Coming-of-age is a popular genre in both film and literature. Both industries showcase the stories of teenagers that are on their quest to discover themselves and other things in between. Sometimes film and literature would fuse and would produce movies based on coming-of-age books. Examples of these book adaptation films are All the Bright Places (2020), Love, Simon (2018), The Spectacular Now (2013), Everything, Everything (2017), and more.
Furthermore, coming-of-age are stories that centers on the development of the main characters form their youths to adulthoods. These tales try to highlight either the dialogue or inner monologue than action. Most coming-of-age books take place in the past or present. In order for the latter to work, flashbacks are used that are usually told by the narrator or the protagonist. The common central messages that these tales depict are loss of innocence, gaining of wisdom, seeing the world clearly as it is, socialization, maturity, self-development, and more.
There are also other themes that this type of stories showcases; some of these themes are deep and dark, such as mental health issues, abuse, substances, suicide, and more. Literature is one of the best platforms that lay down exceptional and motivating tales about people that are transitioning from their youths to their adulthoods. That said, here are some outstanding fictional coming-of-age books that you should check out!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Published by Pocket Books in 1999, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a young adult fiction book that tells about the coming of age story of 15-year-old boy named Charlie. The content is in a form of letters in which Charlie wrote to a recipient whom he called “Friend.” The story takes place in early 1990s and focuses on Charlie who is observant introvert and how he experienced his first year as a high school student. The book emphasizes the unusual method of thinking that the protagonist have as he steers in the middle of the worlds of adolescence and manhood. It also tackles things that are of heavy weight, such as substance usage, rape, sexuality, and mental health issue. Because of the wonder of this book, it was adapted into film with the same title starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. It also became one of the bestselling books worldwide and garnered multiple responses, both positive and negative.
Strong Boy, Weak Man
This coming-of-age novel written by Earl Robert Key was republished by ReadersMagnet LLC last July 20, 2019. Strong Boy, Weak Man is a fictional story that follows Michael DeAngelo Nicholas and how he ventures through life from being a little boy to a full-grown man. It revolves around the childhood experiences of the protagonist and his journey to manhood. His tale also tries to uncover the poverty-driven civilization of the periods in the countryside of Mississippi and at the same time bustling to hold a better way of life in the alluring and dynamic Memphis, Tennessee. Nicholas also shares not just the wonderful things that happened in his life but also the ugly things that rocked their family, such as the difficulties and disappointments. However, the lemons that life has thrown to his family are one of the reasons why they started to achieve a happy ending. Thus, Strong Boy, Weak Man is a novel that will show you how motivation, thirst, and perseverance a man have during the darkest and hardest times in his life.
Looking for Alaska
Looking for Alaska is a young adult fiction and coming-of-age debut novel written by one of the most notable YA author, John Green. It was published in 2005 by the Dutton Juvenile and is available in both paperback and hardback. The cover of the book was illustrated by Nolan Gadient. The story follows a teenager named Miles Halter, who is also the narrator of the story, and how he managed being in a boarding school to look for the “Great Perhaps” — which is François Rabelais’ last words. Miles is fond of reading and memorizing the last words of famous people. Moreover, he started attending the boarding school and made friends with his roommate named Chip, also known as The Colonel. Miles was nicknamed Pudge by Chip and was introduced to Alaska Young, and Takumi Hikohito, which later on he befriended. The story progresses and Pudge is starting to fall in love with Alaska. One night, Alaska rushed to get out of the school and never came back. That is when Miles and his other friends begin their quest to put together the missing pieces pertaining to Alaska’s sudden death.
The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees was published in November 08, 2001 and is authored by Sue Monk Kidd. It was set in fictional town in South Carolina in the year 1964. The book revolves around the life of a young white girl named Lily Melissa Owens. It is all about loss, deception, and betrayal. At a young age, Lily lived without a mother for her mom was killed one afternoon. That memory still haunts her although she now unclearly remembers the events. She lives together with his father, who is abusive, and their housemaid, who acts as her mother. The tale started when the 14-year-old protagonist found bees in her room. Furthermore, the book was a success and has garnered the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Award. It also made its way to The New York Time bestseller list and became a nominee for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.
The Damsel’s Files 