Running with Scissors
A boy sent to live with his mother's psychiatrist grows up in a chaotic house with no rules.
2,036-word summary · 9 min read
coming of age + family
11 books tagged both “coming of age” and “family”.
She's Come Undone
Abused as a girl, divorced and struggling with weight, Dolores Price slowly finds healing after years of trauma.
2,550-word summary · 11 min read
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Francie Nolan grows up poor in 1910s Williamsburg, reading on fire escapes while her family scrapes by, and learns how schooling can lift her out.
2,485-word summary · 11 min read
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Nine year old Oskar searches New York for a lock matching his father's key after 9/11.
2,999-word summary · 13 min read
Where the Red Fern Grows
Billy earns two hounds and hunts raccoons in the Ozarks with love and loss.
2,990-word summary · 13 min read
The Last Song
Angry teen Ronnie spends a summer in Wilmington with her pianist father, finding first love, family repair, and loss.
2,761-word summary · 12 min read
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Two Mexican American boys in 1987 El Paso become inseparable and learn what love asks of family.
2,093-word summary · 9 min read
Little Women
Alcott's Little Women retold: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March through the Civil War years and beyond.
2,487-word summary · 11 min read
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Curious Incident retold: Christopher finds Wellington dead, maps primes, seeks truth in Swindon.
2,146-word summary · 10 min read
The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones retold: Susie watches from above as her family hunts her killer.
2,257-word summary · 10 min read
The Secret Life of Bees
Lily runs from her father with Rosaleen to Tiburon, finding shelter with beekeeping sisters.
2,207-word summary · 10 min read