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.

They Cage the Animals at Night

by Jennings Michael Burch

Publication year 1984

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family

Tags Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Trauma & Abuse, Biography

They Cage the Animals at Night is an autobiographical work by Jennings Michael Burch, published by Berkley in 1984. The bestselling memoir follows a period in the childhood of Jennings Michael Burch in which he passed in and out of the American foster care system. Jennings is forced to cope with abusive and negligent foster homes as well as a family that is constantly on the verge of collapsing. Over the course of these years... Read They Cage the Animals at Night Summary

The Yearling

by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Family, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Classic Fiction, Animals, Agriculture, Grief & Death, Children`s Literature, World History

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings published The Yearling in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. Maxwell Perkins, who also worked with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, edited the novel. The Yearling traces one year in the life of Jody Baxter, chronicling his family’s hardships as they endure floods, plague, and death—and Jody’s tender relationship with an orphaned fawn. The novel became a bestseller in 1938 and has since been translated into 29 languages. In... Read The Yearling Summary

They Went Left

by Monica Hesse

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Death, Marriage, Siblings, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History

... Read They Went Left Summary

Thicker than Water

by Kerry Washington

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Race, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, The Past, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Art, Fame, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Biography, Arts & Culture

... Read Thicker than Water Summary

Things Not Seen

by Andrew Clements

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Coming of Age, Science & Technology, Family

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romance

Published in 2002, Things Not Seen, a science-fiction novel written by Andrew Clements for middle-grade students, tells of a boy who becomes invisible and strikes up a friendship with a girl who is blind. They and their parents search for a way to prevent the public from learning about his condition and tearing the family apart. The work is the first in a three-book series.Clements, winner of more than two dozen awards, was the author... Read Things Not Seen Summary

Things We Lost to the Water

by Eric Nguyen

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Family, Immigration, Fathers, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Perseverance, Memory, Community, Race, Sexual Identity, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Immigration & Refugeeism, Coming of Age, Bullying, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, Asian History, Natural Disaster, Parenting, Military & War, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

... Read Things We Lost to the Water Summary

Thin Wood Walls

by David Patneaude

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Arts & Culture

Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2004. A historical fiction novel for young adult readers, Thin Wood Walls explores the experience of incarceration through the eyes of an 11-year-old Japanese American boy during World War II. The novel depicts themes of hope, family, resilience, and xenophobia, or bigotry against individuals from other countries. Thin Wood Walls is a Washington Reads Selection and a Mark Twain Award nominee. It... Read Thin Wood Walls Summary

Thirst

by Varsha Bajaj

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Perseverance, Femininity, Family, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Education

Tags Social Class, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction, Indian Literature

... Read Thirst Summary

This Earth of Mankind

by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Indigenous Identity, Family, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Education, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Asian Literature, Social Class, Education, Asian History, Race & Racism

Pramoedya Ananta Toer—a famous Indonesian editor, essayist, and social activist—wrote This Earth of Mankind (1980)—the first book of his series The Buru Quartet—while imprisoned in the Buru Concentration Camp following a military coup that overthrew Sukarno, the first democratically elected president of Indonesia. Incarcerated for 14 years and prevented from having writing material, Toer memorized the books of his series and recited them to his fellow inmates each day until his release in 1979. The... Read This Earth of Mankind Summary