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 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Birth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Hope, Indigenous Identity, Coming of Age, Future, Animals, Self Discovery, Colonialism

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

The Game of Silence is work of middle-grade historical fiction by contemporary American author Louise Erdrich. Published in 2005, it is the second novel in Erdrich’s Birchbark House series. The first novel in this series, The Birchbark House (1999), is set in 1847 and introduces Omakayas and her family. The Birchbark House was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award. With The Game of Silence, Erdrich continues the saga of Omakayas’s family, and this... Read The Game of Silence Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Family

Tags Education, Education, Asian Literature, World History, Historical Fiction

The Gangster We Are All Looking For, published in 2003, is a novel that takes the reader through the life of a young, unnamed girl—whom we will call “the Girl”—and her family, who have fled Vietnam in the wake of the war with America to live in San Diego, California. The book draws upon author lê thi diêm thúy’s own experience as a Vietnamese refugee in America. The story begins with the Girl leaving Vietnam... Read The Gangster We Are All Looking For Summary

Publication year 1922

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Death, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Coming of Age, Social Class, Modernism, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” was published in her 1922 short story collection The Garden Party and Other Stories, and many critics consider it the best example of her renowned prose style. Like many Modernists, Mansfield was most interested in rendering not objective realities but characters’ subjective perspectives; her third-person narrators often have intimate insight into a character’s interior world, to the extent that the narrative voice embodies elements of that character’s psychology. The world... Read The Garden Party Summary

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Memory, Death, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Irish Literature

The Gathering by Anne Enright is a novel about family history, grief, and the ways we learn to live with our pasts. Published in 2007, The Gathering was awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The Gathering is Anne Enright’s fourth novel. Enright is the author of seven novels and is a major figure in contemporary Irish literature. This guide is based on the following 2007 Black Cat edition of The Gathering.Content Warning: This guide summarizes... Read The Gathering Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Politics & Government, Fate, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Health, World History

The Gene: An Intimate History (2016) by Siddhartha Mukherjee weaves a family narrative with the tale of the evolution of genetics. Informed by Mukherjee’s experience as an oncologist and researcher, the book showcases both the life-changing potential, as well as danger, of gene-editing technologies. Mukherjee uses the cautionary tale of eugenics to examine what the power to change the genetic structure of human beings means in a fraught, fragmented world. Refuting notions such as biological... Read The Gene Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Appearance & Reality, Family, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Family, Memory

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a 2016 fantasy novel for middle school readers by American author Kelly Barnhill. The story follows a young girl named Luna, who is accidentally enmagicked as a baby. As Luna grows, she struggles to recover important things she has lost: her memories, her mother, and her magic. With rich, lyrical language and gentle humor, Barnhill creates a fairytale-like world very different from ours, but one that faces similar... Read The Girl Who Drank the Moon Summary

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Family, Trust & Doubt

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die is a thriller/suspense novel by New York Times-bestselling author April Henry. Published in 2013, the novel involves a 16-year-old protagonist who wakes up in a cabin in the woods. She has no recollection of who she is or how she’s ended up in the cabin. There are obvious signs that she’s been tortured, and she overhears that she is going to be killed. With this beginning, The Girl... Read The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Family, Social Class, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an international bestseller by writer and journalist Stieg Larsson. The crime thriller was published in Sweden shortly after his death in 2005 with the original Swedish title, Män som hatar kvinnor, or Men Who Hate Women. The book won the 2006 Glass Key Award for best crime novel in its native Sweden, and after the English translation was released it received the 2008 Boeke Prize (South Africa), Crime... Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Summary

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, World History, Romance

The Giver of Stars (2019) by JoJo Moyes is a work of women’s fiction that can also be categorized as historical fiction. Not long after its publication, The Giver of Stars became embroiled in controversy when another author, Kim Michele Richardson, noted similarities between her book about the WPA Pack Horse Librarians, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and Moyes’s novel. Moyes is the bestselling author of Me Before You, and The Giver of Stars... Read The Giver of Stars Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Childhood & Youth, Order & Chaos

Tags American Literature, Education, Education, Biography, Classic Fiction

The Glass Castle is a nonfiction memoir published by American journalist Jeannette Walls. Published in 2005, book chronicles Walls and her three siblings’ nomadic and impoverished upbringing by their severely maladjusted parents. In recounting her childhood, Walls explores themes like Letting Go of Childhood Illusions, The Struggle to Understand a Parent’s Poor Choices, The Destructiveness of Codependent Relationships, and The Connection Between Poverty and Abuse.A critical and popular success, The Glass Castle remained on the... Read The Glass Castle Summary