CRP's Blog

In honor of the holidays and more frequent family time, we asked the CRP staff to name their favorite book families. The majority of responses featured the relatable rather than the ideal—and there were a couple families that received multiple votes! Check out what we had to say below and let us know who your favorite literary family is in the comments. #CRPreads

This is a great question! I love a good dysfunctional family. They’re just so much fun to read about, and they remind you that your own family’s not that bad. One that I particularly adore (but, let’s be clear, would never in a million years want to be a part of) are the Fangs from The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson. The sheer originality of this plotline still makes me smile. Parents Caleb and Camille have made a name for themselves as live performance artists: they create disruptive “Candid Camera”––like scenes in public places, film them, and then watch as the videos go viral. Their children, known professionally as Child A and Child B, are participants (read: pawns) in each of these “works of art.” Nothing like going into the family business at a young age! Dark humor and dysfunctional family dynamics are at a high, and on a more serious note, the book offers interesting commentary about art and its consumption in the age of reality TV. –Caitlin Eck, publicity manager

 I don’t need much provocation to talk, at length, about how my favorite novel is Great Expectations. Though I wouldn’t call Pip’s family “great” in the sense of being cuddly and enviable, it’s super great in terms of being totally relatable in its messiness. Throughout the book you watch him deal with his sister and her husband through varying degrees of shame, guilt, regret, and tenderness. I’ve been reading the book just about every other year since high school, so these characters feel just as dear to me as my own (messy) family at this point. –Allison Felus, production manager

It’s fun to consider generations of families linked like chains across a broad sweep of time, so I’ll choose the Stephanides family from Middlesex. Present-day Cal Stephanides spends the book tracing the genetic path that has led to his intersex status, starting with the incestuous relationship of his sibling grandparents in the Balkans in 1922, then moving into an account of his parents’ relationship as first cousins in 1960s Detroit, and finally detailing his transition from Calliope to Cal after discovering his status as a teenager in Gross Pointe, Michigan. Each generation is rendered beautifully and intimately. –Geoff George, publicist

 I’m not going to lie that my first family that came to mind was, of course, the Weasleys. Because they are just the best. (Also awesome? The Quimbys and the Krupniks). But it’s the holiday season and in between viewings of various It’s a Wonderful Christmas Story movies, I’ll also be watching one of my favorite Christmas films—The Thin Man. My love for Nick and Nora Charles is rooted Myrna Loy and William Powell’s portrayals, but Raymond Chandler provided a pretty solid base for those characters, as well as serving as inspiration for the couple who solve crimes together (while also engaging in witty banter, and in Nick and Nora’s case, with a cocktail firmly in hand) stays together. –Mary Kravenas, marketing manager

Can’t resist calling out the Weasleys from Harry Potter. Who wouldn’t want awful knitted sweaters from Mrs. Weasley and constant pranks from Fred and George? Plus the wizarding aspect makes them pretty appealing. –Emily Lewis, editorial and marketing assistant

How am I to choose? The Quimbys, Penderwicks, Melendys, Peppers, Marches, Tillermans, Krupniks, Aldens—all of these families from my childhood favorites have stuck with me in one way or another. I’m going to go with the Krupniks—Anastasia, of course; her parents, Myron and Katherine; and younger brother, Sam. I reread some Anastasia books a few years ago and was impressed with how funny and true the family interactions remain, and how discussions tackle complex topics like relationships, religion, and having a new sibling. I don’t think I wanted to be a member of the Krupnik family, but they were a comfortable family I was always ready to hang out with. –Meaghan Miller, senior publicist and social media coordinator

I’m going to say something controversial and go with the Lamberts from The Corrections on this one. Like most of Johnathan Franzen’s characters, they’re largely terrible people—but I love reading about them! –Lindsey Schauer, project editor