That was my first thought. It's so great the way it deals with grief and the protagonist realizing that people care about him and that he can find love and happiness and doesn't have to blame himself for things that are not his fault or feel like he is drowning
That part in the middle about getting your nieces into books is wholesome as hell. I had a similar experience with one of my best friends (mans literally like my brother too so fitting for this video) he is not a reader, he never has been but i think it was last year when i was talking about the final Soulbound book (he was very supportive considering he had no idea what i was talking about) he dropped in how he'd love to at least give Lord of the Rings a shot since he loved the movies, i had a copy of Fellowship of the Ring i hadn't read and told him he could lend it if he wanted, and if he enjoyed it he could keep it because i wasn't going to get around to it. Fast forward roughly two months he comes over, and he brings up that he actually finished the book within two days, and he even went out and bought the other two on his lunch break from work just im case he finished it. Long story short he bought almost every single Tolkein/Lord of the Rings book and read every single one of them in barely two months, and i could not be prouder. Like he was so over the moon and happy with himself. I consider that a huge lige achievement for myself tbh.
Found Family is also my favourite trope! One I think you haven't read is The Ninth Rain. The setting is so unique and I haven't read a book with better character relationships. They all don't have a place in this world but find that sense of belonging in each other. There are also giant rideable animal companions in the later books, what's not to love?
Never read it but Miss Perrigren's Home for Peculiar Children would hit some found family vibes. The Jungle Book and Peter Pan have found family moments.
The first thing that came to my mind was Kaladin and Bridge 4 when I heard about the Found Family trope. Like the way their bond is developed in TWoK is just amazing!
I think you would really enjoy Six of Crows. From what I have heard you say about the Gentleman Bastards series it is similar. I just finished it and am in a huge book hangover from it. It also has a pretty cool found family trope, in the way that some of the characters are just such unlikely friends. I highly highly recommend.
I recently read the riyria revelations and the faithful and the fallen. I am in love with the found families in those books (even when they hurt me). I’m very picky about my found families but the friendships in these books are realistic and so strong
Six of Crows has a magnificent found family. One of the best dynamics in a group I have ever read. It’s also a heist book. I admit I haven’t read The lies of Locke Lamora but a ton of people say that if you like one it’s likely you’ll enjoy the other so I do recommend it a lot. I also love the trope in Spy xFamily, obviously One Piece, Guardians of the galaxy and Avatar the Last Airbender. Cowboy Bebop also has a very good one as well.
It is very funny and tender to see how you get excited about your niece loving books and yes spy x family is an excellent found family series, also Avatar, fruits basket, ouran, akatsuki no yona, kono oto tomare and the list go on.
Merphy gushing about Spy Family being her nieces Gateway into reading takes me back. Skulduggery Pleasant & Bartolomaeus were my Gateways and I'd like to check out other Gateway books. What were your Gateways? Leave me some recommendations!
The Random House Book of Science Fiction is a sci-fi short story anthology aimed at middle grade or YA and it was def my gateway into reading sci-fi quite young :>
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones has a very chaotic found family. I think The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang counts too but infinitely darker and grittier story.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna is VERY much like The House in the Cerulean Sea... it's basically the 'found family trope' packed into one book and I'm loving it so much. (Also a cute doggie involved which is always a plus!)
I've been screaming it on your discord for years, but I'm still convinced that A Place Further than the Universe would easily place in your top 5 all time manga/shows if you ever got around to it.
Babel is great in so many ways. I thought it was going to be a great found family book as well, but RFK didn't develop the characters well enough for it to work in that way. For me, of course.
My favourite found family novel is trash of count's family it's sad and cute and tragic and funny at the same time.i can't say more about it because my English is awful but the ones who read it knows what I mean.
