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14
Dec
43 notes

Anonymous asked: I'm looking for sort of quirky coming of age books similar to The Catcher in the Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower etc. Any ideas? Thanks so much!!

Oh! I can do this one!

John Brandon’s Citrus County, at once a coming-of-age story, a crime thriller, and a romance set in swampy central Florida. I loved it.

Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies, set at a Dublin prep school, is one of the most unsentimental yet moving stories of adolescence I’ve ever read. It’s somehow about teenagers, time travel, drugs, love, donuts, and more all at once. Wonderful.

Aryn Kyle’s The God of Animals, set on a ranch in rural Colorado (“rural Colorado” is kind of redundant I guess). The preteen narrator is that perfect about of recognizably twisted sort of gal you can’t help but love and fear. And yes there’s a horse on the cover and horses in the book, but it’s not a horse book like The Saddle Club or anything, and I speak with authority as a former horse-girl. It’s so good, Aryn Kyle is massively talented. You should also pick up her story collection, Boys and Girls Like You and Me.

Justin Torre’s We the Animals is completely breath-taking. About a trio of brothers and their parents growing up and having food fights and doing boy things and wrestling and struggling and the voice is fierce and full and it’s lovely and terrifying at the same time. Its impact far, far outweighs its slim spine width.

I love ALL of these books. Read them all. Anyone else have suggestions? This is such a good category.

ADDENDUM: John Wray’s Lowboy, heartbreaking and so good.

UPDATES FROM READERS:

jessicarubbinghouse replied to your post:
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell is great as well.
peterwknox replied to your post:
These are my favorite types of books and I strongly suggest All About Lulu: A Novel by Jonathan Evison & Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way: A Novel by Bryan Charles
echoagnostic replied to your post: 
Anything by John Green
hobartpulp replied to your post: 
Joe Meno’s Hairstyles of the Damned? A little older and different, but Alex Garland’s The Beach?

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  1. peterwknox said: These are my favorite types of books and I strongly suggest All About Lulu: A Novel by Jonathan Evison & Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way: A Novel by Bryan Charles
  2. jessicarubbinghouse said: Also, I Capture the Castle.
  3. jennfemmeinist said: Looking for Alaska by John Green is another!
  4. kerishma said: “Looking for Alaska” by John Green is quite Salinger-esque
  5. echoagnostic said: Anything by John Green
  6. hobartpulp said: Joe Meno’s Hairstyles of the Damned? A little older and different, but Alex Garland’s The Beach?
  7. housingworksbookstore posted this

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