As you start to make your New Year’s resolutions, coming-of-age novels could provide some great inspiration. Just as you hope to improve your habits over the coming year, the characters in these books also strive to better themselves.
To me, every worthwhile novel is a coming-of-age novel. Great stories show us characters who grow and change over the course of their journeys and come out wiser on the other side. It’s important for young and old readers alike to see that we are always capable of evolving. Watching a character crash out of their sheltered existences into a new and scary world they don’t understand gives us the courage to face new challenges and be more open-minded.
Here are 10 fantastic coming-of-age novels that will inspire writers to create dynamic characters who evolve over time, and make readers brave enough to face any new hurdle life throws at them as they soldier forth into 2022. Some of them you can even read for free!
1) The Giver by Lois Lowry
Fellow staff writer May Gauthier has already sung the praises of Lois Lowry and her wonderful young adult dystopian novel The Giver on this blog. It tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas who is assigned the role of “Receiver” in his utopian society. Over time he learns that his world isn’t as perfect as he thought.
Though his circumstances are set far into the future, the shattering of Jonas’ innocence is extremely relatable. As he begins to grow up and recognize the world around him, he literally starts to see things in color for the first time.
2) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
This coming-of-age novel features one of my favorite opening lines: “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” Immediately you wonder how or why someone would be sitting in a sink, and why they would be writing while doing so. It also tells you that this person is a writer who’s going to tell you her whole story in her own words like you’re her diary or friend.
And so, seventeen-year-old Cassandra proceeds to do as, in the words of J.K. Rowling, “one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met.” She chronicles her family’s poverty-stricken existence in a falling-apart old castle—a life that would seem depressing for some, but one that Cassandra infuses with joy and whimsy. She'll inspire you to see life as an adventure and will feel like a friend by the end of the book. A bonus with this one is that you can read it for free on Internet Archive.
3) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Like I Capture the Castle, this book is written in first-person with the protagonist speaking to the reader like a friend. Teenaged Charlie even begins each of his entries like a letter, starting with the salutation, “Dear friend”. His story takes place in 1991 after his best and only friend killed himself. He makes friends with Patrick and Sam, other oddballs at school, and finally starts to feel like he belongs. He navigates his way through first dates, family troubles, sex, and drugs. This novel celebrates the ups and downs of adolescence and learning what it truly means to care for someone.
Anyone who has ever felt alone should read this book, whether you’re still in high school or not. It will help you to see that there are other people out there who feel the same way and that you’ll find your misfit tribe eventually.
4) The Cider House Rules by John Irving
This novel takes place in rural Maine during the early twentieth century and follows the story of Homer Wells, an orphan who was never adopted, and Dr. Larch, the founder and director of the orphanage where Homer was raised. Dr. Wilbur Larch is also an obstetrician who serves as a surrogate father to Homer and teaches him to assist in performing abortions.
Homer’s true growth begins when he leaves the orphanage as a young man to work at an apple orchard and falls in love with a girl whose boyfriend is away at war. He goes from life at the orphanage to seeing how truly complicated, beautiful, and cruel the outside world can be.
5) Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables was first published in 1908 and is another story of a young orphan’s coming-of-age. Elderly Matthew Cuthbert came to the train station expecting a boy to come help him and his sister Marilla run their farm. Instead, he finds a talkative, imaginative young girl named Anne Shirley. She joins his and Marilla’s small family and learns to iron out her temper without losing that fire inside that makes her who she is.
Anne’s transformation over the course of the book shows us what it means to grow up while keeping a firm grasp on our childhood wonder. And bonus, you can read this one for free on Page by Page Books.
6) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
When they are children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are students at an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside called Hailsham. They live an extremely sheltered life and are constantly being reminded by their teachers of how special they are. As Kathy grows up, she comes to realize exactly what makes her and her friends so “special”.
This is another brilliant look at innocence lost that will break your heart and stick with you for a long while afterward.
7) Looking for Alaska by John Green
This young adult novel marked mega-bestselling author John Green’s debut back in 2005. Miles Halter leaves home to attend boarding school and meets Alaska Young, who bowls him over with her free-spirited nature and draws him into her world.
In this story, we watch Miles go from a lovestruck teen idealizing the girl of his dreams, to one who begins to see her as an actual flesh-and-blood person with baggage and flaws. It’s a beautifully written book with great characters that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure.
8) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History is another novel that features a young man escaping his humdrum life to attend school. In Richard Papen’s case, he is accepted into an exclusive Vermont college where he quickly becomes enamored with a group of clever, eccentric misfits—of the beautiful Camilla, especially. He worms his way into their Classics class and social circle and everything seems perfect. But then something unthinkable happens, and Richard must decide what lengths to which he will go in order to belong.
The Secret History is also at the top of my list of favorite first lines: “The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.” Overall, this novel includes beautiful writing, a well-drawn setting, and fascinating characters.
9) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
When a lot of people think about coming-of-age novels, Little Women comes to mind. The 1868 classic chronicles the lives of four New England sisters, following them from childhood to young adulthood. Any reader is likely to see something of themselves in at least one of the March women, if not all four of them—sensible Meg, tomboy Jo, sweet-natured Beth, and precocious Amy.
These characters show that it’s okay to want different things out of life and that it’s also okay to make mistakes as you attempt to achieve your goals. I know I always drew inspiration from Jo’s early rejections as she tries to make it as a writer. If she could handle those bumps in the road, so could I. Bonus: You can read this book for free on The Literature Page.
10) A Murder of Crows by Merlin Magnussen
This story follows Judeth Grat, who is torn away from the life she knew after the loss of her lover, home, and life plans. Now she lives on Seaggis, a small, quaint island far away from the trouble of the continent. Things seem perfect, only for her life to be torn apart once again by war. Judeth doesn’t realize it, but her life is tangled up with the gods and the impossible must become possible in order for her to survive.
In A Murder of Crows, you will watch Judeth grapple with loss and find the strength to continue forward on her journey. A great coming-of-age story like this one helps readers to see the kind of courage they can find within themselves if they search for it. You can read the prologue of this exciting new ongoing story right here on Fictionate.