I love the whole found family trope as well. I use it for my DND characters and campaigns, my novella (Daniel Greene reviewed it on his channel, so I'm working on the revision before I start heavily trying to promote it) has it and a future fantasy book I want to do features it as well. There's something so interesting in people choosing to create that kind of relationship. My favourite author growing up was Jack London and several of his books (White Fang, Call of the Wild, Seawolf) all have that element, granted not all humans but animals are great, too! I really can't think of anything off the top of my head that you haven't reviewed.
One found family book I really like is Acorna, the Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey - sci fi and fantasy, very readable and the first in a great series. And luckily, you already have this book, Merphy!
The secret society of irregular witches is a beautiful found family… I liked it even better than house in the cerulean sea. It’s like my favorite book of the year
Considering that you liked Spy Family, you might want to read Yotsuba (yotsubato/yotsuba&). Its about a little girl who is invincible Also, while its not found family, I again recommend Mushishi
A found family book I think you should read is Dragonfly by Frederic S. Durbin. It’s about a girl who lives with her uncle and she finds a Halloween world in the basement, but it’s a pretty dangerous place. She makes strong connections with the few good people who live there as she tries to find her way back home. It’s pretty spooky and actually kind of dark for a kid’s book, so I think you’ll like it. Perfect read for fall/Halloween season 🎃
The Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy by Rick Riordan also has GREAT found family themes. I feel like this is a series of his that is kind of underrated but it's actually one of my personal favourites and I would die for the characters and their bonds with each other :')
Increasingly intense monologue about nieces made me so happy. My favourite examples of find family recently are the Expanse and the Long way to the small angry planet. Epanse does it so well, both in books and show. The family goes through so much, and what I love the most is how they go through trauma together, how they handle conflict -so good. Long way to the small angry planet feels like reading an old Star Trek show (or, more so, Firefly). The crew is made of very different, not neccesarily humanoid spieces, and there is one very sweet moment showcasing the found family element. And the original found family for me would be the Witcher. And I not necesarily mean the main trio, which has quite obvious father figure, reluctant mother and the very lost child. The groups I like much more are the ones that form later - the Rats and the "fish soup" group fromed aroung Geralt are one of the very first found families I've read (and obsessed) about.
The best found families I can think of at the moment are things you've already read... However, since you're more into middle grade now, I'd like to recommend one of my favorite middle grade series (which also has found family in it because of course it does, it's middle grade): The Mysterious Benedict Society. It's about four orphans who are each incredibly smart in a completely different way. First they take weird tests, then they have to work undercover as a team in a dystopian school. I think you'd love my two favorite characters: Constance is a bratty, grumpy, creative child, and S.Q. is the villain's sidekick, who is a genuinely kind person, just very confused in his loyalties. I love weird tests and schools with absurd rules. I'm currently reading Skyward and got very excited when I realized it had all these tropes in it!
I know you’ve said in the past that you have a very mixed relationship with Stephen King, however I think you would really enjoy his new novel Fairy Tale; the relationship between Charlie and Radar is so sweet. Also, if you’re willing to invest the time, The Dark Tower has such a strong focus on found family. It’s also given the time to develop in such an emotional way, and is honestly one of the best renditions of the found family trope I’ve ever read.
Honestly, I'd say some great classics I love have found family in them: Bleak House by Charles Dickens (which, I love the MC though some people apparently don't, but reading her as neurodivergent like I did for a class is so clarifying and fun) is one I love.. I'm currently reading War & Peace and it kinda has that vibe although it's a bit more just a bunch of aristocrats distantly related... I shall edit this comment to add more later as I must away and go to class. Additional works (not just classics and some where it's family that a character had been separated from since birth or for a long time): -'Tuck Everlasting' by Natalie Babbit has some found family vibes going -The 100 Cupboards trilogy by N.D. Wilson -The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull also may have it but I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly -The Bone series (graphic novels/comic books I can't remember the author of) also has found family vibes with three siblings spreading their familial love I can't think of any more so that's that. All I've got.
