15 Coming-of-Age Books That You Should Read at Any Age

With another movie adaptation coming to theaters this Christmas Day, it wouldn't hurt to read (or reread) Little Women. Louisa May Alcott's classic novel shows how strong the bonds of sisterhood can be, regardless of the ups and downs that occur in the story as the four sisters grow together.

Angie Thomas's megapopular book The Hate U Give is a memorable study of internal conflict in a young woman. Thomas doesn't sugarcoat the realities of living in a turbulent environment, but there is a resounding message of hope within the story.

A novel written by Maria Kuznetsova, Oksana, Behave! is about the daughter of Eastern European immigrants. It's a welcome tale for those who feel lost in trying to navigate American life, but it's also a relatable story for those who graduate from college without a clue on what to do with their lives. The narrative offers opportunities for lightheartedness, humor, and reflection.

You can never go wrong with Lisa See's books, and The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is no exception. You get both the story of a Chinese girl raised in America by her adopted parents, as well as the story of her birth mother. For those who have been adopted, especially those originally from East Asia, this book will be highly relatable.

J.D. Salinger's iconic The Catcher in the Rye is the ultimate coming-of-age story. This book is especially recommended for slackers, underachievers, and of course, phonies.

In many parts of the world, being a girl means having fewer options in life. Shobha Rao's novel Girls Burn Brighter shows just what happens when you have a friend who knows exactly what you're going through – and can help you grow in spades.

Canadian-born writer Kim Fu offers For Today I Am A Boy, a novel that touches upon what it is like to be the transgender child of Chinese immigrants. The journey to being the gender that one believes one should be is never easy, but it is also a journey that offers an opportunity to come of age.

It isn't uncommon to find people whose parents have expectations that aren't very realistic for their children to meet. Erika L. Sánchez's I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter revolves around a girl who must grapple with parental pressures while uncovering the secrets of her late sister.

It's unusual for a classic to have a sequel, but thankfully, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird does indeed have one. In Go Set a Watchman, Scout returns to Alabama after years in New York.

Jesmyn Ward does a great job at creating quiet drama throughout Sing, Unburied, Sing. The writing style is a reminder of William Faulkner's, but with a focus on 21st century issues.

Ever compared notes with people you went to school with, sometimes feeling intense jealousy at your peers' successes while you feel like you don't measure up? Then you should definitely read Lauren Acampora's The Paper Wasp and get all of those feelings out of your system.

Now that the novel has been turned into a movie, there are no more excuses to not read Kevin Kwan's bestseller. Though not a YA book, Crazy Rich Asians does touch on feelings of inadequacy that we often feel growing up.

We all have personal talents, and K.C. Archer's School For Psychics points out how exploring those gifts can lead to personal growth — all the while following a protagonist who has a penchant for mischief.

A classic that deserves more recognition, Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a bildungsroman that touches upon the discovery of one's sexual orientation and how it may go against the world that one has known.

Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics is truly impressive, filled with all kinds of academic information that the protagonist accumulates along the way. Her knowledge gets challenged in a rather serious way when she has to confront her father.