Coming of age books [Archive]

StartingLine182

11/24/08, 02:02 PM

blimpcityhero11

11/24/08, 02:16 PM

The Diary of Anne Frank

holyballs

11/24/08, 02:56 PM

anything by s.e. hinton. that was then, this is now was a favourite

StartingLine182

11/24/08, 02:57 PM

The Diary of Anne Frank

I'm a history major so Ive read this before, but it really is a great book.

StartingLine182

11/24/08, 03:03 PM

I doubt anyone has ever read it but I loved The Delectable Mountains by Michael Malone. If someone has actually read it then I would love some other recommendations from that.

Ben09

11/24/08, 03:45 PM

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The first one that came to mind

radxbandit

11/24/08, 11:57 PM

the savage detectives. amazing book.

radxbandit

11/24/08, 11:58 PM

on the road isn't necessarily coming of age, but its similar in its theme of discovering the world. so i would recommend that as well.

mybreakingpoint

11/25/08, 05:00 AM

The Chocolate War & Beyond The Chocolate War, both by Robert Kormier

my 2 favorite books in middle school, & still 2 of my favorites to this day

ReadyForAction

11/25/08, 07:54 AM

The Chocolate War & Beyond The Chocolate War, both by Robert Kormier

my 2 favorite books in middle school, & still 2 of my favorites to this day
Haha I remember we started reading that when I was in 8th grade, but when we got to that masturbation part all of the girls freaked out and told their parents, who made the school drop the book from the curriculum

Poe-tryGirl

11/25/08, 09:37 AM

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The first one that came to mind
I hate that book. I am so not a Realist.

XxmagnesiumxX

11/25/08, 01:25 PM

King Dork by Frank Portman..seriously one of my favorite books. so funny

msdelaney

11/25/08, 01:26 PM

House of Leaves. It's wild.

mybreakingpoint

11/25/08, 01:26 PM

Haha I remember we started reading that when I was in 8th grade, but when we got to that masturbation part all of the girls freaked out and told their parents, who made the school drop the book from the curriculum

hahaha i sort of understand, i guess, but that's still rather stupid . it's such a great book.

.invisible ink.

11/25/08, 02:15 PM

damnit, i thought this thread was going to be about Judy Blume. She wrote some seriously good coming of age books, i.e., Are you there God, It's me Margaret?

Neo Cassady

11/25/08, 03:06 PM

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
The Outsiders

anamericangod

11/25/08, 03:09 PM

House of Leaves. It's wild.

How is this a coming of age book?

magicmike_1234

11/25/08, 03:30 PM

Does anyone have any recommendations for good coming of age books? I loved Catcher in the Rye, Perks of Being a Wallflower and others along those lines, so I was hoping someone could give me some other books like these.

Leaning with Intent to Fall: a memior by Ethan Clark.

i dont read much, but the books you've mentioned and the one i suggested are my three all time favorites.

alltimehoe93

11/25/08, 06:00 PM

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
The Outsiders
The Outsiders is easily one of my favorite books I've ever had to read for school.
I love it so much.

msdelaney

11/25/08, 06:33 PM

How is this a coming of age book?
Haha, oops, I completely misread this. I must have skipped over the 'coming of age' part. My apologies.

ReadyForAction

11/26/08, 10:04 AM

hahaha i sort of understand, i guess, but that's still rather stupid . it's such a great book.

I thought it was the most asinine thing ever, I called the girls out on it because its 8th grade. Sex should be common knowledge by now.

Broken Parachute

11/26/08, 11:38 AM

"Where The Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls.

diehtc0ke

11/26/08, 03:09 PM

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The first one that came to mind
This and James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

wroteurname

11/26/08, 04:05 PM

The Perks of being a Wallflower is really good.
No Ordinary People mentions yet? That is a great book.
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing is also very very very good, don't let the title push you away if you're a guy

wroteurname

11/26/08, 04:07 PM

"Where The Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls.
Great game last night, I hope you guys can show those Tar Heels what the Big East is all about!

radiogirl

11/26/08, 04:17 PM

Sisterhood of the Traveling....just kidding

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry, It's about a girl who's coming of age and all these other changes are occurring around her. Sad but it's always stuck with me.

radiogirl

11/26/08, 04:17 PM

.
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing is also very very very good, don't let the title push you away if you're a guy

LOVED that book.

radiogirl

11/26/08, 04:22 PM

All of Sarah Dessen's books are amazing as well

wroteurname

11/26/08, 04:35 PM

LOVED that book.
So did I. I had to read it for my Contemporary Fiction class this semester and I was like wow this is gonna suck, but it was amazing.

immorehxcthanu

11/30/08, 12:38 AM

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It's a long book but I've read it 3 times and it still gives me chills every time I read it. The main character is a woman and she's written so well that's it's kinda hard to believe a man wrote this.

