What a great idea! I agree with you on publication date (although not for the awards necessarily--they have to be limited somehow). However, in my personal reading, I am much less concerned with reading what's new than with reading what's compelling.

One of my favorite favorite coming of age books is Mary Pearson's 2005 A Room on Lorelei Street. The story is unusual, the writing is poetic, the voice moving. I also love the cover, even though it IS a decapitated body. If there is any quibble it is that the ending is a tiny bit rushed and there is a smallish fairy-godmother-ish character but I think its other qualities more than make up for those things, and there is something about it that has stayed with me since I read it a couple of years ago.

(Can we nominate more than one book each?)

Jennifer: I understand what you mean about the standard awards - yes they do have to go by pub dates if they are going to have annual awards for multiple categories. It would be insane otherwise. But I'm doing an all new award process! Annual awards by subject! It's different! It's new! It's revolutionary! It's total nomination freedom!

I'm mad with power, aren't I? ha!

Sara: Yes, you can nominate more than one title. Just don't renominate the same book over and over and we're cool. I've never heard of Pearson's book, so that is a new one for me!

A wonderful new novel that fits squarely into this category is Rose Kent's Kimchi and Calamari. It's due out in April, but I read an Advanced Reader's copy last year. Loved it!

The novel, for 9 to 12 year olds, tells the story of 14-year-old Joseph, who was born in Korea and adopted as a baby by an Italian American family. Using a lot of humor and compassion, Rose Kent relates Joseph's struggles with identity (and his growing relationship with his adoptive father) with the ease of an old pro. An impressive first novel--and lots of fun.

As far as coming of age novels are concerned, I think the one I most liked from last year is Justina Chen Headley's "Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies)" This one has really stayed with me for some reason.

If multiple noms for one book make an immpact, I am happy to also nominate Mary E. Pearson's A Room on Lorelei Street. Zoe's voice is so wonderfully balanced that while it is poetic, it is also direct and honest. And the story itself is courageous in taking what might have been another "teen caring for damaged parent" scenario and allowing the teen to refuse a burden that is simply far too heavy for her and that nobody should ever have asked her to carry. You will ache for Zoe and want to give her a room on your street.

Susan: I requested a review copy of "Kimchi and Calamari" but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm very much looking forward to it!

Kelly: I agree with you on "Nothing but the Truth". I adored that book - loved all the characters, the situation. It was very very good and has stayed with me as well.

Melissa: It's official, I've to read Pearson's book!

Keep those nominations coming folks!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Not published as YA, but completely readable.

The Killers' Cousin by Nancy Werlin.

Shadow of a Hero by Peter Dickinson.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
The Pursuit of Happiness by Tara Altebrando
A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson
Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
Looking for Alaska by John Green
As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway
The True Meaning of Cleavage by Mariah Fredericks
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (One word: Turtle)
What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci
Friction by E.R. Frank
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
So B. It by Sarah Weeks
Homecoming by Cynthia Voight
An Egg on Three Sticks by Jackie Fischer
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
The Alison Rules by Catherine Clark
The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Say Goodnight, Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver
A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
Nothing but the Truth (and a few White Lies) by Justina Chen Headley
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
Just Like That by Marsha Qualey
Swollen by Melissa Lion
Upstream by Melissa Lion
Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

Little Willow:

We all now officially bow down bfore your greatness........

Question on A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life though - am I the only person who thought it was a bit of a cliche that she only found her birth mother when the woman was dying?

Help me out on this one people; I couldn't love that one and I really really tried.

Colleen: Thanks for not thinking me insane. :)

Re: Brief: I think it works because Rivka contacted her daughter BECAUSE of that - the illness prompted Rivka to seek out Simone, rather than Simone just so happening to find her mother right then.

Three excellent "coming of age" stories, though none of them are exactly what I think of as "typical" of the genre.

