24 of the Best Coming-of-Age Novels

Middle Grade and YA Coming-of-Age Novels

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Younger sibling Julia has ever felt inferior to her older sister, Olga. But aft a tragic mishap takes Olga’s life, Julia is forced to bring her household unneurotic successful a clip of overwhelming sadness. But alternatively of supporting Julia, she finds herself experiencing the aforesaid aged regular — her parent pointing retired each country wherever she has failed and wherever Olga shined. As Julia tries to heal, she finds retired much astir her sister, clouding the erstwhile sparkly cognition she had of her. Maybe the sisters were much alike than she thought.

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Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius has ne'er felt similar helium acceptable in, and this includes the quality to subordinate to his parents. After learning astir his grandfather’s wellness condition, the household decides to sojourn Iran to accidental goodbye. Unfortunately, Darius finds that thing changes — helium is inactive incapable to subordinate to his diversion begetter oregon talk Farsi with his mother. But it’s during this play of loneliness that helium meets Sohrab, his grandparents’ teenage neighbor. This publication tackles intersexual identity, intelligence illness, racism, assemblage positivity, and more. Darius is idiosyncratic you can’t assistance but basal for.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

After calling the constabulary astatine a summertime party, Melinda has go an outcast astatine her precocious school. What’s more, Melinda refuses to accidental wherefore she called the cops (who ended up breaking up the party). She soon falls astir silent, incapable to decently verbalize what precisely happened to her. Melinda’s “voice” soon becomes the creation she makes during her people astatine school. It’s determination that she learns however to usage her dependable to some admit what happened and determination forward.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

After the tragic decease of her father, 13-year-old Esperanza and her household are forced to determination from their location successful Mexico to California. Now moving connected a farm, Esperanza finds it hard to set to their caller fiscal conflict and countless hours of working. A bid of events befalls, leaving her parent incredibly sick and Esperanza forced to instrumentality connected workplace enactment contempt being underage. But Esperanza can’t springiness up connected her imagination of reuniting with her grandma and having a unchangeable location beingness again.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara, a teen successful Harlem, feels silenced by her parent and her religion portion besides dealing with mean teen things similar identity, intersexual harassment, and relationships from familial to romanticist and platonic. But erstwhile she is invited to articulation her school’s slam poesy club, Xiomara finds a merchandise successful letting retired her frustrations and putting her thoughts to paper. However, she’s forced to support it a concealed from her mami and her religion community. Told successful verse, Acevedo does an unthinkable occupation astatine bringing Xioamara’s dependable to life.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Told done a bid of letters to an chartless friend, we conscionable Charlie, a precocious schoolhouse pupil who is conscionable trying to get by. And aft helium meets 2 friends who assistance to interruption him retired of his shell, Charlie’s beingness starts to change. This communicative truly makes you deliberation astir being progressive successful your ain beingness vs. a passenger, and Charlie is the cleanable idiosyncratic to acquisition it through.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Imagine a utopian society, wherever everything is perfect: nary pain, nary sadness, and everything is decided for you. During the ceremonial wherever they larn their aboriginal professions, Jonas learns he’s been selected to go the adjacent Receiver and beryllium trained by the Giver. He learns that the crushed wherefore helium and his friends and household are capable to unrecorded specified blissful lives is due to the fact that the Giver is holding each of the achy memories himself. But he’s getting old, and it’s clip to walk the memories on. By receiving each of these memories, Jonas is forced to turn up rapidly and look immoderate harsh truths astir the world.

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

Another communicative astir sisters, Yolk centers connected Jayne and June Baek, some of whom person near their location successful Texas for the glitz and glamour of New York. But their lives couldn’t beryllium much different: Jayne is struggling done manner schoolhouse and an eating disorder, portion June lives successful luxury with a cushy concern job. Everything changes erstwhile June is diagnosed with uterine crab and the sisters find themselves surviving together. There’s nary amended clip to repair their relationship, right?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee

Taking spot during the Great Depression successful small-town Alabama, this classical coming-of-age communicative is told done the eyes of 6-year-old Scout. Atticus is Scout’s azygous father, raising 2 kids connected his ain with the assistance of their cook, Calpurnia. An attorney, the turning constituent of the caller happens erstwhile Atticus is appointed to correspond Tom Robinson, a young Black antheral who has been accused of raping a achromatic woman. There’s a crushed this publication has stood the trial of time, and the messages inactive sadly ringing existent today.

What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris

Eleven-year-old KB and her sister, Nia, are unexpectedly sent to unrecorded with their gramps aft an unfortunate bid of events permission their parent unsocial and overwhelmed. Already feeling unsocial with her parents, KB soon finds herself being ditched by Nia, present a teenager, who wants thing to bash with her. KB begins to look astatine the advantages of reinventing herself and learning to emotion herself successful the process. This publication was published a small implicit a twelvemonth agone and has already go a classic.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Described arsenic a “David Copperfield for a caller generation,” Demon Copperhead is acceptable successful confederate Appalachia and follows the beingness of Damon, aka Demon, and his experiences increasing up. Born to a azygous parent successful and retired of rehab, Damon bounces astir the foster attraction system, wherever helium learns however to past connected his own. Soon falling into addiction, unhealthy relationships, and more, we genuinely ticker Damon done each stages of life.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

This publication focuses connected 4 sisters and their caller lives successful NYC. Originally from the Dominican Republic, they moved with their parents successful the 60s. Throughout their lives, they determination backmost and distant betwixt their homeland and NYC, and the wide communicative is told successful reverse chronological bid done a postulation of 15 stories passim their lives. This publication is simply a fictionalized mentation of Alvarez’s ain migration to the United States.

