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 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Gender
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Food, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2004
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Class
Tags History: U.S., History: World, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure
The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin is an account of a devastating natural disaster that took place in 1888. Affecting multiple Midwestern states, the blizzard claimed the lives of many people, including children. The loss of lives to the blizzard laid bare the vulnerabilities of isolated immigrant communities in the Great Plains and marked a watershed moment in American history regarding disaster prediction and mitigation. The author, David Laskin, is a well-known historian who has... Read The Children's Blizzard Summary
Publication year 1952
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Humor, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Children's Literature, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Bullying, Education, Education, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1993
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Inspirational, Holidays & Occasions, Christian literature, Religion / Spirituality
The Christmas Box (1993) is a holiday-themed, loosely autobiographical novel by American author Richard Paul Evans. It tells the story of Richard, a workaholic who learns important lessons about the meaning of Christmas and the importance of family. He makes these discoveries with the help of an elderly widow and an angelic entity who visits Richard in his dreams. Evans was a 31-year-old advertising executive and had no formal writing experience when he self-published The... Read The Christmas Box Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Mystery / Crime Fiction
Publication year 1997
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Education, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth
Tags Historical Fiction, Poverty, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, History: World
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Gothic Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Regret
Tags Romance, Grief / Death
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Arts / Culture, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction
Published in 2001 by HarperCollins, The Color of My Words is a children’s novel written by lawyer and author, Lynn Joseph. The novel follows an adolescent protagonist, Ana Rosa, as she observes the world around her and eventually discovers the power of her own voice through writing. The Color of My Words received significant critical recognition, and the International Reading Association and the American Library Association named it a notable book. This study guide refers... Read The Color of My Words Summary
Publication year 1594
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature
The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays and is a comedy that incorporates slapstick humor, farce, and wordplay. Its first recorded performance was in 1594, and it has been performed and adapted numerous times since then. Its title has entered into the English lexicon: The phrase “comedy of errors” means a situation caused by many mistakes.The play follows the story of two sets of identical twins who also share the same names... Read The Comedy of Errors Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Language
Tags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, Diversity, Social Justice
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags American Literature, Drama / Tragedy, History: U.S., Modern Classic Fiction
The Corrections is a 2001 novel by Jonathan Franzen that won the National Book Award. Franzen is the author of several essay collections and novels, including the novels Freedom, Purity, and Crossroads. He has received many awards for his work, including the Whiting Award in 1988 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996.The main action of the novel takes place during the turn of the 21st century, a time of great financial prosperity in the United... Read The Corrections Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Historical Fiction, Health / Medicine, Asian Literature
Publication year 1994
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Globalization, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Western, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction