The best coming-of-age stories that simmer with emotion and are set in a fascinating time and place

The novel Daisy Jones & The Six describes the coming-of-age of Daisy Jones in 1968. Across time, she matures from a wealthy, neglected teenager in Los Angeles into a successful rock star. The novel chronicles her experiences and growth as she navigates the music industry and her relationships. It also paints a picture of what life was like in America in the 70s.

At the beginning of the story no parent seems to care that teenaged Daisy is sneaking into clubs, experimenting with drugs, and engaging in relationships with older men. A year earlier had been The Summer of Love in California which launched a memorable, yet often chaotic, time in our history that is shown in Daisy’s life. 

Though my novel Down on the South Beach Drag is often compared to Daisy Jones and the Six— I didn’t read it until I had already completed my novel. I swear.

This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during 1933–1935. This time period was important in American history for two reasons: the Great Depression and the Jim Crow era.

The Great Depression is illustrated in the poverty that affects all of the residents of the fictional town. Even the Finches, who are the main characters, are better off than many others,  but are ultimately poor. The years depicted in the novel also fall within the much longer period of time that modern historians often refer to as the Jim Crow era. This term describes the time in the United States when Black people could no longer be held in slavery, but where laws limited their social, political, and economic possibilities. When the author Harper Lee wrote this novel in the late 1950s, the Great Depression was over, but Jim Crow laws were still present in parts of the American South. 

This is my favorite book of all time. It’s a quintessential coming-of-age story set in a very difficult time in our nation. I love the main character Scout. She’s a little tomboy of a girl. Her perspective allows us to experience the world in that time and place through her naive eyes. The book records her gradual disillusionment as she develops and confronts the harsh realities of the adult world: including the dangerous racism of the old South.

Despite being written in the 1940s, the ideas in this book remain important today.

This is particularly true in discussions about mental health, generational differences, and the search for meaning in a world still haunted by memories of The Great Depression, WWII, and the Korean War that was still raging. 

The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a sixteen-year-old high school junior who is expelled from a fancy prep school because he failed all his classes. But he is not dumb, in fact, far from it. His quirky personality, his flaws, and his capacity for empathy and compassion make him an interesting subject.

I remember well when I was in high school and identified with him as I read. What is remarkable is that students still do today; this novel has been a mainstay book for teenagers for seventy-four years. Obviously, it hit a nerve when it was published in 1951 and it is impressive that it continues to do so.

I love this book for its portrayal of 11-year-old Mary Frances Nolan, who people call Francie, and her resilience against all odds.

You gotta love a kid who thrives despite traumatic events. The novel is a bold exploration of universal concerns like family, love, and, as so often happens in a coming-of-age tale— a search for meaning.

As I am a fan of authors who set a vivid time and place in their stories, the depiction of early 20th-century Brooklyn thrills me every time I read it.  The social dynamics of the Brooklyn of the time were determined by a person’s nationality and religious beliefs. This is why the Nolan family lives in a mainly Catholic and Irish neighborhood. Catholicism is an important part of Francie’s upbringing as shown throughout the novel.

I strongly identify with Mary Frances as I am Mary Kathleen, and also born Irish-Catholic. When I read this story as a girl, the author, Betty Smith, taught me a great deal about my own culture. 

Francie’s life, impacted by both joy and sorrow, inspires readers to persevere in the face of adversity. The moral of her story isn’t heavy-handed, but it is clear: grit has value.

This is another book on my list of five that has stood the test of time. The author’s insights into the human condition feel real. And I’m sure that contributed to the novel becoming an instant hit and enjoying enduring popularity.

The plot: “Madelaine Hillyard is a world-famous heart surgeon at the top of her game. Her personal life is far less successful. A loving but overworked single mom, she is constantly at odds with her teenage daughter. At sixteen, Lina is confused, angry, and fast becoming a stranger to her mother—a rebel desperate to find the father who walked away before she was born.

Complicating matters for Madelaine are the vastly different DeMarco brothers: While priest Francis DeMarco is always ready to lend a helping hand, his brother, Angel, long ago took on the role of bad boy. Years earlier, Angel abandoned Madelaine—and fatherhood—to go in search of fame and fortune. His departure left Madelaine devastated, but now he reappears and seeks help from the very people he betrayed—as a patient in dire need.”

Though this is the story of the mother Madelaine, a surgeon, helping her ex-boyfriend as her patient, this is also a coming-of-age story. Her daughter,16-year-old Lina, is portrayed as a troubled and rebellious teenager, wounded by her mother's busy schedule and her father's abandonment. She is struggling with finding her identity and controlling her anger. Her craving for human connection leads her to seek a father figure who makes her feel understood. Lina questions her place in her mother's world and seeks to find her own path. Despite her troubled state, Lina is intelligent and observant.

There is nothing I enjoy more than an interesting girl finding her way in the world—and on her own terms.