Coming of Age Stories
NEW 5/09
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
Bohjalian blends some provocative moral, medical and political issues into a classic coming-of-age story in this To Kill a Mockingbird-like reminiscence of the murder trial of a midwife, as witnessed by her teenaged daughter. In a strong, ruminative voice, Connie re-creates that terrible year when the state's attorney, Charlotte Bedford's family, the local medical community, and even members of the Danforths' small hometown seemed to conspire to put not just Connie’s mother but the entire practice of home birthing on trial.
Swim to Me by Betsy Carter
Desperate to compete with the newly opened Walt Disney World Resort, Miss Thelma Foote struggles to deal with the lack of business at Weeki Wachee Springs, while coping with the constant repairs, bills and mischievous "mermaids," but everyone's luck takes a turn for the better when Delores Walker arrives from the Bronx to pursue her longtime dream of becoming a mermaid.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Taking refuge in fairy tales after the loss of his mother, 12-year-old David finds himself violently propelled into an imaginary land in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are disturbingly melded.
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
Eighteen-year-old Ben's attempts to stand up for himself, his mother and his sister are resisted by his intolerant father, a fighter pilot and inflexible disciplinarian.
Girls in Trucks: Stories by Katie Crouch
Sarah Walters becomes increasingly disenchanted with undercurrents of barbarism in her Southern community and relocates to New York, where she and fellow displaced Southerners struggle to make sense of the city's sophistication.
The Time It Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
Dreaming of a future in space travel while growing up in 1980s Cape Canaveral, young Dolores Gray struggles with the harsh realities of her unstable home life and the devastating 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Jim the Boy by Tony Earley
Earley describes the life of a young boy in a small North Carolina town in the first part of the 20th century as he begins to explore the confusing adult world that surrounds him and begins to take his own first steps toward maturity.
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
At the age of 12, Astrid has her world blown away when her mother is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her lover. Sharpened by harsh foster home environments, Astrid remakes herself as a survivor and, ultimately, an artist.
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Young Sarah Carrier tries to cope with life in Salem, Massachusetts, after her mother, Martha Carrier, is accused, tried and hanged as a witch.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
After her "stand-in mother," a bold black woman named Rosaleen, insults the three biggest racists in town, Lily Owens joins Rosaleen on a journey to Tiburon, South Carolina, where they are taken in by three black, beekeeping sisters.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Gene Forrester remembers a World War II year in prep school and the unexpected events of that year.
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Overweight and sensitive Dolores Price grows from painful childhood, through excruciating adolescence, to lonely adulthood, experiencing the heartache of being a misfit in a confusing world.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scout's father defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in a small Alabama town during the 1930s.
Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle
Young Katie Burns thinks of the small town that is home to her cousin Angela in the mid-1960s as a place of secrets when she begins to mature.
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Having moved from one academic outpost to another throughout her childhood, Blue van Meer attends the elite St. Gallway School in her senior year, where the deaths of a teacher and student awaken her analytical instincts.
Goldengrove by Francine Prose
Grieving after the drowning death of her sister, 13-year-old Nico falls into a seductive and dangerous relationship with her sister's enigmatic boyfriend during a summer when she realizes that she has moved beyond the help of her parents.
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Whitehead – using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention – beautifully explores racial and class identity, illustrating the complex rhythms of the adult world.