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Should you read a coming of age book?
Are coming-of-age novels about age?
Are kids' books as powerful as stories about characters coming of age?
What makes a good coming of age book?
Keep it going by checking out our list of inspirational books to change your life! Everybody has to grow up sometime — and the books on this list show that it can happen in surprising ways. We’ve hand-picked the very best of the genre to bring you seventy must-read coming-of-age books.
- Reedsy
- Unique Formats
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Supernatural
- Non-Fiction Coming of Age Books
- Classic Coming of Age Books
- What’s Your Favorite Coming-Of-Age Novel?
What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee
“After his dad commits suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this exquisitely crafted story made up of one hundred chapters of one hundred words each.”
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
“An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’s fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.”
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
“The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an ‘accident,’ he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.”
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
“High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own—populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his...
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
“Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family…”
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
“A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity. It is a sensitive account of growing up female and Chinese American in a California laundry.”
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
“In All Souls,MacDonald takes us deep into the secret heart of Southie. With radiant insight, he opens up a contradictory world, where residents are besieged by gangs and crime but refuse to admit any problems, remaining fiercely loyal to their community. MacDonald also introduces us to the unforgettable people who inhabit this proud neighborhood.”
Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot
“Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman’s coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot’s mother, a social worker and activis...
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
“The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg at the turn of the century.”
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
“Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?”
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
“Humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman—and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of ‘great expectations.'”
Many of these coming of age books above are close to my heart, but there are just so many special coming of age books it’s impossible to list them all. Let’s give it a try anyway. Leave your favorite coming of age books in the comments and keep this list growing (up). And while you’re here, check out some of our other must-read lists.
Mar 4, 2016 · 11 Inspiring Female Coming of Age Stories. HOME. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS. 11 Inspiring Female Coming of Age Stories. From Jane Austen to Roxane Gay, these inspiring stories prove that you are never too old to find yourself. By Cailey Hall | Updated Jan 27, 2020 | Published Mar 4, 2016.
- Cailey Hall
Reflecting on his life, Sam realizes that his childhood friendship with two other misfits – Ernie Cantwell, the only African American boy at his school, and Mickie Kennedy, a firestorm in the form of a girl – has defined and shaped his extraordinary life.
Dec 23, 2019 · Like all of the best coming-of-age novels, Little Women can be revisited at different points in life for a wholly different reading experience—and is now getting yet another big-screen adaptation, which hits theaters December 25. The books on this list have the same magic quality as Alcott's work.
- Elena Nicolaou
Coming-of-Age Books. Few kids' books are as powerful as stories about characters coming of age. Readers see kids like them -- or totally different from them -- grow, change, and learn things about themselves over the course of the book.
Mar 31, 2021 · Haruki Murakami, Dodie Smith and J.D. Salinger explore the highs and lows of teenage life in these classic coming-of-age tales, selected by you. 31 March 2021. Image: Alicia Fernandes / Penguin. Coming-of-age novels aren’t necessarily about age.