BORN TO ROCK by Gordon Korman: The summer after his high school graduation, uptight, Future Harvardian Leo Caraway discovers that his biological father is "King Maggot," the original bad boy (and founder) of punk, and Leo ends up on reunion tour with his bio-dad's band, "Purge." I was actually more put off by the "high concept" than I was drawn to it, but the writing was so good and fresh and funny that it absolutely won me over, and Leo's coming of age has a bit of everything- a few arrests, new relationships with people he's always known, new views on the world. Plus, you have to love a book whose first page includes the sentence "There are two kinds of people in this world- those who've had a cavity search and those who haven't. This is the story of how I wound up in the wrong category."

ELSEWHERE by Gabrielle Zevin: A coming of age story that starts with a girl's death. The concept really works for the book, and there's something so relatable about the afterlife that after a while, you forget that you're NOT in Elsewhere.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY by Ned Vizzini: After calling a suicide hotline on the night he plans to commit suicide, a depressed teen checks himself into the psychiatric unit of a hospital, where- amongst the most unlikely cast of characters- he discovers some things about himself, about what he loves, and about choices he never thought he'd have. The emotions and pressures in this one ring so true (probably because it's partly inspired by the author's own experiences).

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss

It was amazing.

Also anything by Richie Tankersley Cusick is amazing as well.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier Seriously guy book

I preferred The Pigman and Me, Paul Zindel's memoir to his novel The Pigman, but perhaps The Pigman should be considered.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I've never read the book and thought the movie was unbearable. However, my son read this in class as a sixth grader and went on to reread it 17 times (according to him).

The Chocolate War! How did I not think of that one?!

I understand your point on Brief Impossible Life Little Willow, but I still didn't see how the main character fundamentally changed in that book - she learned about her biological mother but did she change who she was like the boy in Abundance of Katherines?

And I need some more opinions on Sophie's World also. I did read that one and did learn a ton about philosophy but I got so buried in tha aspect of the book that I have totally forgotten what happened to the main character. (She was driving with her father - that's all I remember.)

Is that a book that it is reasonable to expect for a 15 year old to read?

From the email:

I'd like to nominate Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

I love this book. I think it is the best, most compelling book I've read all year. Once I started it, I literally couldn't keep away from it (and I was in the middle of a family wedding, so sneaking away for reading time was a feat!)

It starts quietly, with Miranda complaining in her diary about typical
teen things like homework, friends and her mom, but when an asteroid crashes into the moon and throws off the gravitational pull of the earth, everything changes in an instant. Miranda documents her family's struggle to survive and to hold on to each other. As a coming of age novel, it is brilliant - we see Miranda grow from the self-centered, young teen that she is at the start of the book to a mature young woman who is able to make tough choices to help her
family survive.

The end of the world, as seen through Miranda's eyes, is a quiet thing. We don't see New York submerged by a tsunami, or the volcanos going off. All we see is Miranda's world getting smaller and smaller as conditions grow more dire. It is a frighteningly real book, with
events that I could almost imagine envision happening in real life.
But what carries the book is Miranda's voice, and watching her grow up.

Two really fantastic ones...

These are both by Madeline L'Engle, and I really can't choose between them:

A Small Rain--a lovely, lovely, lovely book that I've read twice and would like to pick up again soon. About a young girl pre-WWII and goes through a fair chunk of her early adult life, too. So wonderful.

Camilla: a novel--a sweet story about a girl in her early teens, family problems (her mother having an affair, for one), friends, school...

These are both terribly original and use the coming-of-age formula brilliantly. They both blew me away and left me wanting more. Luckily, A Small Rain gave me more--in the form of A Severed Wasp, which takes places when the protagonist is in her seventies-ish. I actually have the sequel to Camilla, too, but it's been hard to get myself to start it, for some reason (A Live Coal in the Sea).

Colleen: Likewise, I see what you mean about Brief. Hmm.

Sophie's World is rather high falutin' but I read it at age 14. However, due to the fact that things are changed but that it is mostly philosophy and such, feel free to strike Sophie's World.

Also - Is your blog syndicated on LJ?

I'd like to get more opinions on Brief - just because I had a knee jerk reaction doesn't mean I'm right. I know the Cybils folks loved it (it's in the short list for YA, isn't it?) so maybe some of them can weigh in.

I have no idea if I'm syndicated on LJ. I will ask my mighty web guy....cause I am pathetic when it comes to that sort of thing.

The Chocolate War

Any book from the Dance sextet by Aidan Chambers; Breaktime and Now I Know and The Toll Bridge especially.

The Outsiders - SE Hinton

Yes, it is on the Cybils YA shortlist. :)

Ok, here's the thing: I adore the Tish Sterling/ Keeping Days series by Norma Johnston & think it's a brilliant coming of age story, combined with what it means to be a writer; it's especially true when you see the grown up Tish in the last two books, who, gasp, didn't marry her high school sweetheart. But I'm hardpressed to say which one is "the" coming of age moment; if pressed, I'd go with the last one, A Mustard Seed of Magic.

Actually Liz it sounds like the coming of age aspect evolves over the length of the series - like the Betsy/Tacy stories. (I realize those are old fashioned but there are few series where the character begins as a small child and ends up married at the end - you certainly see Betsy and her family and friends grow up as you read.)

Why don't we just add the whole series? I don't think we are serving the characters best by separating one book from the middle as the "best" choice.

Thanks for the addition!

A huge proportion of books I love are coming-of-age stories, really! (For instance, Rebecca West's "The Fountain Overflows," James Baldwin's "Just Above My Head" and Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" would all be legitimate picks here....)

But in the spirit of your request, just a few particular suggestions.

Graphic novels: well, both Charles Burns's "Black Hole" and Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" really are coming-of-age stories, and both extraordinarily good too.

You've got "Dairy Queen" already somewhere here, no?

The seventies classics of my childhood include (one of the best ever) E. L. Konigsberg's "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" and (of course, your favorite...) "Harriet the Spy"...

I'd definitely add BETTER THAN YESTERDAY to your list! YA Novelist Sarah Mlynowski's blurb says it all, and I agree with every word: "Robyn Schneider's smart and witty coming of age novel has it all: friendship, school pranks, fashion and first love..."

Jenny: I agree on "The Fountain Overflows" - I justread that for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. (Although it is interesting how much coming of age novels have changed in the past 100 years. I doubt most 15 year olds would read it now...maybe they would be 25 before tackling it? But does that make it less of a coming of age story?)

Melodye: I couldn't help but notice that the author of your nominee is a friend of yours (as you list at your site), which makes for a bit of a conflict of interest. Has anyone else read Robin Schneider's book? Teen reads liked it, although I'm not sure if it is a coming of age story or a surviving high school tale. (http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0385733453.asp)

If you're including series that show the childhood and adulthood of the same character(s), then you've got to add the Anne Shirley octet by L.M. Montgomery. :)

Oh yeah, Little Willow - Anne has to be there for sure!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I just read this and think it is awesome. And, of course, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I'll also add I Capture the Castle (mentioned it already). All very moving.

Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

  This is the only book of the Warriors series that really counts as a coming-of-age story, else I would nominate all twelve! Warriors is an incredibly engaging series about Clans of feral cats living in the forest. It is very popular right now.
  Into the Wild starts the series off with the story of Rusty, a young housecat. Rusty has vague feelings that he doesn't really want the life of a housecat, especially when it comes to being neutered at the age of six months. So when he ventures into the forest and meets a group of Clan cats, how can he refuse their offer of Clan membership? But Rusty, with his new Clan name of Firepaw, soon finds out that Clan life can get quite complicated. Not only does he have to keep up with the duties of an apprentice, learn hunting and fighting skills, and follow the warrior code--he soon finds himself thrust into a battle against evil and treachery. Can Firepaw convince his Clan leader of the guilt of one of her best warriors? And, more importantly, can he survive long enough to become a warrior himself?

Colleen, I thought "Brief Chapter" was okay, but it didn't do it for me either.

I'll nominate "Born Confused" for the list.

Oh, oh, and "Geography of a Girl". I loved that book!

And "Monsoon Summer."

Runningflame thanks for the unique nomination - and very nice fan site btw!

MotherReader: Glad to hear I'm not the only one! Thanks for all the nominations and I don't know how I missed "Monsoon Summer" - that was one of my favorite reads and so unique.

