Coming-of-Age

Mexican WhiteBoy

Mexican WhiteBoy follows Danny, a half-Mexican teen grappling with his identity and belonging while navigating family dynamics and his passion for baseball during a summer spent with his father's family in Mexico.

Matt de la Peña
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Along for the Ride

Auden spends a summer in a beach town, exploring teenage life and forming a deep connection with Eli, a fellow insomniac, as they both seek personal growth and healing.

Sarah Dessen
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The Yearling

The Yearling is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a boy, Jody Baxter, and his bond with an orphaned fawn, exploring themes of love, loss, and survival in the Florida backwoods.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
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A Long Way from Chicago

'A Long Way from Chicago' is a heartwarming, humorous tale of Joey and Mary Alice's summers with their feisty grandmother, set during the Great Depression.

Richard Peck
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The Red Kayak

The Red Kayak is a poignant tale about friendship, responsibility, and the moral complexities of truth, centered around a tragic accident that changes the lives of three boys forever.

Priscilla Cummings
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Dear Edward

Dear Edward is a poignant story about a twelve-year-old boy who is the sole survivor of a tragic plane crash and his journey to find meaning and hope amidst overwhelming loss.

Ann Napolitano
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The Pigman

The Pigman is a poignant young adult novel about friendship, loss, and the passage from adolescence to maturity.

Paul Zindel
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Backwoods Romeo

In 'Backwoods Romeo' by Daniel Elijah Sanderfer, Walt Ridgeway discovers friendship and love while reconnecting with a local boy, Dooley Harlow, in his Appalachian hometown, exploring themes of coming-of-age and family secrets.

Daniel Elijah Sanderfer
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A Painted House

A Painted House by John Grisham explores a young boy's coming-of-age in 1950s rural Arkansas amidst cotton-picking season and family secrets.

John Grisham
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Paper Towns

In 'Paper Towns,' Quentin Jacobson embarks on a journey to find Margo Roth Spiegelman after she vanishes, leaving behind a series of clues.

John Green
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The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is a compelling story of class conflict, friendship, and coming-of-age, focusing on the struggles between the Greasers and the Socs.

S. E. Hinton
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The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a poignant coming-of-age novel set in 1964 South Carolina, exploring themes of maternal love, loss, and the search for identity.

Sue Monk Kidd
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Dandelion Wine

Dandelion Wine is a nostalgic coming-of-age novel by Ray Bradbury, capturing a magical summer in 1928 through the eyes of twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding, exploring themes of life, loss, and the beauty of existence.

Ray Bradbury
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Blankets

Craig Thompson's "Blankets" is a moving graphic memoir that explores first love, heartbreak, and the struggles of adolescence against the backdrop of a strict Christian upbringing in the Midwest.

Craig Thompson
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a poignant coming-of-age story about Junior, a young cartoonist from the Spokane Indian Reservation, who strives for a better life by transferring to an all-white high school, confronting issues of identity, poverty, and belonging along the way.

Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
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Kira-Kira

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata is a poignant coming-of-age story that explores themes of hope, family, and resilience through the lens of Katie Takeshima, a Japanese-American girl navigating challenges in the Deep South.

Cynthia Kadohata
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I Am David

I Am David by Anne Holm tells the gripping tale of a twelve-year-old boy's escape from a bleak prison camp in Eastern Europe and his journey to freedom in Denmark, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit amidst adversity.

Anne Holm
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda follows sixteen-year-old Simon Spier, who faces blackmail over his sexual identity while navigating friendship, romance, and self-acceptance in high school.

Becky Albertalli
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Season of Life

In 'Season of Life,' Jeffrey Marx chronicles the inspiring journey of Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL star who teaches young men the true essence of masculinity through love, responsibility, and service, reshaping their understanding of success beyond the scoreboard.

Jeffrey Marx
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A Separate Peace

Set against the backdrop of World War II, 'A Separate Peace' explores the complexities of adolescence, the loss of innocence, and the impact of a tragic event on two friends, Gene and Phineas.

John Knowles
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