Wise Mentor and Found Family are my favorite tropes. F A V O R I T E ! ! ! With the exception of Lies of Locke LaMora, I've read all your recs! Some others, Raven Boys (doesn't work for me, but hey I tried more in the trilogy as a result of loving the trope so much), same with Senlin Ascends. Mask of Mirrors Six of Crows. The Last Unicorn. Ann McCaffrey's Harper Hall Trilogy The 1st Murderbot book. Mistborn Psalm for the Wild Built + Prayer for the crown shy (they aren't my favorite/don't work for me, but they were worth the read for the wonderful friendships) RACE THE SANDS Graceling, Fire, Bitter Blue TIDECHILD TRILOGY
Found Family Recs(listed in order of ones I recommend the most to the least): The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan The Losers Club by Andrew Clements in a way The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi The Maze Runner by James Dashner
I know you didn't love The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, but I think the sequel A Closed and Common Orbit is a massive step up and has one of my favorite found families ever. It is so wholesome and I think you might love it too!
If you haven't yet come across The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (which came out quite recently), I highly recommend it. Very cosy and found family is the central theme of the story, I loved it.
It’s not a book, I know, but the epitome of ‘found family’ when it comes to TV series is Teen Wolf…just saying 😊 Thank you for this video, Merphy! ❤ My tbr just grew exponentially…😅
I’m not entirely sure if I’d call Assassination Classroom and Haikyuu found family exactly, But the character writing between the casts of each are good enough that it’s close enough. Korosensei from Assassination Classroom is also my all time favourite manga/anime character. XD
I’m almost finished with Other birds by Sarah Addison Allen, and it is a lovely atomospheric island story about a found family and the ghosts that haunt them. I REALLY think you’ll enjoy it! Ocean vibes and found family trope with a few twists along the way!
Hi Merphy, check out Pendragon if you get a chance. A middle school basketball star gets brought on a journey through time and space by his uncle. It's right up your alley with portal fantasy and found family stories.
I love this trope too- my absolute favorite found family is from the manga Assassination Classroom- the class is made up of all the kids that have been outcast by the rest of the school and them coming together/learning to value themselves was my absolute favorite part of the series. Also I need to read the Lies of Locke Lamora soooo bad it's been staring at me from my bookshelf for over a year now !!! Soon.
Even though I know you weren't a fan of The Bone Ships, the found family comes into play a lot by books 2 and 3 (and the plot get's so much better) - this is coming from someone who really disliked The Bone Ships. I definitely recommend trying the series again if you're looking for more character/found family moments.
I have read spy x family through everything available on the shonen jump app. I love it! (Except for some brother sister weirdness.............but everything else makes up for that). It's so good!!
I can really recommend The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic. It is a trilogy, slow burn romance with found family and a fictitious sport. It is so good, I've read the whole series 3 times this year.
I read House in the Cerulean Sea because of an older video where you mentioned it and found it thoroughly charming and heartwarming! You also convinced me to read Lies of Locke Lamora (which I enjoyed), and I'm currently part way through Red Seas Under Red Skies. I also adore Spy X Family, so I'd say these are some solid picks. I'll have to check out some of the other recommendations here! My favorite book of all time that probably qualifies as found family is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
I immediately thought of the House in the Cerulean Sea - I love this book so much ❤️ Can also highly recommend The very secret society of irregular witches by Sangu Mandanna for this trip ☺️
I'm definitely going to look at some of these! For anyone who hasn't already seen me writing it somewhere else before, my recommendation is a manga called "Pandora Hearts". It has some of the same/similar Found Family and friendship tropes that Hunter x Hunter does, as well as being full of mystery with a fairly complex but well thought-out plot with several loveable characters. Pretty much everything happening or that is said is relevant in one way or another to the larger plot or character arcs, meaning that it is also (in my personal opinion) very fun to reread afterward to spot all of those details. The friendships are probably the best part of it all though, in my opinion. It's completed, and is not too long (24 volumes). Unfortunately though, physical copies can be hard to come by since they are out of print unless you live in the US or Canada, where Yen Press has released a re-print of the manga's limited box set.
