About the Genre
Relationship Genre Overview:
The relationship genre focuses on emotion-based stories that follow the journey of a character’s internal quest for personal development. The storylines contain domestic discord and inner conflicts where characters seek to find balance. The issues in these books are rarely insurmountable and solutions are found by the end. Readers enjoy these meaningful stories that often impart a lesson learned. Key authors in this genre include Fredrik Backman, Elin Hilderbarnch, Jodi Picoult, and Nicholas Sparks.
Common Subgenres
Romantic Comedy: genre that deals with love in a light, humorous way, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles
Psychology: emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters
Grief fiction: dealing with loss of a loved one, the characters learn how to navigate feelings of sadness and loneliness
Humor: provoking laughter and providing amusement to the readers
Alternative Genre Titles
Women’s Fiction - these books focus on a woman's journey of self-discovery
Chick Lit - typically lighthearted story with a happy ending, oftentimes humorous tone Domestic Fiction - these books focus on families or found families and the relationships built by the characters
Contemporary Fiction - these are works of literature that have been written from 1990’s to the present day. Often more serious in tone, these books explore themes like meaning and uncertainty through the lens of modern characters
General Fiction - a bit of a “catch-all” term, these books explore the experiences of the daily lives of modern-day characters, usually adults
Contact us
These lists and genre information are brought to you by the students in our genre literature class in the Master in Library and Information Science program. Thank you for sending in such good books, materials, and information. I hope you had a good time with this project!
If any material listed is problematic or you would like to suggest future recommendations and themes please contact Crystal Miller at crrichardson@valdosta.edu! They would love feedback, or just to talk about books!
