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.

The Distance Between Us

by Reyna Grande

Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Family

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Biography

The Distance Between Us is a 2012 memoir by Reyna Grande, who is also the author of the novels Across a Hundred Mountains and Dancing With Butterflies. A finalist for the National Books Critics Circle Award and required reading in schools and colleges across the country, The Distance Between Us is followed by A Dream Called Home, which continues the story of Grande’s life. In addition to writing, Grande also teaches and works as a... Read The Distance Between Us Summary

The Door of No Return

by Kwame Alexander

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Place, Family, Siblings, Grandparents, Friendship, Mothers, Equality, Power & Greed, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Good & Evil, Literature, Safety & Danger, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Language, Masculinity, Race, Love, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Colonialism, Community, Death, Nation, Education, Self Discovery, Fathers

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Free Verse, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, History: African , African American Literature, World History

... Read The Door of No Return Summary

The Do-Over

by Lynn Painter

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Family, Conflict, Love, Self Discovery, Order & Chaos

Tags Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Business & Economics, Dramatic Literature, Romance, Fantasy, Humor

... Read The Do-Over Summary

The Dreamer

by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Illustr. Peter Sis

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Literature, Justice, Childhood & Youth, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Perseverance, Conflict, Loneliness, Family

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

... Read The Dreamer Summary

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Publication year 2011

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family

Tags Business & Economics, Women`s Studies, Military & War, World History, Biography

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe is the nonfiction debut of American journalist and author, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, first published in 2011. It chronicles the story of Kamila Sidiqi, a young woman living under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, who became a fashion entrepreneur at a time when the rights of women were strictly limited. Lemmon traveled to Afghanistan to study... Read The Dressmaker of Khair Khana Summary

The Dutch House

by Ann Patchett

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

The Dutch House is the eighth novel of Ann Patchett, an award-winning author of contemporary fiction. Published in 2019, the novel tells the story of what happens to Danny Conroy and his older sister Maeve Conroy when their stepmother, Andrea Smith, expels them from their sumptuous childhood home after the death of their father, Cyril Conroy. Set in the Dutch House—located in the outskirts of Philadelphia—and New York, the novel is literary fiction with fairy-tale... Read The Dutch House Summary

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

by Muriel Barbery

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Beauty, Literature, Coming of Age, Midlife, Education, Loneliness, Death, Language, Community, Appearance & Reality, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Class, Arts & Culture, Depression & Suicide, Relationships, French Literature

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery was published in 2006 and translated by Alison Anderson into English for publication in 2008. The novel has been translated into more than 40 languages and was a major bestseller in France. The novel was adapted into a film called The Hedgehog (Le Hérisson) in 2009 to critical acclaim. The Elegance of the Hedgehog follows the narrative point of view of two erudite narrators: Renée, a concierge... Read The Elegance of the Hedgehog Summary

The Endless Steppe

by Esther Hautzig

Publication year 1968

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Coming of Age, Family

Tags World History, World War II, Relationships, Russian Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, Historical Fiction

The Endless Steppe is a young adult memoir in which Esther Hautzig, the author, details her five-year exile in Siberia, from June 1941 to March 1946. When the American politician and diplomat Adlai E. Stevenson visited the village of Rubtsovsk and wrote about it, Esther Hautzig wrote to him to tell him about her time living there. Stevenson suggested that Esther write about her experience. Published in 1968, during the Cold War, the book resonated... Read The Endless Steppe Summary

The End We Start From

by Megan Hunter

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Mothers, Perseverance, Femininity, Climate, Friendship

Tags Science Fiction

The End We Start From (2017) is a dystopian novel by British author Megan Hunter. Set in an apocalyptic version of London, the story centers on climate disaster survival and the trauma of navigating pregnancy and motherhood in the wake of a cataclysmic climate event that alters the world as we know it. The story is primarily told from the first-person perspective of an unnamed narrator and written in a lyrical style that swings between... Read The End We Start From Summary

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

by Pablo Cartaya

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

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

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is a novel for middle graders by Cuban American writer Pablo Cartaya. This study guide refers to the original 2017 Viking edition.Plot SummaryIt is the beginning of summer in Canal Grove, a Cuban enclave in modern-day Miami. For 13-year-old Arturo Zamora, the novel’s narrator, this is usually a season of lazy pastimes, but surprises are in store. When he becomes lovesick over a Spanish girl named Carmen Sánchez, and... Read The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora Summary