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Taylor’s prose is searing, and the feeling of loneliness conscionable seeps disconnected the page. This publication centers connected Wallace, the lone Black idiosyncratic enrolled successful his university’s bioscience program. Taylor holds thing backmost successful his statement of Wallace’s learned trauma, his struggles with his sexuality, and however helium is perpetually belittled due to the fact that of his race. Still trying to outrun the demons of his past, Wallace finds himself wrestling betwixt self-preservation and connecting with his colleagues.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This publication follows Amir and his unexpected relationship with Hassan. Amir is the lad of a affluent Afghan household and Hassan is the lad of Ali, the servant to Amir’s father. A bid of unspeakable events drives a wedge successful their friendship. The boys extremity up separated erstwhile Amir and his begetter fly Afghanistan aft a Russian invasion. While successful California, Amir learns what happened to Hassan aft they left, and helium feels compelled to close immoderate wrongs. This publication is highly regarded for a crushed and the storytelling is pristine.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Love it oregon hatred it, The Goldfinch has cemented itself arsenic a caller classical for coming-of-age fiction. After Theo survives a violent onslaught arsenic a teen, helium is taken successful by a affluent friend. Still determined to reconnect with memories of his mother, Theo becomes fixated connected a coating that meant a batch to her. Doing so, helium is drawn into the underground satellite of creation dealing.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing follows 2 abstracted stories of half-sisters, Effia and Esi, who are calved into antithetic villages successful 18th period Ghana. One storyline follows Effia and her beingness arsenic a noble successful Cape Coast Castle. Another follows Esi, who is imprisoned successful the castle dungeons, unbeknownst to Effia. This publication spans 300 years and galore generations aft Effia and Esi, showing however they shaped the aboriginal of their families. It’s superb successful its heartbreak and communicative of what makes a family.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

When Leni’s father, Ernt, returns from warfare with terrible PTSD, helium decides that the champion happening for the household is simply a caller start. This is however the Allbright household ends up successful agrarian Alaska and wholly fending for themselves. The excitement of a caller spot rapidly turns to panic and the strain has the imaginable to teardrop the Allbrights apart. When wintertime arrives, Leni and her parent travel to the decision that they are wholly isolated and stuck successful a location with idiosyncratic whose temper and moods they cannot control.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Now a fashionable constricted series, Normal People focuses connected Connell and Marianne. Connell is fashionable and the school’s athletics star, portion Marianne is simply a quiescent know-it-all. The 2 link aft Connell picks up his parent astatine Marianne’s location (where she works arsenic a housekeeper), the 2 commencement talking and signifier an unexpected connection. The publication follows them to assemblage and their aboriginal adventures and however they proceed to beryllium drawn to each other.

The House connected Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Told done a bid of vignettes, this publication covers a twelvemonth successful the beingness of Esperanza, a young Mexican American miss increasing up successful Chicago. When the communicative starts, Esperanza’s household has moved into the location connected Mango Street, and portion it’s a measurement up from their erstwhile residence, it’s inactive not wherever she wants to be. Over the people of a year, Esperanza forms friendships with 2 different girls connected Mango Street, goes connected adventures, and fights backmost against poorness and racism.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

The Gleesons’ and the Stanhopes’ lives were destined to collide. The fathers, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, some enactment successful the NYPD, and they unrecorded adjacent to each other. As hoped, Peter Gleeson and Kate Stanhope, who turn up unneurotic arsenic champion friends, yet autumn successful emotion and commencement readying their aboriginal together. But everything changes aft Brian’s wife, Anne, shoots Francis successful the face. The incidental changes their narration and forces them apart, but beingness goes connected and beingness mightiness bring them unneurotic again.

Maame by Jessica George

In London, Maddie spends her clip moving arsenic a superior caretaker for her father, who is surviving with precocious Parkinson’s, and astatine her time job, wherever she is ever the lone Black idiosyncratic successful the room. After her ma returns from Ghana, it gives Maddie a accidental to marque immoderate changes. Maddie is excited to truly commencement surviving her beingness and she begins putting herself retired determination — forming caller friendships, advocating for herself, and adjacent jumping into online dating. But past calamity strikes, and Maddie’s full satellite is thrown into upheaval.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Vuong is known for his poetry, and helium has brought his beauteous imagery and words into his debut novel. This full publication is written arsenic a missive to the main character’s mother, who is illiterate and volition ne'er work it. The communicative is semi-autobiographical and follows a household of Vietnamese refugees surviving successful the United States. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is precise overmuch a coming-of-age communicative of Little Dog and however his household relates to the caller location they’ve recovered themselves in.