Mothers

With classics like J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and contemporary hits like Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, this collection gathers texts that grapple with the complex and archetypal role of the mother.

I Know Who You Are

by Alice Feeney

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Revenge, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Family, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Economics, Fame, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

... Read I Know Who You Are Summary

I'll Give You the Sun

by Jandy Nelson

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Sexual Identity, The Past, Death, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Fate, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Coming of Age, Magical Realism, Romance, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction

I’ll Give You the Sun (2015) is an award-winning novel penned by Jandy Nelson about relationships, art, and destiny. It follows the story of twins Noah and Jude Sweetwine who once shared a close relationship but find themselves barely speaking to each other two years after their mother’s death.Jandy Nelson is an American author who writes young adult fiction. I’ll Give You the Sun is her second novel, which won numerous awards and honors, including... Read I'll Give You the Sun Summary

In Pieces

by Sally Field

Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Joy, Love, Mental Health, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Art, Beauty, Fame, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Gender & Feminism

... Read In Pieces Summary

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens

by Alice Walker

Publication year 1983

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Daughters & Sons, Mothers

Tags Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Race & Racism, Social Justice

In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens is a collection of essays, speeches, and letters by Alice Walker. The collection was published in 1983. Walker is also a novelist and a poet. Her most famous novel, The Color Purple, was published in 1982 and won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983. The novel was adapted into a movie as well as a musical. These essays are collected from different books and... Read In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens Summary

In Search of Respect

by Philippe Bourgois

Publication year 1995

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mothers

Tags Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, Politics & Government

In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio is a critically-acclaimed work of nonfiction by Philippe Bourgois, first published in 1995. It won the 1996 C. Wright Mills Award and the 1997 Margaret Mead Award. A second edition, with a prologue and an additional epilogue, was released in 2003. The book explores themes of respect, independence, autocracy, self-worth, racism, and social marginalization. Bourgois is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, History and... Read In Search of Respect Summary

In the Land of the Free

by Edith Maude Eaton

Publication year 1912

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Family, Mothers, Equality

Tags Chinese Literature, Race & Racism

“In the Land of the Free” is the first short story written by British Canadian author Edith Maude Eaton, who was of British and Chinese descent. As one of the first Asian North American writers, her works explored themes of racial discrimination, the difficulties of assimilation, and the effects of the legal system on immigration and kinship. “In the Land of the Free,” originally published by the Montreal Daily Witness in 1890, explores the latter... Read In the Land of the Free Summary

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)

by Sarah Ruhl

Publication year 2009

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Mothers

Tags Humor, Comedy & Satire, Education, Education, Gender & Feminism, World History, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), which premiered on Broadway in 2010, has since become one of Sarah Ruhl’s best-known and most popularly produced plays. Prior to Ruhl’s Broadway debut with In the Next Room, she earned a MacArthur Genius Fellowship and a PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, and her 2004 play The Clean House was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. In the Next Room was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and... Read In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) Summary

In West Mills

by De'Shawn Charles Winslow

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Race, Mental Health

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Race & Racism, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Gender & Feminism, African American Literature, Post-War Era, Southern Literature, World History, LGBTQ+

... Read In West Mills Summary

I Stand Here Ironing

by Tillie Olsen

Publication year 1961

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Femininity, Guilt, Social Class

Tags Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

“I Stand Here Ironing” was originally published in 1961 in Tell Me a Riddle, Tillie Olsen’s first collection of short stories. Since then, it has greatly impacted feminist scholars and creative writers alike and is often anthologized. The short story is an intimate exploration of one woman’s experience with motherhood between the 1930 and 1950s. Her oldest daughter, Emily, is 19 years old and has been neglected and separated from the narrator due to factors... Read I Stand Here Ironing Summary

Iveliz Explains It All

by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Race, Coming of Age, Death, Fathers, Grandparents, Mothers, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness

... Read Iveliz Explains It All Summary

John & Paul

by Ian Leslie

Publication year 2025

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Joy, Love, Memory, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Place, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Teamwork, Community, Art, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Order & Chaos

... Read John & Paul Summary

June Baby

by Shannon Garvey

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Environment, Place, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Literature

Tags Literary Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, Grief & Death

Shannon Garvey’s debut novel, June Baby (2026), is a contemporary coming-of-age story that was selected as a “Read with Jenna” book club pick. The narrative follows Ruth Phillips, a young woman who has spent a decade in a state of emotional and professional stasis following her mother’s death. When her mentor and surrogate mother, the photographer Diana Beckett, also dies suddenly, Ruth returns to the community of Block Island, forcing her to confront a past... Read June Baby Summary