, including Beans’s family. “New Dealer” Mr. Julius Stone, Jr. arrives with the plan to boost Key West’s failing economy by recreating it as a tourist destination, but Beans decides that... Read Full of Beans Summary


Publication year 2006

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity

Tags LGBTQ, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Parenting, Depression / Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief / Death, Gender / Feminism, Biography

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) is a graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by underground cartoonist Alison Bechdel. The book centers on Bechdel’s relationship with her late father Bruce Allen Bechdel, who died in what she believes was a death by suicide. Fun Home is a non-linear narrative that rehashes events from Alison Bechdel’s youth and adolescence. Her memories are presented in the comic panels, overlayed with her prosaic, retrospective musings in text boxes... Read Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Humor


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Relationships: Family, Identity: Femininity

Tags Romance, Sports, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, Class, Latin American Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family

Tags LGBTQ, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces (2014) is a young adult fiction novel by Southern Californian writer Isabel Quintero. It is a bildungsroman following Gabi’s transition to adulthood, her evolution as a writer, and her growing acceptance of herself. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces is Quintero’s first novel and earned various awards for young adult readers, including the California Book Award (2015 Gold Medal) and the William C. Morris Award for YA Debut Novel. This summary... Read Gabi, a Girl in Pieces Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Family

Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children's Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1978

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings

Tags Indian Literature, Education, Education, Asian Literature, Classic Fiction

“Games at Twilight” is a short story written by Indian author Anita Desai. It was originally published in 1978 in a collection titled Games at Twilight and Other Stories, which contains several texts that explore different aspects of Indian life in urban settings. That same year, Desai was nominated for the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Fire on the Mountain. “Games at Twilight” focuses on a young boy who... Read Games at Twilight Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction


Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags American Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy

Geek Love is a 1989 dystopian novel by Katherine Dunn. The novel is structured as a memoir written by Olympia “Oly” Binewski, an albino hunchback dwarf, as she chronicles the bizarre story of her family of carnival freaks. Her parents, Aloysius “Al” and Lillian “Lil, Lily, or Crystal Lil” Binewski, had sought to prop up their faltering traveling carnival by breeding their own children into freaks through the prenatal use of illicit drugs, poison, and radiation. The family believes that “norms,”... Read Geek Love Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Self Discovery, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Family

Tags LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Biography


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Race / Racism, Poverty, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Genesis Begins Again is a contemporary middle grade novel published in 2019 by Alicia Williams, a teacher and an author of children’s fiction and young adult books. Genesis Begins Again, Williams’s debut novel, was met with critical praise for exploring and adapting complex emotional themes such as colorism, addiction, and bullying for a younger audience. Genesis Begins Again was a finalist for the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature and the recipient of the... Read Genesis Begins Again Summary


Publication year 2004

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags History: World, Military / War, Chinese Literature, Biography

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is a nonfiction book divided into three parts and dealing with the early life and rise to power of Temujin, the man who would become known as Genghis Khan. The text details his conquests and the establishment of the Mongol Empire, and the changes undergone by the empire after his death, and up until its collapse. Throughout, Weatherford makes the argument that the Mongol Empire played... Read Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Summary


Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Fantasy, Humor, Children's Literature, Magical Realism, British Literature