Coming-of-age journeys, academically known as Bildungsromane, focus on the stories of young people embarking on the path to adulthood. These are stories of self-actualization, questions of identity, discoveries of shortcomings and strengths, and lessons learned. This collection of study guides covers classics to contemporary novels, from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger to As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds.
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Romance, Humor, Asian Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature
Publication year 1927
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: Class
Tags Classic Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Action / Adventure, Satire, Class
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Music, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, History: Middle Eastern, Bullying, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture, Religion / Spirituality
Eleven-year-old Pakistani-American Amina Khokar lives in Milwaukee with her mother, father, and brother, Mustafa. At school, a Korean girl named Soojin Kim is her best friend. Amina is distressed when Soojin befriends Emily, a girl who has historically joined in on racially-motivated taunts against Soojin and Amina. The situation is complicated when Amina, Emily, and Soojin—along with the class oddball, Bradley—are assigned to the same group for an Oregon Trail project in their social studies... Read Amina's Voice Summary
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Teams, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Among The Betrayed (2002) is a speculative fiction novel for young adult readers by Margaret Peterson Haddix. The book is the third installment of the Shadow Children series, which consists of seven novels in total. Set in a dystopian future society that resembles the United States, the novel shows the characters’ struggle against a totalitarian government that enforces fascist and dehumanizing laws to control overpopulation and resources. Margaret Peterson Haddix is a New York Times bestselling... Read Among the Betrayed Summary
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Humor
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: War, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Historical Fiction, Animals, WWII / World War II, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, Action / Adventure
Publication year 1996
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family
Tags Poverty, Irish Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography
Angela’s Ashes is a 1996 memoir written by Frank McCourt. It recounts his challenging upbringing in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. At the heart of the memoir is McCourt’s account of the people and events of his childhood, and how he tried to make sense of the world around him. McCourt narrates in the present tense and follows a generally chronological order, with his time in America as a young child and then later as... Read Angela's Ashes Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Disability, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1909
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables series, is the heralded sequel that brings readers back to the second chapter in Anne Shirley’s life from age 16 to 18. First published in 1909 by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea is set in the latter part of the 19th century in fictional Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Filled with many familiar characters from the first... Read Anne of Avonlea Summary
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Colonialism
Tags Classic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction
Annie John, published in 1985, is the second book by the Antiguan American author Jamaica Kincaid (née Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson). Annie John is a coming-of-age novel that follows the life of a young girl from age 10 to 17, until she leaves her home in Antigua, bound for nursing school in England. In the novel, Annie describes her most important relationships, and the bond with her mother is chief among them. Life is heaven... Read Annie John Summary
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Arts / Culture
Tony Johnston’s Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio is a young adult novel originally published in 2001 by Scholastic, Inc. As a meditation on the value of friendship, family, and community, the novel centers the Mexican American Rodriguez family as they adapt to life in a lower-income Los Angeles barrio (Spanish for “neighborhood”). In school, their son Arturo bonds with other Mexican American students, joining them as they reclaim their Mexican roots. Ever... Read Any Small Goodness Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Disability, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Nora Raleigh Baskin won the Schneider Family Book Award for the young adult novel Anything But Typical, published in 2009. Anything But Typical tells the first-person fictional story of a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Jason Blake struggles with adolescence in the same ways most 12-year-old boys do, but his disorder makes it more difficult for him to verbally express his experience. Instead, he turns to writing to share his inner world... Read Anything But Typical Summary
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Class
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction
A Painted House, a novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham, tells the story of seven-year-old Luke Chandler coming of age in Black Oak, Arkansas, in 1952. The novel focuses on a fateful autumn in which one of the workers on Luke’s family’s cotton farm murders a local man. Luke, as one of the only witnesses to the murder, must navigate the tensions that arise as his loyalty to his family is... Read A Painted House Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Food, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Realistic Fiction, Food, Children's Literature, Jewish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1916
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Art, Identity: Language
Tags Classic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Irish Literature, Modernism, Education, Education, History: World
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the 1916 debut novel by Irish author James Joyce. The novel tells the story of Stephen Dedalus, a thinly-veiled alter ego for Joyce, who embarks on a journey of artistic awakening. As a landmark novel in the history of literary modernism, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has been hailed as one of the most important works of the 20th century and... Read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Memoir in Verse, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Identity: Indigenous
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, LGBTQ, Biography
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Humor
Publication year 1961
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Military / War, History: U.S., Religion / Spirituality, Relationships, American Revolution, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
April Morning is a historical fiction work by Howard Fast, a prolific author whose writings spanned the bulk of the 20th century. Published in 1961, midway through Fast’s career, the novel is one of many he wrote on the Revolutionary War and the birth of America. Originally intended for a general audience, it came to be regarded as a young adult novel as many middle and high school English programs included it in their curriculum... Read April Morning Summary
Publication year 1914
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Classic Fiction, Irish Literature, Education, Education
“Araby” is a short story by Irish writer James Joyce. The story is a part of Joyce’s renowned Dubliners collection, first published in 1914, which portrays daily life in the Irish city of Dublin in the early 20th century. In “Araby,” a young boy falls in love with his friend’s sister and attempts to purchase her a gift from the Araby Bazaar. The short story has been adapted as a song and a short film... Read Araby Summary