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 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Indigenous Identity, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Military & War, World History, French Literature, Historical Fiction

Publication year 2008

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mothers, Trust & Doubt, Family, Community

Tags Parenting, Trauma & Abuse, Biography

An international bestseller, Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s 2008 memoir, Three Little Words, provides a moving account of her early life in the foster care system. Ashley is born to a teenage mother, Lorraine, who is not well placed to look after her. After her mother’s new partner, Dusty, moves in, things soon deteriorate. When the family moves to Florida, Lorraine and Dusty are both arrested, and Ashley is placed in foster care along with her younger brother... Read Three Little Words Summary

Publication year 1901

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Hope, Love, Marriage, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Family, Social Class

Tags Drama, Russian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Anton Chekhov wrote the play Three Sisters in 1900 as a commission for the now-famous Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). The production debuted there in 1901 and was directed by the MAT’s two founders, Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. It was the first play that Chekhov penned specifically for production at the MAT. Three Sisters uses the three titular characters—Olga, Masha, and Irina—to examine the decay of the Russian aristocracy. Raised and educated to become the... Read Three Sisters Summary

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Friendship, Community

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Humor, Action & Adventure

Three Times Lucky (2012) is a middle grade mystery fiction novel written by Sheila Turnage. Turnage is the author of the Mo & Dale series and lives in North Carolina, where her books take place. Three Times Lucky was a Newbery Honor Book, a New York Times Best Seller, a Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and an E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book. In the story, 11-year-old best friends Mo and Dale... Read Three Times Lucky Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Humor, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Three Wishes (2003) is the debut novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty. Categorized as British and Irish humor and satire, the novel immediately became a New York Times Bestseller. The tone of Three Wishes is generally light and funny, despite its serious issues of adultery, divorce, abusive romantic partners, and the complications of pregnancy. The story is told from the limited third-person perspective of the sisters and the first-person perspective of several anonymous observers. The... Read Three Wishes Summary

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature

Through Black Spruce, published in 2008, is Canadian author Joseph Boyden’s second novel. His first, Three Day Road (2005), is a work of historical fiction based on the life of Xavier Bird. Through Black Spruce focuses on Xavier’s son, Will Bird, and his granddaughter, Annie Bird. Boyden uses storytelling as a narrative framework to share the Bird family’s story. Annie and Will narrate alternating chapters, telling stories about their past year as the reader also... Read Through Black Spruce Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Fathers, Grandparents, Self Discovery

Tags Horror & Suspense, Children`s Literature, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story is a gothic middle grade novel written by Mary Downing Hahn and published in 1994. Hahn is known for incorporating elements of the thriller and gothic genres into stories for young readers. This novel follows 12-year-old Drew as he spends the summer with his Aunt Blythe and an irritable great-grandfather in their creaky, shadowy ancestral home. When a dying boy who looks strikingly similar to Drew mysteriously appears in... Read Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story Summary

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Aging, Death, Family

Tags Psychological Fiction, Historical Fiction, Relationships, Grief & Death, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Tinkers (2009) is Paul Harding’s debut novel. It delves into the life of a dying man, George Washington Crosby, as he reflects on his past and his family history. The narrative weaves together George’s memories with stories from his father’s life, and it explores the themes of mortality, memory, and the interconnectedness of generations. The novel, which is considered literary fiction, won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2010 PEN/ Robert W. Bingham... Read Tinkers Summary

Publication year 1998

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Fame, Family, Fathers, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Economics

Tags US History, Business & Economics, Finance, Leadership, World History, Biography

Publication year 1967

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Race, Conflict, Family, Memory, Grandparents, Colonialism

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction

“To Da-duh, in Memoriam” is a short story by Paule Marshall (1929-2019), a Black American feminist writer who wrote stories based on her experiences growing up as a second-generation Barbadian immigrant in Brooklyn, New York. First published in 1967 in New World Magazine, “To Da-duh, in Memoriam” is a semi-autobiographical story about a nine-year-old girl’s visit to meet her formidable grandmother, Da-duh, in Barbados in 1937. What begins as a playful competition between New York’s... Read To Da-Duh, In Memoriam Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Loneliness, Family, Community

Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Health, Relationships, Sociology, Science & Nature, Psychology, Mental Illness

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Beauty, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Family, Mothers, Community

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Action & Adventure, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Mythology