Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Memory, Love
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Gender & Feminism
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 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Memory, Love
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Relationships, Gender & Feminism
Publication year 2016
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Family, Religion & Spirituality, Siblings, Childhood & Youth
Tags Fantasy, Grief & Death, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grandparents
Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 1925
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Environment, Family, Immigration, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Literary Fiction
O. E. Rølvaag’s epic historical novel Giants in the Earth was first published in Norwegian in two volumes in 1924 and 1925 before its acclaimed English translation appeared in 1927. The novel chronicles the harrowing journey of Per Hansa and his family, Norwegian immigrants who leave Minnesota to establish a homestead in the Dakota Territory in the 1870s. The story follows their intense struggle to survive and build a home on the vast, unforgiving prairie... Read Giants in the Earth Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Death, Memory, Family, Daughters & Sons
Tags Historical Fiction, Christian, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction
Published in 2004, Gilead is Marilynne Robinson’s second novel and the first in the Gilead trilogy, which includes Home (2008) and Lila (2014). The story is written as a letter from dying Congregationalist minister John Ames to his young son. The letter is a bittersweet account of John’s life. With a slow, thoughtful pace and intimate tone, John shares past family memories and resolves an old personal grievance with his best friend’s son. As John... Read Gilead Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Community, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness, Trauma & Abuse
Girl in Pieces is the New York Times bestselling young adult contemporary novel by Kathleen Glasgow originally published in 2016. It was a New York Public Library Best Book for Teens selection and Amelia Bloomer Project Award Selection. The novel explores a teen’s recovery journey from self-harm, exploring the roles of community, healthy patterns, and acceptance of dualities. Glasgow is also well-known for her other novels, including You'd Be Home Now (2021) and How to... Read Girl in Pieces Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Gender & Feminism, Race & Racism, LGBTQ+, Realistic Fiction, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction
Bernardine Evaristo’s polyphonic novel of modern Britain and womanhood, Girl, Woman, Other, won the 2019 Booker Prize. Evaristo was the first Black woman to receive this literary prize for books written in the English language. Employing an experimental, poetic form, the novel follows several generations of mainly Black, British women who interrogate the intersections of identity, Human Connectivity and Interdependence, Diaspora in Great Britain, and The Impact of Family Legacy. Girl, Woman, Other is Evaristo’s... Read Girl, Woman, Other Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Memory, The Past, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Horror & Suspense
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Family, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction
Kathleen Grissom’s 2016 historical novel, Glory over Everything, is the sequel to her bestselling 2010 book The Kitchen House. The novel, which unfolds in nonlinear order and from multiple points of view, continues the story of James “Jamie” Pyke, a man of biracial heritage who, after killing his father to avoid enslavement, has spent two decades passing as a wealthy white silversmith in 1830s Philadelphia. However, his world is shattered when his young servant, Pan... Read Glory Over Everything Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Death, Family, Friendship, Social Class, Politics & Government
Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Place, Mothers, Family, Coming of Age, Indigenous Identity
Tags Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1971
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mental Health, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Justice, Truth & Lies
Tags Depression & Suicide, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction
Initially advertised as an anonymous, true story of a teenage girl, Go Ask Alice (1971) by Beatrice Sparks is an epistolary novel, or a fictional work structured as a diary. The diary entries chronicle two years of a teen girl’s experience with social acceptance, family relationships, and drugs—primarily marijuana, LSD, and amphetamines. Although Beatrice Sparks initially claimed to be the diary’s editor, considerable evidence suggests that she’s the sole author of the fictional work. Nevertheless... Read Go Ask Alice Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family
Tags Military & War, Immigration & Refugeeism, History: African , World History, Biography
God Grew Tired of Us, published in 2007, is a Christian memoir that chronicles John Bul Dau’s 1,000-mile journey from his home village of Duk Payuel in Sudan to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. This study guide refers to the 2008 first paperback printing edition.In the Introduction Dau states that although he is just one of thousands of Lost Boys, he wanted to tell his story in hope of using his education and experiences... Read God Grew Tired of Us Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hope, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Horror & Suspense, New Adult
Publication year 1872
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Forgiveness, Justice, Family, Hate & Anger
Tags Russian Literature, Classic Fiction, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality
“God Sees the Truth, but Waits” is a short story by Leo Tolstoy originally published in 1872. The story, a parable about forgiveness that explores religious and spiritual themes, tells of a man sent to prison in Siberia for a murder he did not commit. The story has been adapted for various media, including films and radio programs. This guide refers to the 1990 Norton Critical Edition.Set in Tolstoy’s contemporary Russia, the story is narrated... Read God Sees the Truth, but Waits Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Gender Identity, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Justice
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Grief, Death, Mothers
Tags Romance, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Hope, Appearance & Reality, Perseverance, Conflict, Family
Tags Free Verse, Parenting, Science & Nature, Gender & Feminism
Publication year 1959
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Nostalgia, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Relationships, Social Class, Jewish Literature, US History, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
Goodbye, Columbus is Philip Roth’s first work of literary fiction, consisting of six short stories, published on May 7, 1959. The book won the National Book Award in 1960 and is the first of many popular and successful works of fiction by Roth. Like his other novels and short stories, many of the stories occur in and around Roth’s birthplace of Newark, New Jersey, exploring the Jewish experience in the US. Roth is known for... Read Goodbye Columbus Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Death, Grief, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness
Goodbye Days is a young adult novel by Jeff Zentner. Published in 2017, it follows a teenage boy, Carver Briggs, who is grappling with the deaths of his three best friends. All three boys died in a car crash on their way to pick up Carver from work. Carver’s survivor’s guilt is exacerbated by the fact that he’s facing a possible criminal investigation for “negligent homicide” for his supposed role in the accident. Carver texted... Read Goodbye Days Summary