{"id":2503,"date":"2023-04-12T20:41:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T20:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/?p=2503"},"modified":"2023-04-12T20:41:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T20:41:52","slug":"trope-tuesday-found-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/2023\/04\/12\/trope-tuesday-found-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Trope Tuesday: Found Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>by Meg Rady <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>We\u2019ve all heard the old adage, \u201cblood is thicker than water.\u201d Today, the clich\u00e9 implies that familial bonds are stronger than any other relationship. Whether you think it\u2019s true or not, the common \u2018found family\u2019 literary trope gives this old saying a run for its money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The found family trope is a plot device that explores the bond of unrelated friends coming together to form their own family. While the group is often brought together through similar circumstances or experiences\u2014and not literally <em>chosen<\/em>\u2014this trope explores the growth of their relationship with each other. You follow their characters as they meet, form a bond, and come to rely on each other to find comfort and love, much like a second family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Found family is one of my favorite tropes, as someone who finds blood is, in fact, not thicker than water in my own life, I love seeing this dynamic explored in literature. As with any trope or motif, if it\u2019s written well, it can become the most compelling aspect of the book. However, for it to fully work, every character within the family has to be fully fleshed out, as nuanced complex beings, and this is not easy. I\u2019m always on the lookout for a good found family book, but I\u2019ve read a fair amount over the years, so here are some recommendations for books with a great found family.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2504\" width=\"358\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1.png 488w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1-260x260.png 260w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-1-160x160.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 358px) 100vw, 358px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>1.<\/em> <em>Six of Crows <\/em>by Leigh Bardugo<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Six of Crows<\/em> follows six characters, all from different backgrounds and walks of life, who come together to pull off the heist of a lifetime. Full of magic, gangs, and great romance, this two-book series pulls off a found family perfectly. All the characters are strong in their own right with complex histories, and by the end of the series, they can\u2019t imagine their lives without each other. Additionally, the cast is diverse with race, ability and sexuality without feeling like the author is checking off diversity boxes, which is hard to find in fantasy books these days. This heist-oriented novel is adorable, heartwarming, and just a little heartbreaking.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2505\" width=\"255\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-2.png 313w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-2-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-2-260x395.png 260w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-2-160x243.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>2. <em><\/em><em>The Darkest Minds <\/em>by Alexandra Bracken<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This dystopian YA series follows Ruby who wakes up on her tenth birthday,\u00a0 but unbeknownst to her something about her has changed. Fearful of this change, her parents call the police and she gets sent to a \u201crehabilitation camp.\u201d She\u2019s survived the mysterious illness that killed most of the kids in America, but she\u2019s emerged with something much worse.Now, at 16 Ruby has been classified as highly dangerous, and barely escapes the camp with her life as she seeks out the last safe haven for kids like her. Ruby only escapes thanks to another group of kids also on the run, and together they an amazing friendship, all while dismantling the corrupt government.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2506\" width=\"423\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3.png 488w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3-260x260.png 260w, https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2023\/04\/image-3-160x160.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>3. <em>The House in the Cerulean Sea <\/em>by TJ Klune<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Linus Baker case worker with the Department in Charge of Magical Youth who does everything by the book. Everything changes when he\u2019s tasked with checking an orphanage housing six magical kids who could bring about the end of the world. Slowly, Linus starts to open his heart as he falls for the six kids. The story is so wholesome, and Linus soon finds that his visit is more than work, he\u2019s found his family.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are just some of the books I read that have great found families. If any of these pique your interest, I hope you\u2019ll give them a read!&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Meg Rady We\u2019ve all heard the old adage, \u201cblood is thicker than water.\u201d Today, the clich\u00e9 implies that familial bonds are stronger than any other relationship. Whether you think&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2812,"featured_media":2504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,3,6,69],"tags":[44,56,65,38,42,84,51],"class_list":["post-2503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-myfavoritebook","category-about-reading","category-opinion","category-trope-tuesday","tag-book-recs","tag-emerson","tag-fantasy","tag-reading","tag-six-of-crows","tag-the-darkest-minds","tag-ya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2507,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503\/revisions\/2507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}