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Father’s Day is here this weekend. No matter what your relationship to your father is, Father’s Day is a time to talk and reflect. You can also sit down with any of these six reads, all featuring families with compelling fathers.   

Jonas and Barry in the Home by Norm Foster 
Barry is annoyed at the idea of living in an assisted living home, but it’s worth it to live near his daughter, Rosie, who is scared he’s going to have a heart attack. While at the home, he meets the effusive and flirtatious Jonas Ainsworth, who had one hit song three decades ago. Jonas and Barry bicker and quibble, and as they do, they learn how to open up and face how to keep living their lives. 

Birds of a Kind by Wajdi Mouawad, translated by Linda Gaboriau 
When a terrorist attack puts Eitan in the hospital, his girlfriend, Wahida, is left to uncover the family secret that bought them to Israel. Since Eitan’s parents erupted at the news that Wahida is not Jewish, Eitan has harboured a suspicion about his heritage that could change everything. Birds of a Kind is a story set during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a family is forced to confront everything they know about their identities.  

Hilda’s Yard by Norm Foster 
Sam Fluck is going to get a new television. It’s 1956, and that’s a very big deal. Much to Sam’s chagrin, by the time he returns, both of his adult children had returned home to avoid their problems. Hilda’s Yard is a comedy about family values and how families are more successful together rather than apart.  

Mustard by Kat Sandler 
Imaginary friends shouldn’t stick around with their Person until their Person is a troubled teen, but Mustard has. His Person, Thai, and her mom, Sadie, are still reeling from Thai’s father leaving a year earlier. Sadie’s a drunk and Thai is a troubled and violent teen. But Mustard thinks he’s special. And he’s starting to fall for Sadie. Mustard is a twisted fairytale about growing up, moving on, and finding love where you least expect it.  

The Josephine Knot by Meg Braem  
After Samantha’s grandmother dies, her family is pulled back together to sift through the garbage and treasure. While her father, David, goes through his own memories, Samantha is just trying to find something that represents her place family. As family members stake their claims with arguments and tug-of-wars, it falls to Samantha and David to find a new way to fit together.  

acquiesce by David Yee 
acquiesce is a story about the baggage parents leave and how to carry it. Sin Hwang is plagued by the success of his first novel and haunted by his past when news of his estranged father’s death requires him to travel to Hong Kong. When he arrives, his cousin Kai explains that Sin is required to perform traditional duties before burying his father, which is easier said (in Cantonese to Kai) than done. Through a dreamlike cast of characters, acquiesce is a comedic and moving story of self, family and discovery.  

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