Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Truth & Lies, Coming of Age, Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Grandparents, Siblings, Community
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age
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 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Truth & Lies, Coming of Age, Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Grandparents, Siblings, Community
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age
Publication year 1980
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Siblings, Coming of Age, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Humor, Coming of Age, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Superfudge is a children’s novel written by Judy Blume first published in 1980. Blume is an author of children’s novels that have won several awards. Superfudge won the Children’s Choice Award in 1981 and the Early Readers Award in 1991. It was adapted into a television series which ran from 1995-1997. Superfudge is the third book in the Fudge series. This guide utilizes the 1988 publication of this novel.Plot SummaryAt the beginning of the novel... Read Superfudge Summary
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Coming of Age, Fathers, Friendship, Grandparents, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Order & Chaos
Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction
Surviving the Applewhites is a children’s novel written by American author Stephanie S. Tolan and was first published in 2002.The narrative follows Jake Semple, a troubled teenager forced to move in with the unconventional and eccentric Applewhite family following an incident at school. Jake struggles to fit in at first but gradually sheds his past transgressions and undergoes a transformative journey toward self-discovery and redemption. The novel touches on Personal Growth and Transformation, Individuality Versus... Read Surviving the Applewhites Summary
Publication year 1930
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Family, Friendship, Siblings, Teamwork, Social Class, Colonialism, Justice, Safety & Danger
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Family, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age
Publication year 2022
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Perseverance
Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Race, Family, Community, Guilt
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Race & Racism
Sycamore Row (2013) by John Grisham is the sequel to his debut novel and best-selling legal thriller, A Time to Kill (1989). Grisham, a practicing lawyer prior to his career as a novelist, popularized the legal thriller with his prolific work in the genre, frequently highlighting social justice and legal ethics issues. Though marketed as a legal thriller, Grisham himself makes a clear distinction between his legal thrillers and his Ford County novels—aka the Jake... Read Sycamore Row Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Education, Race, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Social Class, Community, Equality, Justice
Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, World War II, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Community, Friendship, Race, Coming of Age, Social Class, Equality, Justice, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Social Justice, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1972
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Education, Education, Classic Fiction
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, an episodic children’s book by Judy Blume, is a first-person narrative recounted by nine-year-old protagonist Peter Hatcher. A work of realistic fiction, this book is divided into 10 chapters and directed at young readers from the third- to fifth-grade levels. Originally published by Dutton Children’s Books in 1972, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is the first of five books in a series. The book received a number of... Read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Grief, Guilt, Love, Mental Health, Family
Tags Romance
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Gender Identity, Race, Family, Marriage, Social Class, Colonialism, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Race & Racism, Social Class, African American Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1664
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Trust & Doubt, Religion & Spirituality, Family
Tags Comedy & Satire, Relationships, Arts & Culture, French Literature, Education, Education, Humor, Classic Fiction
Tartuffe, also known as The Imposter or The Hypocrite, is a Neoclassical comedy written by French playwright, actor, writer, and director Molière, born as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. It was first produced in 1664 in France. While King Louis XIV and the public enjoyed the play, religious groups, including the Catholic Church and members of the upper class, condemned it for its display of a seemingly religious character who preys on those around on him for his... Read Tartuffe Summary
Publication year 1912
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Animals, Race, Family, Love, Colonialism, Education
Tags Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Tarzan of the Apes is an adventure fiction book written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912 and initially published serially in the pulp magazine The All-Story before being printed as a novel in 1914. Burroughs was an American from Chicago who had a variety of careers before building a name for himself as a writer of pulp fiction. His first story, entitled Under the Moons of Mars (1911), became the first book in the science... Read Tarzan of the Apes Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family, Fame, Beauty, Memory, Love
Tags Food, European History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Mental Health, Family, Mothers, Colonialism
Tags Food, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, World History, Mental Illness, Biography
Publication year 2007
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Coming of Age, War, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Language, Literature, Family
Tags Middle Eastern History, Military & War, Education, Education, World History, Arts & Culture, Biography
In her memoir, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007), Palestinian-American author and poet Ibtisam Barakat describes her early childhood in Palestine during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the life-changing effects that follow this pivotal event. Combining richly descriptive prose and free-verse poetry, Ibtisam shares often painful memories of childhood losses, from her home and sense of security to her childhood innocence. Writing from a child’s perspective, Ibtisam transcends politics to poignantly highlight how... Read Tasting the Sky Summary
Publication year 1953
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Family, Education, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies
Tags American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1983
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Parenting, Relationships
Originally published in Seventeen Magazine in 1983, “Teenage Wasteland” is a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Tyler, known for her realistic portrayal of the lives of ordinary people. This guide is based on the short story as it appears in the 2020 Vintage Shorts Kindle edition.It is some time in the early 1970s when Mr. Lanham, the principal of a private school, brings homemaker Daisy Coble in to tell her that her son... Read Teenage Wasteland Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Friendship, Conflict, Forgiveness, Family, Siblings, Art, Truth & Lies
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+
Tell the Wolves I’m Home is the 2012 debut novel of author Carol Rifka Brunt. In it, 14-year-old narrator June Elbus wrestles with her grief over the death of her uncle Finn Weiss, who died of AIDS. Set in 1987 New York at the height of the AIDS crisis, the novel confronts the stigmas surrounding the disease through June’s parents and sister, who blame Finn’s long-term partner, Toby Aldshaw, for transmitting AIDS to Finn. As... Read Tell the Wolves I'm Home Summary