Wendy: You right about "The Secret Life of Bees" - that's a good choice for adult novel for YAs. And "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - one of my absolute all time favorites.

I'm also adding "Siberia" by Ann Halam to the list. I reviewed it last year and it is an excellent science fiction novel about a young girl who must find all sorts of new depths to her personal courage in order to literally save the animal world. Lots of great bits on DNA and science in it. Wonderful strong female protagonist and a setting like no other YA book I've read.

I have three "boy book" nominations for you:
- Rats Saw God (Rob Thomas)
- Tangerine (Edward Bloor)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

Here a few "guy" suggestions:

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings
The Maze by Will Hobbs
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson

The Cats of Seroster by Robert Westall

Edward Bloor - yes! I really liked his new one also.

And "Red Kayak" - I've heard of that and also Will Hobbs - big fan of his.

Thanks for these - I will add them to the list!

(And I'll also be checking out the Westall book, Kymberly!)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I thought of some more guy books.

- The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia - by Megan Whalen Turner (some of the Best Books Ever, of any kind, for any age, IMHO)
- The Prydain Chronicles - by Lloyd Alexander
- Jude - by Kate Morgenroth
- Pool Boy - by Michael Simmons
... and I can't believe nobody has mentioned Chris Crutcher! ALL of his books qualify for the category. Whale Talk and Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes are two of my favorites.

Mock Turtle
(not a guy, but a true friend of guys!)

Blankets by Craig Thompson - just off the top my head

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander

Peace Like a RIver by Leif Enger

Christy by Caherine Marshall

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle

A King Must Die by Mary Renault

My husband, Greg Logsted, has his first novel for tweens coming out next year, Sock Puppets in Love, which is sort of a coming-of-age story. Greg says two of his favorite coming-of-age stories, while classified in the adult section, are certainly suitable for older YAs: Boy's Life, by Robert McCammon, and The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay.

Nothing but the Truth by Avi, perhaps

I'm glad to see that we can nominate series! A lot of the ones that I can come up with are series where the coming of age evolves over the course of the series. (Sorry, Gail!) So here's my votes:

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
(You could argue that the first book, The Amulet of Samarkand, is really the coming of age book, but in my mind the coming of age doesn't reach it's conclusion until the last book)

The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix
This series is still in progress, but I love how the hero, Arthur Penhaligon, has grown from the first book, where he's fairly weak and basically following the lead of The Will, to the most recent book, where he is beginning to take a stand for what he believes is right.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau

Will anyone shoot me if I say Harry Potter?

Sheila: No problem with Harry Potter - I think everyone was just waiting for someone else to say it first! Also thanks for the Nix and Stroud books. I read some Nix ages ago and these are all great noms. (Including Lowry - of course! - and Druprau which I have not read but have read about.)

Lauren: I was wondering where you are! I need to get on the review copy list for Greg's book. Both of his recommendations are great - I actually saw RH (I think) came out with an abridged edition of The Power of One in the last year or so. Normally I'm not all over the abridged editions, but for kids first reading them, it can be a good way to get them interested in the older big books. (And it was a Cliff Notes - more like a Reader's Digest condensed book which is how I first read a bunch of famous books when I was young.)

Marineko: Another vote for Geography Club - love that one! And of course Francesca Lia Block - I was waiting for her to show up here, too.

Mock Turtle: I loved Crutcher's Sledding Hill but I think yours work better for coming-of-age - thanks for the other noms too!

mtnpersie - Blankets - yea! This is just a classic, plain and simple. I'm also adding Oni Press's Lost at Sea as another excellent gn entry for the list. About a girl on a road trip who thinks she has lost her soul. It's great.

Sherry: Christy wow - talk about a classic! Ring of Endless Light is actually one of my all time favorite books - I love giving that to a young girl for the first time; it never fails to impress.

Thanks so much guys for stopping by and weighing in. The nominations continue to stay open!

Colleen, I've been around! And I'm always keeping my eye on your wonderful blog and telling others about it. I have tried posting a few comments in the last few weeks that somehow never came through on the blog, but believe me, I'm still here! Oh, and Greg's book is fabulous - he's going to totally put me in the shade - not that I'll mind - as will our seven-year-old daughter who's working on developing a series with us for younger readers.

