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.

Harbor me

by Jacqueline Woodson

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Music, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Diversity, Immigration & Refugeeism, Race & Racism, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture

Jacqueline Woodson's 2018 middle grade novel, Harbor Me, tracks the bonds of friendship that develop across six fifth-graders when they are given a unique opportunity to get to know each other. Amari, Esteban, Tiago, Ashton, Holly, and Haley Shondell McGrath (the narrator) are students with special learning needs in a Brooklyn school. Each friend has fears and frustrations that they share with each other over the year, and by opening up, they discover a collective... Read Harbor me Summary

Harriet Tubman

by Ann Petry

Publication year 1955

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Religion & Spirituality, Perseverance

Tags Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography, US History, Race & Racism, American Civil War, African American Literature, Women`s Studies

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad is a 1955 biography by American author Ann Petry. This book takes the reader on a journey through Harriet Tubman’s life, from her birth to enslaved parents on a Maryland plantation to her death as a free woman in New York in 1913. Tubman is a well-known figure in American history and is best known for her heroic actions as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. After escaping... Read Harriet Tubman Summary

Harris and Me

by Gary Paulsen

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Friendship, Coming of Age

Tags Humor, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Drawing on his childhood experiences, Gary Paulsen’s novel for young readers, Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered (1993, 1st edition), contains 12 vignettes chronicling the narrator’s visit to his distant relatives on a farm over one summer. In addition to the culture shock of adjusting to rural life, the book also centers on the narrator’s relationship with his reckless and adventurous country cousin, Harris, and the process of finding acceptance as part of a family... Read Harris and Me Summary

Heartbeat

by Sharon Creech

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Aging, Death, Teamwork, Siblings, Friendship, Coming of Age, Art, Birth, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Family

Tags Relationships, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Heartbeat Summary

Heart Bones

by Colleen Hoover

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Forgiveness, Family, Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Justice

Tags Romance, Coming of Age, Inspirational, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

... Read Heart Bones Summary

Heartless

by Marissa Meyer

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Revenge, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Fate, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Social Class, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Relationships

Heartless, first published in 2016, is a contemporary fantasy Young Adult novel by Marissa Meyer. Meyer is best known for her dystopian sci-fi YA series The Lunar Chronicles, inspired by fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White. Set in a fantasy world, Heartless imagines the backstory of Lewis Carroll’s iconic character the Queen of Hearts from the 1876 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Heartless is also popular among the BookTok community. This guide utilizes... Read Heartless Summary

Heart of a Stranger

by Angela Buchdahl

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Gender Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Religion & Spirituality

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s spiritual memoir, Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging (2025), chronicles her journey as the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and a Jewish American father who became the first Asian American to be ordained as both a cantor (or worship leader) and a rabbi. The book traces her path from a childhood in Tacoma, Washington, where she navigated her intersecting identities, to her leadership of... Read Heart of a Stranger Summary

Hearts Unbroken

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Love, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Hearts Unbroken is a young adult contemporary novel by New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith. Main character Louise Wolfe, a Native Muscogee (Creek) teen girl, breaks up with her boyfriend over his insensitive comments. Louise turns her focus to senior year, the school newspaper, and spending time with family, but she notices more and more instances of cultural insensitivity around her. When the newly-formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater group speaks out against cast... Read Hearts Unbroken Summary

Heat

by Mike Lupica

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Family

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Sports

Heat is a young adult novel written by Mike Lupica and published in 2006. Focusing on the Little League baseball culture of New York City, the novel follows Michael Arroyo, a pitching phenom and Cuban immigrant, as he pursues a trip to the Little League World Series. Michael and his brother, Carlos, recently lost their Papi from a heart attack. They keep his death a secret out of fear that government officials will separate them... Read Heat Summary

Heaven

by Angela Johnson

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Family, Friendship, Truth & Lies

Tags Adoption, Relationships, Parenting

... Read Heaven Summary

Heidi

by Johanna Spyri

Publication year 1881

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Joy, Love, Childhood & Youth, Friendship, Family, Grandparents, Literature, Religion & Spirituality, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Plants, Food, Animals

Tags Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Romanticism

Swiss author Johanna Spyri originally published the middle-grade fiction novel Heidi in German in two volumes in 1880. The novel quickly became a beloved classic children’s book that has since been adapted into 25 film and television versions, including a 1968 made-for-TV movie and a very popular anime series in 1974. It has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Spyri was born in Hirzel, a Zurich village that shares a border with the German... Read Heidi Summary