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 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Religion / Spirituality, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Grandparents, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Published in 2016, Hour of the Bees is a young adult magical realism novel by Lindsay Eagar. Set in contemporary New Mexico, the story follows 12-year-old Carol as she spends the summer on her grandfather’s sheep ranch, helping her family prepare it for sale and helping care for her grandfather, who has dementia. However, her grandfather’s stories of the land’s magic and history cause her to fall in love with it. Hour of the Bees... Read Hour of the Bees Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
House Arrest is K. A. Holt’s 2015 novel in free verse. Narrated in the first-person voice of 12-year-old Timothy, the novel is comprised of fifty-two weeks of journal entries that he is required to write as part of his probation for stealing a wallet to pay for his infant brother Levi’s medication. The novel is divided by seasons.During winter, Timothy begins his journal and weekly meetings with his probation officer, James, and his court-appointed psychologist... Read House Arrest Summary
Publication year 1980
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, American Literature, Classic Fiction
Housekeeping (1980) is a novel by Marilynne Robinson that follows the upbringing of two sisters, Ruthie and Lucille Stone, in Fingerbone, Idaho, in the 1950s. This is the first novel by Marilynne Robinson. It was awarded the PEN/Hemingway Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, an award the author later won for her novel Gilead (2004). Beyond Housekeeping, Robinson is most known for Gilead (2004) and Home (2008). Housekeeping, which has been named... Read Housekeeping Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Magical Realism, Grief / Death, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Fairy Tale / Folklore
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Disability, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Identity: Gender
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Disability, Drama / Tragedy, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Flora/plants, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1984
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family
Mary Hood’s first collection of short stories, How Far She Went, was published in 1984 and won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and the Southern Review/Louisiana State University Short Fiction Award. This study guide refers to the University of Georgia Press edition published in 1984. Four stories in the collection first appeared in The Georgia Review: “A Country Girl,” “Doing This, Saying That, to Applause,” “Manly Conclusions,” and “Inexorable Progress.” The opening story... Read How Far She Went Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Grief / Death, Climate Change, Technology
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Survival Fiction
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff was originally published in 2004. It is a young adult dystopian novel about an American teenager experiencing a near-future world war in England, and it won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Printz Award. In 2013, How I Live Now was adapted into a film directed by Kevin Macdonald and starring Saoirse Ronan. Rosoff also won a Carnegie Medal, a Whitbread Award, and other awards. How I... Read How I Live Now Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Sexuality
Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Mental Illness, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race
Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction, Western, Race / Racism, Immigration / Refugee, History: World, LGBTQ
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Society: Immigration
Tags Gender / Feminism, Historical Fiction, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Siblings, Identity: Race, Society: Immigration, Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is Julia Alvarez’s debut novel and was influenced by her experiences as a young girl living in the Dominican Republic. While the novel’s Garcia girls were born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York, Alvarez was born in New York and immigrated to the Dominican Republic. Like other Alvarez novels, this book explores the tensions and difficulties that immigrants experience throughout their lives. It also provides... Read How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Natural World: Animals, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Environment
Tags Humor, Romance, Animals, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Language, Natural World: Food, Relationships: Family, Society: Community
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Humor
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (2010) is a science fiction novel by American writer Charles Yu. Yu wrote the novel after merging two separate story ideas—one about a father-son relationship and the other about a man who keeps waking up in different universes. The narrative views the emotional tension between the father and son through the lens of quantum mechanics and popular philosophy. The novel was a finalist for the John... Read How To Live Safely In a Science Fictional Universe Summary