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 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, History: World
Elijah of Buxton is a 2007 middle grade novel by American writer Christopher Paul Curtis. Set in the 1850s, it follows 11-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first freeborn child of Buxton, a Canadian settlement of escaped slaves, as he makes a dangerous journey into the United States. The novel was a Newbery Honor Book and won the Coretta Scott King Award. Plot SummaryThe story opens as Elijah investigates strange animal tracks with his friend Cooter. A local... Read Elijah of Buxton Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags Realistic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism
Ellen Foster is a work of adult fiction by US novelist Kaye Gibbons, first published by Algonquin Books in 1987. The novel was Gibbons’s debut, and it won the Sue Kaufman Prize for literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a notable citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Critics praised the novel for its unsentimental outlook and the wry, distinct voice of its protagonist. Ellen, a young girl living in the American... Read Ellen Foster Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Disability, Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags LGBTQ, Disability, Realistic Fiction, Jewish Literature, Contemporary Literature
Publication year 1717
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Religion / Spirituality, Age of Enlightenment, British Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, Gothic Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Classic Fiction
“Eloisa to Abelard” is a poem published in 1717 by Alexander Pope. The poem discusses the ill-fated love affair of a real-life couple from 12th-century France: Heloïse d’Argenteuil, a gifted 18-year-old student, and Peter Abelard, a renowned French scholar, philosopher, and poet of the Medieval era who was 20 years older than Heloïse. The poem is a heroic verse epistle, which is a genre first made famous in Ovid’s Heroides. Pope adopts Eloisa’s persona and... Read Eloisa to Abelard Summary
Publication year 1923
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Classic Fiction, Children's Literature, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Publication year 2015
Genre Memoir in Verse, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Language, Society: War
Tags History: World, Latin American Literature, Cold War, Children's Literature, Arts / Culture, Biography
Publication year 1957
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Emotions/Behavior: Regret
Tags Play: Tragedy, Play: Comedy / Satire, Irish Literature, Absurdism, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, French Literature, Classic Fiction
Endgame is a one-act, absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, first performed in 1957. The post-apocalyptic play portrays the farcical, tragic existence of four character who are caught in an unfulfilling routine. Beckett regarded the play as one of his greatest achievements. It has been adapted as an opera and as a short film.This guide uses the 2009 Faber and Faber edition.Plot SummaryThe curtain rises on a nearly bare stage: a room in Hamm’s home, bathed... Read Endgame Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags History: European, Politics / Government, Sociology, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1979
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family
Tags Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Love / Sexuality, Psychology, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Psychology, Classic Fiction
Endless Love by Scott Spencer, first published in 1979, is a psychological drama that delves into teenage love’s obsessive and destructive nature. Spencer, an American novelist known for exploring intense human emotions and relationships, crafts a story centered around David Axelrod, a young man whose all-consuming love for Jade Butterfield leads to tragic and life-altering events. The novel examines themes such as The Destructive Nature of Love, Dysfunctional Family Dynamics, and The Construct of Mental... Read Endless Love Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Immigration
Tags Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: U.S., Immigration / Refugee, Education, Education, History: World, Biography
Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother is a best-selling nonfiction book by Sonia Nazario, an American journalist best known for her work on social justice. Originally published in 2006, the book is based on Nazario’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Enrique’s Journey” series, which was written in six parts and published in The Los Angeles Times.The book, which has been published in eight languages and adapted for young adults in... Read Enrique's Journey Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags Arts / Culture
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Arts / Culture, Poverty, Class
Pam Muñoz Ryan is the award-winning author of over 40 books for new readers, middle-grade students, and young adults. Esperanza Rising (2000) is one of her most popular works and was honored with the 2001 Southern California Judy Lopez Award and the 2001 Arizona Young Adult Book Award. It also became a 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. Other titles by the same author include Riding Freedom (1998), Becoming Naomi Léon (2004), Paint the... Read Esperanza Rising Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: War, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Natural World: Food, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, WWII / World War II, Military / War, Italian Literature, History: World
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Family
Tags Science / Nature, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Health / Medicine, Anthropology, Anthropology, History: World
... Read Eve Summary
Publication year 1904
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism
Tags Irish Literature, Modernism, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
“Eveline” is the fourth short story in James Joyce’s Dubliners collection, completed in 1907 and published in London in 1914. This story, like the others in Dubliners, reveals Joyce’s view of Ireland, then a British colony, as existing in a state of paralysis. Alongside this broader theme, “Eveline” also explores topics like duty versus freedom, English imperialism, and individual autonomy. Nearly a story of a young woman escaping the confines of her abusive and lonely... Read Eveline Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Indigenous, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, WWII / World War II, History: World
Publication year 2016
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Korean Literature, Asian Literature, Children's Literature, History: World, Action / Adventure, Biography
Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea is a 2016 memoir by Sungju Lee and Susan McClelland. This first-person narrative nonfiction work recounts author Sungju Lee’s childhood in North Korea, surviving on the streets as a young boy after he was abandoned by his parents, as well as his harrowing escape at age 16. He is now a consultant and advocate for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula... Read Every Falling Star Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Music
Tags Music, Health / Medicine, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Regret
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction