Coming-of-Age Novels

In 1980s Manhattan, Benji and his twin brother Reggie are two of the few Black students at their prep school. Between this and Benji’s niche interests — horror magazines and Dungeons & Dragons — Sag Harbor, a Black Hamptons vacationing community, is the place where Benji can embrace his authentic self. But the summer of 1985 is special — 15-year-olds Benji and Reggie get every week of the summer alone, with parental supervision only on weekends. This means a summer full of mishaps with BB guns, perfecting their profanity, and navigating first kisses. Benji’s summers at Sag Harbor might be short, but the memories he makes there are ones he’ll carry forever.

In 1980s Dublin, Juno’s home life — and the bullying she receives for it — has set her on a destructive path. Between her mother’s death and her father’s alcoholism, Juno’s inability to escape poverty is nearly the end of her. But when her schoolmate Legs finds her at her lowest, he’s able to give her a home, a job, and a life she’s proud of living. At the height of the AIDS crisis, it’s now Juno’s turn to take care of Legs as his health is in rapid decline. Once Juno understands that Legs is headed towards the end, it’s up to her to heal her past and make way for a future without him.

Orange’s novel follows several characters with seemingly no connection — until we discover the ties that bind them beyond their Indigenous identities. Although these characters are different from each other, one thing they all share is their coming-of-age journey to accepting themselves as they are. From characters who feel they don’t look Indigenous enough to ones who try to hide parts of their culture from others — their road to self-acceptance won’t be a smooth path. Follow these characters as they film a documentary, reconnect with estranged family members, and prepare for a Powwow that they have no idea will be robbed at gunpoint.

Connell and Marianne couldn’t be more different — while Connell is popular, Marianne flies under the radar. But when they get closer as Connell’s mother becomes a cleaner in Marianne’s home, Connell fears his status at school is at risk and pushes Marianne away. Months later when the pair start at Trinity College, the roles reverse when Marianne reaches popularity and Connell fades into the background. Try as they might to stay apart, something always pulls them together again. But if they’re both always at opposite and unequal ends, can they truly be together? Or will their differences create a gap that’s impossible to bridge?

Ro has already lost enough — from her boyfriend leaving her to join a mission to Mars, to her best friend drifting away from her — but when her beloved octopus companion is set to be transferred out of the aquarium Ro works at, something snaps. Not only is Dolores the octopus Ro’s friend, but she is also her last connection to her missing marine biologist father. Without Dolores by her side to listen to her problems, Ro realizes that she can’t stay stagnant, no matter how comfortable she is in her pain. Something has to change, and Ro is ready to start — even if it means plunging herself into the depths of the childhood trauma that started it all.

Millie Cousins — a student at the University of Arkansas — is an RA with big dreams. As she finishes up her senior year, she wants to start her career and buy a house. But being an RA isn’t easy, especially when she experiences pranks and micro-aggressions from the students on her floor. But when visiting professor and writer Agatha Paul begins exploring the dynamics of some of these young women, Millie adds to her growing funds by allowing Agatha to use her room to eavesdrop on the students. But as Millie compromises her future — and finds herself in an unbalanced relationship — she may have to lose it all before she can find herself again.

After a mishap with her funding, Greer Kadetsky ends up at the college far below her dreams. But just when she thinks her college experience won’t amount to much, a guest speaker changes the trajectory of her life. Faith Frank is the feminist icon Greer hopes to be one day — something which might be possible when Faith becomes her mentor. Throughout several years, watch Greer navigate her long-distance relationship — and her boyfriend’s own life’s tragedies — and her friendship with queer activist Zoe — to see how Greer finds herself both as the betrayer and the betrayed. Through these tribulations, Greer decides what it means to be a feminist — and if she and Faith really live up to the title.

Jordy, Jordan, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle grow up together — even in the years they spend apart. Catapulted into the adult world when their friend Alex suddenly passes after graduation, the friends make a vow to be there for each other in any time of crisis. What begins as a seemingly silly pact turns into a series of funerals — as a reminder of their importance — that the gang throws for each other over 30 years. When they’re faced with divorce, death, and even prison sentences, the five always reunite. But when it comes time for Jordan’s funeral, their gathering becomes all too real when Jordan reveals a secret — he really is dying.

When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like the fulfillment of destiny: a miracle child escapes death in Latin America, moves to Queens to be raised by her undocumented grandparents, and becomes one of the chosen. But nothing is simple for Catalina, least of all her own complicated, contradictory, ruthlessly probing mind.  Prash and daring, part campus novel, part hagiography, part pop song, Catalina is unlike any coming-of-age novel you’ve ever read — and Catalina, bright and tragic, circled by a nimbus of chaotic energy, driven by a wild heart, is a character you will never forget.

Nineteen-year-old Yayoi might have loving parents and a caring brother, but she can’t help but feel that something’s missing. Dwelling on the childhood she can’t remember, Yayoi embarks on an emotional journey to discover what — and who — she can’t remember. When she begins to see and experience strange things at home, Yayoi moves into her aunt Yukino’s house to escape it all — despite her aunt’s quirks. But Yukino’s home holds memories that she can’t hide from Yayoi anymore. From a backyard riddled with childhood mementos to the inexplicable premonitions Yayoi has, her journey to uncover her childhood will determine how she proceeds as an adult — and who she brings with her.