8 Classic Coming-of-Age Books That You Need to Read

Published in 1988, this sprawling coming-of-age story drops the reader down into the Vietnam War, where the story’s protagonist is growing up very fast. Set in the late 1960s, Perry, an African American teenager from Harlem, had his college dreams dashed, so he decided to enlist in the army to find another path forward. 

He and his platoon find themselves on the frontlines, encountering the Viet Cong, bloodshed, and death. Perry and his comrades have to figure out how to retain their morals in this lawless place. The more Perry’s service goes on, the more he wonders why the Black soldiers are sent on the most dangerous missions… and why America is even fighting in Vietnam at all. 

At the time it was published in 1934, this novel was banned by Mao Zedong’s regime in China because it didn’t align with the communist principles at the time. The banning catapulted it into fame and made it a classic coming-of-age novel in China. It follows Cuicui, a young girl who is growing up in rural China during this big shift. After Cuicui’s birth, her depressed mother commits suicide by drinking river water, leaving Cuicui to be raised by her grandfather. 

Cuicui’s grandfather wants to ensure that his granddaughter doesn’t suffer the same fate and has a happy marriage, so he makes this his main priority. He’s worried that he will die before she’s married. Two brothers from a nearby border town, hence the title, fall head over heels for his granddaughter. Miscommunication and tragedy ensue, forcing Cuicui to make some decisions about her future. 

My Antonia is considered a great American West classic. Published in 1918, the story is told from the perspective of 10-year-old orphan Jim Burden who meets a family of Bohemian immigrants on the train to his grandparents’ house in the fictional town of Black Hawk, Nebraska. He becomes fast friends with the daughter Antonia Shimerda. 

The Shimerdas have a particularly rough first year on the settlement, after they realize their homestead did not in fact come with a home, so the new American immigrants have to live in a cave—even in the winter. Antonia’s father commits suicide, putting a lot of pressure on Antonia and her older brother. As life goes on and Jim goes to college, Antonia’s life changes radically. The two friends reunite years later to discover how much they both have changed. 

Miracle is born under odd circumstances to an eccentric family. Her mother was technically deceased when she was born. Her father was a child prodigy who published his first novel at the age of 13. Her grandmother can talk to the dead. This strange family and childhood does not set 10-year-old Miracle up for success, and it’s difficult to keep her mind in reality. After her father disappears, she moves in with her Grandfather Opal, who encourages her to take ballet lessons. 

One night, while Miracle spins a bit out of control, literally, around a candlelit room and catches fire. She is sent to a psychiatric hospital to work through her trauma, the lies her family told her, and ground herself in real life. This book was published in 1997. 

One of the most famous coming-of-age novels of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 by Harper Lee. The reason why it still has lasting power is because Lee mixes in darker themes, like racism and classism in the south with the main character Scout Finch’s growing up. Scout is six years old when the novel begins and nine when it ends. She’s raised by her widower father Atticus Finch and her older brother. Atticus, who’s a lawyer, decides to defend Tom Robinson, who’s African American, against rape charges. Meanwhile, Scout and her brother become obsessed by reclusive neighbor Boo Radley and project the town’s prejudices on him. 

As the drama plays out for both the adults and children, the stories begin to intertwine. Scout learns about unfair prejudice and begins to grow up. 

Another one of the most popular coming-of-age novels in the American literary canon, Little Women was originally published in two installments in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they grow from children to “little women” in Concord, Massachusetts, during the Civil War. 

Each sister has different goals and priorities, occasionally clashing as sisters do. Although each sister gets her own story, Jo is considered the main protagonist. She’s stubborn and highly intelligent, convinced that she will be a famous writer, however life continues to get in the way for poor Jo as she struggles to remain on her path. 

The story begins in 1912 with protagonist 11-year-old Francie Nolan. Francie is growing up in poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She lives in a tenement building and buries her head in books to try to imagine her life elsewhere. Her father, whom she admires and loves dearly, is an alcoholic who has difficulty holding onto a job. Her mother has to pick up the slack through odd jobs to keep some level of food on the table. 

Francie’s life changes along with the family’s fortunes and tragedies. As someone living in poverty, she must remain adaptable and also hopeful if she wants to find a better life for herself. 

A modern-day take on Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, author Barbara Kingsolver produced a new coming-of-age masterpiece. The story takes place in modern-day Appalachia. Damon “Demon” Copperhead is born in poverty to a mother who is struggling with addiction. He spends his childhood in and out of foster homes and has a variety of different caretakers. After a terrible football injury, Demon becomes addicted to opioids himself. Unlike other protagonists on this list, Demon sometimes makes the wrong decisions. 

He has no one to rely on but himself, so he must pull himself up and out of this vicious cycle if he doesn’t want to end up dead.