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.

Numbering all the Bones

by Ann Rinaldi

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Death, Siblings, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Race, Equality, Justice, War, Fathers

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Life-Inspired Fiction, American Civil War, Race & Racism, US History, Military & War, World History

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October in the Chair

by Neil Gaiman

Publication year 2002

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Family, Childhood & Youth, Death

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

“October in the Chair” by Neil Gaiman is a supernatural short story published in his 2006 collection Fragile Things. The story won the 2003 Locus Award for Best Short Story, and the collection won the 2007 Locus Award for Best Collection. Along with earning these awards, Gaiman is a widely read, critically acclaimed author of comics, short stories, novels, and screenplays, mostly in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. Other works by this author... Read October in the Chair Summary

Oedipus

by Seneca

Publication year 60

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Family, Politics & Government, Fate

Tags Tragedy, Mythology, Education, Education, Classical Period, Dramatic Literature, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

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Oedipus Rex

by Sophocles

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Family, Fate

Tags Tragedy, Mythology, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Ancient Greece, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Fantasy

Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex, first performed in the early-to-mid 400s BCE, is one of the most famous and influential tragedies left to us from the ancient Greek tradition. Based on the myth of Oedipus, whose cursed fate was to marry his mother and kill his father, the play explores themes of destiny, free will, and literal and metaphoric vision and blindness. This guide uses the 1984 Penguin edition of The Three Theban Plays, translated by... Read Oedipus Rex Summary

Of Women and Salt

by Gabriela Garcia

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Immigration, Mothers, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Gender & Feminism, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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Oil and Marble

by Stephanie Storey

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

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Okay for Now

by Gary D. Schmidt

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

This is an overview of the first edition of Okay for Now, a humorous Young Adult novel by award-winning author, Gary D. Schmidt. Published in 2011, this children’s novel was nominated for the National Book Award for Young People’s literature. Other works by Schmidt include Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2004), The Wednesday Wars (2007), and The Labors of Hercules Beal (2023).Plot SummaryDoug Swieteck, a middle schooler, is the child of an abusive, alcoholic father... Read Okay for Now Summary

Olga Dies Dreaming

by Xochitl Gonzalez

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Family, Mothers, Sexual Identity, Race, Power & Greed, Colonialism, Economics

Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Class, Finance, US History, Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

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Olive Kitteridge

by Elizabeth Strout

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Grief, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction

Published in 2008, Olive Kitteridge is an unconventional novel by Elizabeth Strout that interlinks 13 tales about the people of Crosby, Maine. The novel is a collection of short stories tied together by the unifying element of titular character Olive Kitteridge. The novel won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and HBO created a mini-series of the book in 2014. Because of its construction, Strout’s novel is less about its plot than it is about... Read Olive Kitteridge Summary

Olive's Ocean

by Kevin Henkes

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Family, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age

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

Kevin Henkes is the author of Olive’s Ocean, a 2001 coming-of-age chapter book for young readers. Kevin has written and illustrated several books for children and young readers, including Waiting (1991) and The Year of Billy Miller (2013). Henkes was born in Wisconsin, and this Midwest state is the home of his character Billy Miller, as well as Martha Boyle, the 12-year-old protagonist in Olive’s Ocean. In the novel, Martha grapples with the sudden death... Read Olive's Ocean Summary

Olivetti

by Allie Millington

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Guilt, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Literature

Tags Children`s Literature

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On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Beauty, Family, Marriage, Aging, Religion & Spirituality, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal, Mothers, Social Class, Community, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Siblings, Midlife, Trust & Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Forgiveness, Art, Apathy, Guilt, Equality, Hate & Anger, Coming of Age, Masculinity, Conflict, Education, Femininity, Self Discovery, Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride, Appearance & Reality, Death, Grief, Gender Identity, Hope

Tags British Literature, Race & Racism, Modern Classic Fiction

On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary

On Call

by Anthony Fauci

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Family, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Science & Technology

Tags Biography, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, World History, Health

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Once and Again

by Rebecca Serle

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Regret, Death, The Past, Place, Family, Fathers, Grandparents, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Magical Realism, Relationships

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