I'm looking for a coming-of-age novel. My two closest points of reference are The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky) and Ham on Rye (Charles Bukowski).
I'm looking for something similar: high school age, loneliness, the sense of not fitting in. YA or not, doesn't matter. It doesn't need to have anything super dramatic like trauma, sexual or drug abuse, violence, etc.
What I love about each:
Perks
– The writing is gorgeous. Simple and beautiful.
– Protagonist is openly sensitive, a little weird
Ham on Rye
– The oftentimes angry tone
– Themes of class and economic hardships, and how they contribute to social isolation
– Art (specifically, literature) plays a big role for the protagonist
What I've already read
– The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
– Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
– A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
– Catcher in the Rye
– Be More Chill
– Looking for Alaska
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
by TallWashington
4 Comments
Demon Copperhead?
*Speak*, Laurie Halse Anderson
If you liked Looking for Alaska, definitely go read Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, and Turtles All the Way Down.
I also recommend reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Jane Eyre, and the Anne of Green Gables series. These ones are not set in the modern day, but all feature very interesting or relatable coming-of-age themes/stories.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Very different from the 2 you mentioned, but is the best coming of age story (or maybe any kind of story) I’ve ever read.