coming of age books

I love Movies and books that have a coming of Age theme, or a young Adult narrative.... any recommendation...

 

Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury. It is about the summer of 1928, a 12 year old boy, named Doug comes to grips with his own mortality. WONDERFUL. It is one of my favorite books, I read it every summer. I am reading it again, now.


It's fantastic.

 

Be True To Your School, by Bob Greene, is a recreation of a diary the author wrote in 1964, during his Senior year of high school. He used the original diary and fleshed it out just a little. Wonderful read!

 

can't go wrong with Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger

 

Oh, there are so many! I think those are my favorite books, too. I especially love the ones written for teens. I can't help it, I work with kids, so I read what they read. The best, in my opinion, are by S.E. Hinton and Paul Zindel.

 

'The Ice Storm' is excellent. Takes place in Connecticut in 1973. Told from the POV of the teenage son of a well-to-do family. The movie is terrific (and moving) too. It's the closest thing to a modern-day version of of Holden Caulfield/Catcher in the Rye I've come across.

 

'White Oleander' by Janet Fitch

This is now my favorite coming of age book, and also happens to be the best book I've read all year.

Not only do I strongly recommend this book, but Joyce Carol Oats highly recommends this book.

 

Poppy Z. Brite - Lost Souls ----

The tale of a young orphaned lad who takes off with vampires to find out he is one.

There's other surprises, too. Not a book for kids, but deals with coming of age/coming to terms with who you are elements.

Plus PZB is a FANTASTIC author.

 

I apologize for the potential "English class" label, but To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is such a beautifully written interweaving of experiences and lessons that I can't leave it out.

 

It is such a shame Harper Lee never wrote again. Mocking Bird was such a genius work.

 

Barque-o-nova. I think that was the title of the book. I really liked it a lot. I wish I could tell you the authors name but I threw the book into a fire when I was camping. Yes, I was drunk and yes, it was a sacrifice to the writing Gods.

 

almost any of the robert heinlein "juvenile" novels that he wrote from like '49 through maybe '62 or so...

 

"Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous and "Crank" By Ellen Hopkins. Slightly different coming of age stories, both. Also paint drug users in a very unflattering light, But i greatly enjoyed them nonetheless.

 

"One Pill Makes You Smaller" by Lisa Dierback

 

i really remember liking The Chocolate War when i was about 13 or so...

 

Go Ask Alice (which was NOT a real diary, but intentionally written to try to scare kids off of drugs) made me want to do drugs when I was a kid. LOL!

 

Stand By Me starring Kiefer Sutherland and River Pheonix,i think in his first film.based on the Stephen King short story The Body.

 

there's a book, <u>little miss strange</u> by joanna rose... it's about a girl who 'comes of age' in the seventies... it's fabulous and very hippie-oriented as well

 

lol... same here... i first read it when i was 14, and the entire scene involving acid seemed unreal! i still haven't ever tried acid... but i understand it better now... heh.

 

Would agree about any Heinlein especially Have Spacesuit, Will Travel also by Hermann Hesse either Demian or Narcissus and Goldmoud