Let’s Talk Bookish: Coming-Of-Age Stories

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky at Eternity Books and Danie at Literary Lion. The full list of October topics can be found here.

This week’s topic is What Makes A Good “Coming Of Age” Story?

Fall is a season of change and growing, so we wanted to discuss coming of age stories! Did any coming of age story have a profound impact on you?

Coming-of-age stories generally focus on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to young adulthood or adulthood. One of my favorite coming-of-age book series is the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. When I was younger, books like Millicent Min: Girl Genius by Lisa Yee, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid were among my favorites.

The most recent coming-of-age story I read was Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, which was especially memorable because it is written in verse.

With the books I listed above, there was something very comforting about each of the main characters that made me want to witness their journey. However, I can only handle so much of the intense emotions that coming-of-age stories tend to have, and the often heavy and sometimes dark themes they explore, which I think is a main reason I have gravitated away from this genre. Over the years, my tastes have changed so much and the content of the books I read has evolved as well. I think this is normal, but I will dip back into the genre every now and then if I like the author.

Everyone deserves to have that special moment with a book, especially when they are a child or young adult, where they connect with the characters and see themselves in the story. I’m so happy to see so many diverse books catering to this specific age group these days, although I know that readers of all ages appreciate diverse coming-of-age stories.

What are some of your favorite coming-of-age stories? Tell me in the comments or drop a link to your post so I can check it out!