Topic: Family and friendship
List of entries
This Gothic short story contrasts inner and outer monstrosity, and, going along with that, also focuses on moral values and the view on what is different. The young student Giovanni moves into an apartment in Padua, with windows that are opening to a beautiful garden. Said garden seems to consist of poisonous flowers and is […]
Though written in the Romantic period, this novel is considered the first supernatural English novel. It combines Shakespearean elements like the class-dependent distribution of comedy and tragedy and ghostly apparitions with medievalism and 18th-century realism. Manfred is the lord of the castle of Otranto, and his son Conrad is about to marry Isabella. When Conrad […]
This post-modern autobiographical novel mainly focuses on mental health, addressing suicide and psychological treatments. Esther Greenwood is a young woman in the 1950s aiming for an academic career. When she is almost raped during an internship far away from home, she becomes mentally unstable. Her mental health declines further as she loses her perspective of […]
“I can’t be as my dad or my mum, you know?” This award-winning graphic novel on gender stereotypes, friendship and identity construction follows thirteen-year-old Aster in the magical world of witches and shapeshifters. In this world, boys normally become shapeshifters, and girls grow up as witches, but as a boy, Aster is rather interested in […]
“The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?“ This teenage novel on identity construction, gender fluidity, internet blogging, peer pressure and coming out follows the story of Riley Cavanaugh, a nonbinary teenager, who neither fully identifies as a boy or a girl. […]
This novel on the devastating impact of a tropical storm follows the life of a working-class family in southern Mississippi. As a family of five, 15-year-old Esch along with her three brothers and her father live in poverty, often not knowing when their next meal will be. Despite this, her brother Skeetah finds joy in […]
This heart-warming picture book for children about queer identities, belonging, empathy and acceptance follows a rabbit called Herbert, who identifies as a fox. Herbert loves everything about foxes, so he eventually wants to become one. First, his mum is not quite happy with her son cross-dressing as a fox, but then she accepts that Herbert […]
This award-winning young adult novel about isolation, identity construction, being different and coming out as transgender, follows 17-year-old J, who lives with his parents in New York and does not identify as a female. To cover his body, J wears long baggy pants, large T-shirts and also keeps his hair short. Experiencing peer pressure at […]
A heartwarming animated movie about the human experience, full of emotions and humour. 11 year-old Riley can’t believe her parents are making her move and leave her friends. The five emotions in the headquarters of her brain can’t believe it either. The small beings represent Riley’s main emotions and are responsible for sending her experiences […]
This is a film navigating ideologies, manipulation and the big question of free will. In a world full of crime, the project PreCrime by a specialized police department in Washington DC seems to offer a convenient solution. “Criminals” are arrested and convicted before commiting the crime they are accused of, based on predictions of psychics […]
This animated comedy-adventure film navigates stereotypes, friendships and crime. Judy Hopps’ dream is to become the first bunny police officer in the metropolis Zootopia. Her job isn’t quite what she hoped for, but soon enough she’s wrapped up in her first case. While trying to solve a mysterious disappearance, she encounters scam-artist Nick who’s living […]
18-year-old Georgia is about to start college and has never been in love. Sure, she’s read and fantasized about it, but real-life love? – Nowhere in sight. And so Georgia sets out on the college adventure of figuring out who she is and what she’s actually looking for. When she comes across the terms asexual […]
This alarming play about homophobia, discrimination and hate crime is based on the brutal murder of the gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard on October 6, 1998. Told from many perspectives, which are taken from actual interviews with relatives, friends and neighbours of Matthew Shepard, Thee Laramie Project investigates the case and its aftermath capturing the […]
David is yet another American trying to find an escape from life in Paris in the 1950s. His girlfriend, Hella, is spending time alone in Spain trying to make up her mind regarding his proposal. Lonely and broke, David meets with an acquaintance at a bar in hopes of getting a financial boost. There, he […]
Making its debut in 1997, Zits comics narrate the everyday life of 15-year-old Jeremy; a teenager living in Ohio. But suburban life and high school come with their own set of problems, including but not limited to parents, school and girls. Whether it be about the embarrassment that parents are to teens or the other […]
Calvin may seem like a normal 6-year-old living in suburban America with his family and stuffed tiger “Hobbes”. To Calvin though, Hobbes is very much alive and his best friend and companion. Named after two philosophers, the pair is regularly immersed in deep conversations, often humorously lacking in the childlike expressions you would expect. But, […]
“You can have anything,” she said. “Once you admit you deserve it.” No one likes to be the new kid. All Amanda wants is to blend in and find friends. That plan fades away when she meets Grant and falls for him immediately. As they spend more time together, she feels herself opening up to […]
As long as she can remember, Jazz has known she’s a girl even though those around her perceive her as a boy. She doesn’t identify with stereotypical boys’ clothing and toys and would ideally just like to be a mermaid 24/7. Her parents listen to her and take her to a doctor, who confirms that […]