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.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

by Eleanor Coerr

Publication year 1977

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Death, War, Hope, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Family, Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Dramatic Literature, Grief & Death, Education, Education, World History, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction

Originally published in 1977, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a middle-grade historical fiction novel written by Eleanor Coerr based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl living in Hiroshima, Japan, when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. At age 12, Sadako is diagnosed with leukemia, often called “the atom bomb disease.” Inspired by a Japanese legend, Sadako sets out to fold 1,000 origami cranes, hoping she will be granted... Read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Summary

Sag Harbor

by Colson Whitehead

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Music

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Published in 2009, Sag Harbor is the fourth novel by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead refers to this novel as “my autobiographical fourth novel,” as he used some of his childhood summer experiences at Sag Harbor, New York, to write this story. Sag Harbor was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Whitehead is also the author of The Underground Railroad, which won the Pulitzer Prize, as well as The Nickel Boys, The... Read Sag Harbor Summary

Salt Houses

by Hala Alyan

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Family, Immigration, War

Tags Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

Salt Houses is a 2017 novel by Palestinian-American author Hala Alyan. A multi-generational saga that begins in 1963 and concludes in 2014, the narrative traces the family’s experiences during key events of 20th- and 21st-century Palestinian history. The novel is polyvocal; multiple family members act as narrators. Although the novel provides an in-depth character study of the way that war, displacement, and diaspora impact each family member, it is also a portrait of the Palestinian... Read Salt Houses Summary

Saltwater

by Katy Hays

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Regret, Memory, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Plants, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Economics, Globalization, Politics & Government, Art, Beauty, Fame, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Published in 2025, Saltwater is a literary thriller by Katy Hays, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Cloisters (2022). Like her debut, which is in development as a television series, Saltwater blends suspense with a richly detailed, atmospheric setting. The novel follows the wealthy Lingate family on their annual trip to Capri, an island that holds the dark secret of playwright Sarah Lingate’s mysterious death 30 years prior. Sarah’s husband, Richard Lingate... Read Saltwater Summary

Same Kind Of Different As Me

by Ron Hall, Lynn Vincent, Denver Moore

Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Friendship, Race

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Inspirational, Biography

Same Kind of Different as Me (2006) is a memoir written by Denver Moore and Ron Hall, with the assistance of Lynn Vincent. Employing a first-person point of view that switches between Moore and Hall in its chapters, the book tells the radically-different life stories of the two men—Moore spent most of his adult years being homeless or in prison, while Hall was a high-end art dealer—and how they were brought together thanks to Hall’s... Read Same Kind Of Different As Me Summary

Same Sun Here

by Neela Vaswani, Silas House

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music, Family, Environment

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Arts & Culture

Same Sun Here, co-written by Silas House and Neela Vaswani, details a year in the lives of two young people: an Indian immigrant living in New York City, and a small-town boy from Kentucky. Written as a series of letters between the two main characters, this middle grade novel is narrated by each author writing from the perspective of a separate character. Published in 2011, the book received the Nautilus Book Award, the E.B. White... Read Same Sun Here Summary

Sandwich

by Catherine Newman

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Marriage, Aging, Nostalgia, Memory, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Love, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Beauty, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Literary Fiction, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Sandwich Summary

Sarah, Plain and Tall

by Patricia MacLachlan

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

American children’s writer Patricia MacLachlan published her first novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall, in 1985. The novel won the Newberry Medal in 1986, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the Golden Kite Award. MacLachlan loosely based the story off a woman her mother knew who moved from Maine to the prairie to become a wife and mother. Using this premise, the novel explores themes of The Beauty of New Beginnings, A Child’s Desire... Read Sarah, Plain and Tall Summary

Saturday

by Ian McEwan

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Apathy, Family, Community, Art, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Death, War

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Iraq War, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

Saturday is a novel by Ian McEwan, first published in 2005 by Jonathan Cape. Ian McEwan is an acclaimed British author who has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize numerous times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998. In Saturday, McEwan delves into the inner life of a single individual, Henry Perowne, a successful neurosurgeon living in London. The novel takes place over the course of a single day, February 15, 2003, against the... Read Saturday Summary

Saving Shiloh

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Justice, Family, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Relationships

... Read Saving Shiloh Summary