That's interesting about Fruits Basket. I've read spoilers, and I got the impression that pretty much everyone had been severely damaged by varying levels of abuse.

The Liaden books I liked best were Conflict of Honors (which I read first and loved enough that I kept reading other Liaden books in hopes that they'd be like it) and Plan B. I out and out disliked the Theo books (couldn't finish them). I also really didn't enjoy Local Custom.