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.

For One More Day

by Mitch Albom

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music, Forgiveness, Memory, Fathers, Mothers, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Inspirational, Fantasy, Self-Improvement

For One More Day, by Mitch Albom, tells the story of Charles “Chick” Benetto, a retired baseball player fallen on hard times. The story is framed by a prologue and epilogue where a narrator explains that they are telling the story from Chick’s perspective, “because I’m not sure you would believe this story if you didn’t hear it in his voice” (7). The book is comprised of short chapters told in the first person, and... Read For One More Day Summary

Freaky Friday

by Mary Rodgers

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Self Discovery, Love, Coming of Age, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Siblings, Beauty

Tags Fantasy, Humor, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age

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Free Lunch

by Rex Ogle

Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Mothers, Shame & Pride, Hope, Gratitude, Hate & Anger

Tags Realistic Fiction, Poverty, Trauma & Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography

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Friend of My Youth

by Alice Munro

Publication year 1990

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Memory, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Mothers, Family

Tags Symbolic Narrative, Grief & Death, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction

“Friend of My Youth” is the title short story from the collection of the same name by Alice Munro, published in 1990. The collection won the 1990 Trillium Book Award, which recognizes writers from Ontario, Canada.Narrated in the first person, the story is told from the perspective of an unnamed female writer in mourning for her mother, who died some years earlier of Parkinson’s disease. The narrator describes a recurrent dream that she used to... Read Friend of My Youth Summary

Full Measures

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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Future Home of the Living God

by Louise Erdrich

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Mothers, Future

Tags Science Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Nature, Race & Racism, Fantasy

Future Home of the Living God is a 2017 speculative fiction novel by American author Louise Erdrich. Told by Cedar Hawk Songmaker, a pregnant Native American woman in her mid-twenties living in Minneapolis, the story consists of her reflections as she waits to give birth. In the novel’s pre-apocalyptic America, human evolution has reversed, meaning that the species has begun to biologically regress into an infertile state. Meanwhile, the United States government has undermined citizens’... Read Future Home of the Living God Summary

Game Changer

by Tommy Greenwald

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Forgiveness, Guilt, Memory, Conflict, Hope, Mothers, Fathers, Childhood & Youth, Masculinity, Truth & Lies, Fear, Family

Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Garden Spells

by Sarah Addison Allen

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Shame & Pride, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy

Garden Spells is the debut novel by American author Sarah Addison Allen, published in 2007. The novel, an example of the urban fantasy genre, relates the story of a pair of Southern sisters coming to terms with their heritage. The book became a New York Times bestseller, was recognized on the American Library Association’s Reading List for Best Women’s Fiction of 2007, and won the 2008 SIBA Book Award for fiction. Following the success of... Read Garden Spells Summary

Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

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Girl

by Jamaica Kincaid

Publication year 1978

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Colonialism, Coming of Age, Femininity, Community

Tags Gender & Feminism, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Prose, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” was first published on June 26, 1978 in The New Yorker and was later included in Kincaid’s debut 1983 short story collection, At the Bottom of the River. According to Kincaid, her works, including “Girl,” can be considered autobiographical. Kincaid grew up on the Caribbean island of Antigua and had a strained relationship with her mother before Kincaid moved to New York City. These same cultural and familial contexts are present in... Read Girl Summary

Girl, Stolen

by April Henry

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers

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

Girl, Stolen (2010) is a young adult crime/thriller novel written by April Henry. It tells the story of Cheyenne Wilder, a blind 16-year-old girl who is abducted during a car theft, and of Griffin Sawyer, the teen who steals the car while unaware Cheyenne is inside it. The novel has received numerous awards since publication, including the Young Adult Library Services Association Best Fiction for Young Adults Award. The book was also selected as a... Read Girl, Stolen Summary

Go as a River

by Shelley Read

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Place, Mothers, Family, Coming of Age, Indigenous Identity

Tags Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

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God Help The Child

by Toni Morrison

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Mothers

Tags Existentialism, Race & Racism, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

God Help the Child, the eleventh novel by critically-acclaimed writer Toni Morrison, was published in 2015. This guide is based on the 2015 Kindle book published by Borzoi Books, an Alfred A. Knopf imprint. One of Morrison’s few works with a contemporary setting and cast of characters, the novel explores themes related to the impact of racism and colorism on children, the prevalence of trauma such as child sexual abuse in the lives of children... Read God Help The Child Summary

Going Solo

by Roald Dahl

Publication year 1986

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Nostalgia, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Globalization, War

Tags Social Science, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement, World War II, Military & War, Action & Adventure

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