JupiterSunshine

12/01/08, 02:10 AM

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Seeing someone die is the best way to begin your transformation from a mageling to a full fledged wizard.

emoglasses

12/08/08, 05:28 PM

Little Miss Strange. It's about coming of age at the end of the hippie era.

Thomas Balkcom

12/09/08, 05:34 PM

Catcher in the Rye

CstSnow

12/10/08, 12:28 AM

the Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer and A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

sparkle7

03/07/09, 06:30 PM

Looking for Alaska by John Green is really great.

utgjames

03/07/09, 06:42 PM

Everything T.S. Elliot wrote

ohLOOKitsLEAH

06/26/09, 09:23 AM

House of Leaves. It's wild.

That
book
is
AMAZING.
I'm reading it now.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO OUT AND READ IT. RIGHT NOW. :)

If you're looking for weird stuff, try A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess) and Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh). They've both been made into movies, but the books are way better. Then there's always Brighton Rock (Graham Greene). The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath) is also realllly amazing.
And, if you're ever looking for really easy, but amazing, books to read, try The Giver (Lois Lowry), King Dork (Frank Portman), Crank (Ellen Hopkins), and The Gospel According to Larry (Janet Tashjian). You'll probably find those in the teen section, but they're totally worth reading.

AJ F

06/26/09, 10:18 AM

"Confessions and Other Religious Writings" by Leo Tolstoy (it's more enlightening rather than a "coming of age" tale)

Animalhill

06/26/09, 10:52 AM

Ugh- I fucking hate the, "coming of age" label. Just irks me.
Anyways, stop reading shitty books and pick up, "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde.
I swear, if some 16 year old girls starts talking about Twilight :efu:

Manicapathy

06/26/09, 12:20 PM

A clockwork orange. Nothing says "coming of age tale" like stealing a car, rape, and beating the crap out of gang members all while wearing extremley fashionable hats!

And codpieces, epic codpieces.

jawstheme

06/26/09, 12:32 PM

Catcher in the Rye

It took way too long for someone to mention this. Also Franny and Zoey, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, This Boy's Life, The Virgin Suicides, The Red Badge of Courage, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I might work in a bookstore.

Animalhill

06/26/09, 12:39 PM

It took way too long for someone to mention this. Also Franny and Zoey, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, This Boy's Life, The Virgin Suicides, The Red Badge of Courage, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I might work in a bookstore.
Not a big fan. Its a decent read- it just seems a little overrated.

jawstheme

06/26/09, 12:46 PM

Not a big fan. Its a decent read- it just seems a little overrated.

I don't know, I was 16 when I read it and at the time I was getting in a lot of unnecessary trouble at school. I thought I was pissed off at everything, and it turned into a bit of depression and frustration. Needless to say, I could relate to Holden.
Salinger is also my favorite write so I'm a little biased. I do like Franny and Zoey better.

happie

06/26/09, 12:53 PM

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is good

Animalhill

06/26/09, 12:56 PM

I don't know, I was 16 when I read it and at the time I was getting in a lot of unnecessary trouble at school. I thought I was pissed off at everything, and it turned into a bit of depression and frustration. Needless to say, I could relate to Holden.
Salinger is also my favorite write so I'm a little biased. I do like Franny and Zoey better.
I hear you man- I'm not bashing your opinion on it or anything- just stating mine. We all have books that we're attached and love reguardless of others opinion. Read anything good lately?

jawstheme

06/26/09, 01:04 PM

I hear you man- I'm not bashing your opinion on it or anything- just stating mine. We all have books that we're attached and love reguardless of others opinion. Read anything good lately?

Oh I didn't take your comments in a bad way at all, I can understand how Catcher could be somewhat boring and anticlimactic.
I recently read American Gods, and I thought it was pretty good. There were like 6 different twists at the end. I read an Asimov short story book that was amazing, and I just reread The Great Gatsby and fell in love with it.
What have you read lately?

Animalhill

06/26/09, 01:14 PM

Oh I didn't take your comments in a bad way at all, I can understand how Catcher could be somewhat boring and anticlimactic.
I recently read American Gods, and I thought it was pretty good. There were like 6 different twists at the end. I read an Aasimov short story book that was amazing, and I just reread The Great Gatsby and fell in love with it.
What have you read lately?
"East of Eden" by Steinbeck is a FUCKING masterpiece. I don't really like his other work- but that book blew my mind. Also finished, "What is the What?" by Dave Eggars, "The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History" which pretty much changed the way that the world hit my face.

jawstheme

06/26/09, 01:24 PM

"East of Eden" by Steinbeck is a FUCKING masterpiece. I don't really like his other work- but that book blew my mind. Also finished, "What is the What?" by Dave Eggars, "The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History" which pretty much changed the way that the world hit my face.

