Five top juicy, complicated, and otherwise strange family tales

Maura Roosevelt is the author of the new novel Baby of the Family.

One title on her "all families are complicated" reading list, as shared at LitHub:

J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey

This story—or two stories really—seems to me to truly be about how siblings raise each other. The bizarre, talented, and arguably pretentious Glass siblings are so troubled and yet so loveable. As Zooey wrestles with how to live up to and learn from the mistakes of his older brothers Buddy and Seymour, his younger sister Franny has a type of spiritual crisis, which although absurd, also rings true for a character in the delicate years of her early twenties.

Read about another entry on the list.

Franny and Zooey also appears among Lauren Child's six best books, Alex Preston's top ten fictional characters struggling with faith, and Colette McIntyre's list of eight books every college-bound student should read.

--Marshal Zeringue