"Coming of Age" Novels and Novellas

Middle School

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Rite of Passage by Richard Wright
Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Shabanu by Susanna Staples
A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle
Annie John by Jamaica Kinkaid
Friction by E. R. Frank
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Robert Newton Peck’s A Day No Pigs Would Die

High School

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Bless Me, Ultima by Rodolfo Anaya
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Boy meets boy by David Levithan
An Egg on three sticks by Jackie Fischer
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Gospel according to Larry by Janet Tashjian
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Old School by Tobias Wolff

A Comprehensive List from Edward Nizalowski

Bennett, James. Dakota Dream.
Bickham, Jack. Baker’s Hawk (1974)
Burks, Brian. Runs With Horses
Calvert, Patricia. Hour of the Wolf
Carter, Alden. Up Country
Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War.
Dean, Carolee. Comfort
Dougherty, Brittany. God is Laughing
Durbin, William. The Broken Blade.
Fleishman, Paul. Whirligig
George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain
Gipson, Fred. Old Yeller
Hunter, Mollie. A Sound of Chariots
Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last
Klein, Norma. No More Saturday Nights
Markle, Sandra. The Fledglings
Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching the Spirit Bear
Paulsen, Gary. The Beet Fields
Paulsen, Gary. Dog Song
Paulsen, Gary. The Haymeadow
Paulsen, Gary. Tiltawhirl John
Paulsen, Gary. Tracker
Paulsen, Gary. Voyage of the Frog
Peck, Robert Newton. Cowboy Ghost.
Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan. The Yearling
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony
Spinelli, Jerry. Wringer
Steinbeck, John. The Red Pony
Taylor, Theodore. Sniper
Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn
Wright, Richard. Rite of Passage