Off the top of my head, I would nominate any book by Joan Bauer. Also The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander; Howl's Moving Castle and the Dark Lord of Derkholm series by Diana Wynne Jones; Figuring Out Frances by ?Willner-Pardo.

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale (While you're at it, the sequels are great too,) and the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (Same for it.) Both are some of my favorie books.

Oops. Looking through I saw that someone already nominated The Thief and its sequels. Really, these are some of my favorite books ever. However I don't think they are just guy books. They do have some strong (very strong) female characters.

Rose: It is not a problem to nominate a title (or series) that someone else has mentioned - in fact I'm going to note the books that receive the most nominations so folks can see what was particularly popular among nominators.

Lauren: Yeah - the comments were getting dumped to trash and I didn't realize it, so I just kept deleting the trash without looking through it. It was only after I got one of my comments dumped there that I caught on to what was happening. So now I spend an extra couple of minutes and check though them first. Still no clue how to fix it, but at least you won't get deleted anymore!

Lynn: Thanks for the noms for Diana Wynne-Jones! I'm not up on the Pardo book but I'll check it out too! (And the Alexander of course - lots of fans of his around here...:)

Rose - Great to hear from another reader who's mad for Eugenides! I certainly didn't mean to imply that The Thief and its sequels are just for guys. (After all, I am not one.) Just that it they provide the story of a guy's coming-of-age.

Sheila - Thanks for throwing in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I agree with you completely that it's the entire trio that provides the full coming-of-age arc. Wonderful stuff! I listened to all three books on audio, and Simon Jones (the original Arthur Dent) purely sent shivers up my spine with his performance.

Can I nominate Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time"?

And two Noel Streatfield books: Ballet Shoes and White Boots.

Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea.

All excellent noms Niranjana - especially Journey to the River Sea. That has to be one of my all time favorites (and a book that I think has been horribly overlooked!)

"Nothing but the truth (and a few white lies)" by Justina Chen Headley really spoke to me. I felt that she captured the biracial experience really well, but also created a character and experiences that most teens could relate to.

"Good Girls" by Laura Ruby. This book shows the protagonist's growth as human being as she faces the gossip stemming from a revealing picture being circulated via cell phone. While dating and romance play a role in the book, the majority focuses on Audrey's growth as a human being, and her internal changes as she considers who she is and how she wants to live her life.

"The Not-So Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen" by Mitali Perkins, the author of "Monsoon Summer." Like Patty (of Nothing but the Truth...), Sunita finds a balance between two cultures: the India culture and the American culture. As she considers what is important to her, she faces growing pains both at home and at school.

Thanks so much, math teacher!

I recently reviewed "Good Girls" and thought it was a fantastic look at high school life. I'm not totally sure of its coming-of-age quality - would anyone else like to comment on that?

Parable of the Sower by the late, great Octavia Butler is a big favorite of mine. I think it covers coming of age in a pretty dramatic way, and of course it has a black main character (for your more recent appeal). I find its portrayal of near-future contemporary civilization in a progressive state of collapse chillingly plausible. Too close to home for post-Katrina NOLA youth? Or just the ticket? What do you think?

Tyrell by Coe Booth

Funny Little Monkey by Andrew Auseon

and i syndicated your journal on LJ a while ago. It is : http://syndicated.livejournal.com/colleenmondor/profile

yay!

What about Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury? It's been years since I read it(for the second time), so I'm not sure. Certainly there is a coming-of-age change going on in some of Bradbury's writing.

Hi,

I think I jumped the gun a bit on my first nomination to this list. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay is an awesome adult/YA novel, but not necessarily a coming-of-age book.

I would like to nominate Go Ask Alice, and then a couple of Canadian books that are awesome: The Lottery by Beth Goobie and Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard.

Pam: Thanks for the thoughts on Kay, I really appreciate you looking at the book to make sure it meets the coming of age criteria. I will certainly look into the Canadian books - William Bell's The Blue Helmet is one of my favorite books from last year and it can't seem to find an American publisher which is a shame. I know that Canada has a lot going on that US readers are missing out on. (And Go Ask Alice will be added as well!)

