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.

A Million Little Pieces

by James Frey

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Self Discovery

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse

A Million Little Pieces (2003) is a controversial memoir-style novel by American author James Frey. Characterized by its raw, stream-of-consciousness prose, the book recounts a young man’s experience in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The narrative graphically explores the nature of addiction and the painful challenges of overcoming it. Initially marketed as a memoir, A Million Little Pieces was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club and became a New York Times bestseller. However, the book became... Read A Million Little Pieces Summary

Amina's Voice

by Hena Khan

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Music, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Middle Eastern History, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

Eleven-year-old Pakistani-American Amina Khokar lives in Milwaukee with her mother, father, and brother, Mustafa. At school, a Korean girl named Soojin Kim is her best friend. Amina is distressed when Soojin befriends Emily, a girl who has historically joined in on racially-motivated taunts against Soojin and Amina. The situation is complicated when Amina, Emily, and Soojin—along with the class oddball, Bradley—are assigned to the same group for an Oregon Trail project in their social studies... Read Amina's Voice Summary

Amongst Women

by John McGahern

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Family, Nation

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Classic Fiction

Amongst Women by John McGahern is a contemporary Irish novel published in 1990. This novel explores themes of The Individual in a Changing World, The Individual Versus the Collective, and The Importance of Women. Amongst Women is also specific to Irish history and culture, as it portrays a rapidly modernizing Ireland that threatens the protagonist Moran’s sense of self. Considered McGahern’s greatest work, Amongst Women is the fifth of his six published novels. It was... Read Amongst Women Summary

Anansi Boys

by Neil Gaiman

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Siblings, Fathers, Death

Tags Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Humor

Anansi Boys is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman, written in 2005. It is set within the same world as his earlier novel American Gods and shares the title character of Anansi. In 2006, the novel won both the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Society Award. Anansi Boys deals with themes of family, duality, and storytelling, drawing from West African mythology and archetypes to create a story rooted in the here and... Read Anansi Boys Summary

And the Mountains Echoed

by Khaled Hosseini

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Middle Eastern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Dramatic Literature

The third novel by Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed, is a work of historical fiction that examines the factors that lead to and reverberate from one action: A poor family sells their youngest daughter to a wealthy couple in Kabul. Set in Afghanistan, the novel spans over 50 years and four generations. Hosseini includes several narrative voices, rather than just those of the story’s main family. The multiple narrators provide several different angles into... Read And the Mountains Echoed Summary

And Then, Boom!

by Lisa Fipps

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Food, Family, Grandparents, Social Class, Economics, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Children`s Literature

... Read And Then, Boom! Summary

Angela's Ashes

by Frank McCourt

Publication year 1996

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Religion & Spirituality, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Poverty, Irish Literature, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

Angela’s Ashes is a 1996 memoir written by Frank McCourt. It recounts his challenging upbringing in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. At the heart of the memoir is McCourt’s account of the people and events of his childhood, and how he tried to make sense of the world around him. McCourt narrates in the present tense and follows a generally chronological order, with his time in America as a young child and then later as... Read Angela's Ashes Summary

Angelfall

by Susan Ee

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Disability, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Siblings, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

... Read Angelfall Summary

Angel Of Greenwood

by Randi Pink

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Love, Race, Family, Friendship, Community, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Race & Racism, Social Justice, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

... Read Angel Of Greenwood Summary

A Night Divided

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen dramatizes the experiences of the division of Germany after World War II and tells a tale of family separation from a child’s perspective. The novel explores the effects of repressive government on intimate relationships as the main character, 12-year-old Gerta, watches friendships and partnerships dissolve due to the Cold War. It is a story of individual heroism and family devotion. The novel became an ILA-CBC Children’s Choices Reading... Read A Night Divided Summary

An Invisible Thread

by Laura Schroff, Alex Tresniowski

Publication year 2010

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Fate, Community

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography

Author Laura Schroff’s 2012 New York Times bestseller An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny recounts a fateful meeting between two vastly different individuals: Maurice, a young boy living in poverty and a broken home, and Schroff, a successful ad executive enjoying a fast-paced career. In the memoir, the author posits that an invisible thread joins their lives. It is beyond her... Read An Invisible Thread Summary