East of Eden is an awesome book. I have been meaning to read The Lucifer Principle, everyone I talk to who has read that claims that it changes the way you look at the world. I just bought War and Peace the other day and plan to finally tackle that soon, but maybe I'll read The Lucifer Principle first. Is it a long read?

Animalhill

06/26/09, 01:33 PM

East of Eden is an awesome book. I have been meaning to read The Lucifer Principle, everyone I talk to who has read that claims that it changes the way you look at the world. I just bought War and Peace the other day and plan to finally tackle that soon, but maybe I'll read The Lucifer Principle first. Is it a long read?
Its like 300 pages of reading- it just looks huge becuase of his sorces and index in teh back. I highly recommend reading it dude- its fucking mind blowing. No joke.

Bloodsucker II

06/26/09, 07:33 PM

Even though most people have read this due to school, "To Kill A Mockingbird."

The Personist

06/26/09, 08:29 PM

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.

Fuckign fantastic.

lovely864md

06/27/09, 04:26 PM

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.

Fuckign fantastic.

My Sociology teacher recommended this to me a while ago but I haven't read it yet. Need to do that.

Most of what I came in here to say has been said already. Bit of a stretch, but Smack by Melvin Burgess is good, as well as Smashed by Koren Zailckas. Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel isn't as much a coming of age story but it's good anyways.

Mikey Paine

06/27/09, 05:22 PM

TotalCollapse

06/27/09, 06:53 PM

All of Sarah Dessen's books are amazing as well
(I know this thread is old), but this. I'm currently reading one of her books. So good.

SanePsychotic

07/12/09, 10:21 PM

King Dork by Frank Portman..seriously one of my favorite books. so funny

Fun book. It's an entertaining read, though I thought it lagged at certain parts.

It's not really a "coming of age" book, but Double Duce by Aaron Cometbus is a good read. Just sayin'.

phil19

07/22/09, 12:02 AM

lockie leonard

BryterJonah

07/22/09, 02:02 AM

Anyone's school make them read The Secret Life of Bees? One of the absolute worst things I've ever read.

I personally don't get the appeal of these coming of age tales. Adolescent narrators are just make me cringe for the most part.
I do love To Kill A Mockingbird and I absolutely adore the Sloosha's Crossin' part of Cloud Atlas.

BryterJonah

07/22/09, 02:06 AM

It's about a girl who's coming of age and all these other changes are occurring around her.
Ewwwwww
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Seeing someone die is the best way to begin your transformation from a mageling to a full fledged wizard.
Harry Potter is the king of coming of age anything.

MattRM

07/22/09, 08:35 AM

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.

Fuckign fantastic.
My favorite book.

The Personist

07/22/09, 08:36 AM

My favorite book.

It's a very, very powerful novel. I love it.

shimmyshakes

07/22/09, 10:02 PM

Looking for Alaska by John Green is really great.

What I came in here to say.

/thread

AsItFallsApart

07/22/09, 10:08 PM

been awhile since i've read it but i'd probably throw Egger's A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius into the category

MyScene.MyLife

07/22/09, 10:10 PM

Ive heard Perks of Wallflower is a good 'cumming' of age book
..........................
:lol:

OveriseFan

07/22/09, 10:31 PM

Absolutely, you must read Oh The Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey.

Fantastic book.

OveriseFan

07/22/09, 10:35 PM

Even though most people have read this due to school, "To Kill A Mockingbird."

One of my favorite books of all time. It's ashame she never really wrote anything else.

Anyone's school make them read The Secret Life of Bees? One of the absolute worst things I've ever read.

I personally don't get the appeal of these coming of age tales. Adolescent narrators are just make me cringe for the most part.
I do love To Kill A Mockingbird and I absolutely adore the Sloosha's Crossin' part of Cloud Atlas.

You can have a coming of age tale where the narrator isn't coming of age (i.e. they're writing it looking back, or the person coming of age isn't the narrator at all!), just so you know...

I hate, hate, hate Perks of Being a Wallflower though, for that reason. Adolescent narrators do make me cringe most of the time.

It took way too long for someone to mention this. Also Franny and Zoey, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, This Boy's Life, The Virgin Suicides, The Red Badge of Courage, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I might work in a bookstore.

Franny and Zooey is fantastic. I like it more than Catcher, I think. The other books you listed are great too.