Gail: For sure I'm including Dandelion Wine - I also think that Something Wicked This Way Comes will fit nicely as a coming of age adventure/horror story.

Cecil: Both nominations are added and thanks for the syndication!

Mock Turtle: Well we must have something from Butler, mustn't we?! I do think this will be fine for NOLA as well - they are already living in a dystopian future world as far as I'm concerned; hell, they probably could handle this story better than most of us.

You guys all rock and this list is going to be freaking awesome!!!! That doesn't mean you have to stop though - here's a challenge. Has anyone read a coming of age mystery lately??

RE: Coming-of-age mystery

I read and enjoyed Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons. It's heavier on the mystery and lighter on the coming-of-age themes, but it could qualify, particularly in the way it treats Evan's relationship with his dad. I have not yet read the sequel, The Rise of Lubchenko (though it's on my shelf).

I do think that Jude, which I already nominated, qualifies in this category quite well.

I love the idea of this list. Coming of age books are my favorite However, once I got into the list, I realized they were mostly books for teens. Do you have a list for adults? Any ideas on where to look? My favorite is Shadow Baby.

Off the top of my head Wendy I would suggest Jim Lynch's The Highest Tide which was originally published as an adult title but is being reissued this year for teens. It is a great coming-of-age story and will appeal to fans of any age.

There is also Faiza Guene's Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow about a young woman growing up in the projects in France and Sarah Grace McCandless's The Girl I Wanted to be about the perils of not growing up at all. I reviewed Kiffe and you find it by searching my site - my review of Sarah's book will be up this summer.

I will have an adult category in the final list, so check back at the end of the month!

WALDEN by Michael T. Dolan is a great coming of age novel set on a college campus. It's getting great reviews on college campuses. Published in 2006 by Conversari House - www.conversari.com.

What fun! I think my nomination falls in the category of "best book no one has ever heard of". It's Zazoo by Robert Mosher - a beautiful beautiful story about a girl who helps her adoptive "grandfather" heal emotional wounds from WWII. By the end of this story, everyone had changed, including me. Am I the only one who loves this book?

I love Zazoo also Sonja! You can read my review here:

http://www.eclectica.org/v9n1/mondor_mosher.html

It's just a lovely book and really impressed the heck out of me - thanks for nominating it!

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Rat Saw God by Rob Thomas
Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Valiant by Holly Black, maybe?

Hi. I wrote earlier looking for a list of adult COA books. Have you posted the winners yet? Just anxious to see what you came up with. Thanks. I have enjoyed the site.

Hey Wendy - I just wrote about this in my entry last night. The results will be posted sometime this weekend!

Sunset ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updated - Coming-of-Age Novels aka Bildungsromans

Something by Pat Conroy? I adored The Great Santini, but The Lords of Discipline would also work. (In the category of adult reads for YA)

Enchantress from the Stars is a classic SF coming of age. And I'd add my vote to those for the Prydain Chronicles, and for Born to Rock.

And did I miss her in these long comments or is Katherine Paterson here? Jacob Have I Loved is one of the best coming of age stories ever.

And Story of a Girl.

The White Darkness.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.

A Hole in my Life. (Jack Gantos. Awesome. Awesome.)

I'm adding Siberia to my own TBR list.

Good calls Sarah - so many of these were not out last year and so I need to amend the 2007 final list to include them now.

Conroy will certainly be figuring in to the 2008 list - check back on Monday to see what that category is! (It was the The Prince of Tides for my brother and I - we both loved that book.)

Yeah, I was going to say Prince of Tides, but hoo-boy, that one's got some deep, heavy stuff in it. Loved it, though.

And silly me, I just clicked over, got to reading this fab list and didn't notice it was from LAST year! I'll catch up with the new list on Monday.

No worries Sara - I imagine other folks will be dropping with the link on Monday to see what's on this list. I need to update it anyway...I never wanted this to become something static or dated.

And yes - Tides is very intense but the father/son relationship is so perfectly dissected...you kind of have to give it to teens as they will likely appreciate it more than adults.