Books on Coming-of-Age

By Nyla Green | November 13 2023 | High SchoolEnglish Language Arts

It’s important that students have access to books that act as mirrors to their own experiences, but also windows to explore the lived experiences of others. The coming-of-age genre is a great way for students to reflect on the universality of growing up.  

The coming-of-age genre is also an excellent way for teachers to help students navigate and discover new things about themselves while at the same time empowering them to tackle the inevitable changes in their lives with resiliency, self-confidence, and understanding.  

We have curated a collection of award-winning and inspiring authors whose books on coming-of-age will help reflect the various lives and cultures of students and foster classroom discussions around adolescence.   

Browse books on coming-of-age here.

Give Me a Sign
978-0-593-53379-6
Jenny Han meets CODA in this big-hearted YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at a summer camp.
$18.99 US
Jul 11, 2023
Hardcover
320 Pages
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Does My Body Offend You?
978-0-593-42588-6
A timely story of two teenagers who discover the power of friendship, feminism, and standing up for what you believe in, no matter where you come from. A collaboration between two gifted authors writing from alternating perspectives, this compelling novel shines with authenticity, courage, and humor.
$12.99 US
Jul 04, 2023
Paperback
432 Pages
Ember

The Country of the Blind
A Memoir at the End of Sight
978-1-9848-8142-7
A witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of the author’s transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own
$29.00 US
Jul 18, 2023
Hardcover
368 Pages
Penguin Press

Things I'll Never Say
978-1-68263-596-4
Beautiful, necessary, and deeply personal. This powerful coming-of-age story about teen mental health and navigating grief will ressonate with fans of You'd Be Home Now and The Way I Used to Be.
$18.99 US
Jun 06, 2023
Hardcover
320 Pages
Peachtree Teen

Normal People
A Novel
978-1-9848-2218-5
Instant New York Times bestseller, longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, and with a Hulu TV series in production: Normal People is a wondrous and wise coming-of-age love story from the celebrated author of Conversations with Friends.
$17.00 US
Feb 18, 2020
Paperback
304 Pages
Crown

The Secret Life of Bees
978-0-14-200174-5
The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl's journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings and The Book of Longings Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted Black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of Black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
$18.00 US
Jan 28, 2003
Paperback
352 Pages
Penguin Books