What about extended Family books? Like a version of Harry Potter where Harry's Parents didn't get murdered, so his family gets extended? Where technicly yes the protagonist does find family, but he already had one, so it's just extending?
There is not much I love more in books than interesting relationships between characters, and found families are some of the best. I am sure I would have many recommendations if I think more, but the one that comes to mind is The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is a story about slavery (the underground railroad... but with magic) and I loved the family-like relationships that were formed out of necessity and solidarity. There is not one very prominent friendship, but more of a network of support that grows. It also has beautiful prose.
Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children is my go to found family series - I know the series has its flaws and it doesn't land for everyone but I love it, one of my favourites largely because of the found family elements
I wonder what you'd think about manga like 'Yotsuba' or 'My Brother's Husband', two different genres but with a strong daughter character in both... As you like Anya in 'Spy X Family' and have young kids yourself...
Also here are some recommandations : the Marvels and The invention of Hugo Cabret (my favorite) by Brian Selznick both have found families, and they are BEAUTIFUL ! they are half novel half images and are amazing for children too
“At the height of the long wet summer of the Seventy-Seventh Year of Sendovani, the Thiefmaker of Camorr paid a sudden and unannounced visit to the Eyeless Priest at the Temple of Pelerandro, desperately hoping to sell him the Lamora boy.” Lynch, Scott. The Lies of Locke Lamora. Gollanz 2007. Now you read the first sentence you *have* to continue right? Right?! 😇
I would recommend Re:zero one of the main themes of this is how love can drive a person to either accomplish great things or it can be a justification for horrible things. The main protagonist's love for the people he meets here become the foce for him to endure great trauma and overcome staggering odds while sacrificing and ignoring his own self/limits, also Delicious in Dungeon a story of a group of adventures traveling through a magic dungeon trying to save the main characters sister from a dragon but with little resources the have to forage for food it has a lot of cooking a meal segments to show how people bond over a meal
I recommend Ranma 1/2 romance and comedy with a crazy family and Space Brothers slice of life manga about 2 brothers and their dream to become astronaut, this my favorite manga ever, the characters are fantastic.
EM Holloway self published 'Sum of its Parts' series is full of werewolf found family and I love it for that: and the Empire of Man series by Weber and Ringo is a bloody trek across a hostile alien planet by space marines and their spoiled space prince and by the end both the survivors and their new alien allies are as tight as family. (don't be put off by the terrible terrible covers--if you like military sci-fi and/or alternate history at all the series is well worth it!)
I'm pretty sure you would love The Promised Neverland (the anime went terrible but the manga is great, and the first arc is, like, one of the best thing ever written)
Oh, so the googly eyes was you. I thought one of your kids got in and stuck the eyes in places. I thought it was cute. Now I know it was a spout of adult boredom. The criminal can never not admit to their crimes. Descending Stories is a great Found Family manga, and of course Gintama
I'd say my favorite found family series is a fantasy scyfy series called the Horus Heresy. Not everone is blood related but that doesn't mean they aren't family and the dynamics between everyone is just superb. 👌
I’m still about halfway through Red Seas Under Red Skies but one of my favourite parts so far is the flashback to Jean snapping Locke out of his post Book 1 funk. I can’t wait to start the Nevermoor series eventually. It sounds like a fun ride. P.S. I can’t remember where I heard about it but I swear I can remember a booktuber a while back talking about a book that has someone who can see the history of things they touch, and they wear gloves? Does that sound familiar to anyone? Google hasn’t been of any help to me. XD I also had an extremely similar idea for a character a while back, so hearing someone talk about a book with that same idea stuck out to me. I just can’t find the video I heard about it in, or the books title anywhere. XD
