The conflict between a parent and a child that is central to Kind Hearts and Gentle Monsters is also sensitively explored in Child of the Owl (1977), SeaGlass (1979), and in Yep's first novel Sweetwater (1973). Liar, Liar (1983) treats parent and child conflict in a contemporary setting, combining a murder mystery with the story of how an unstable relationship between father and son grows towards stability and understanding. As with Kind Hearts and Gentle Monsters, these four other novels present parents not simply as stereotypical antagonists but as sympathetic characters possessing human complexity. Readers interested in Yep's treatment of characters who are outsiders will find variations on this theme in most of his works.