Coming of Age Tag Archives

Reason for Reading:

I’m really not sure why I decided to read this one – but I’m glad I did.

I also recommend:

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Summary from GoodReads:

Ida grew up with Jackson and James—where there was “I” there was a “J.” She can’t recall a time when she didn’t have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys’ room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as teenagers. While the world outside saw them as neighbors and friends, to each other the three formed a family unit—two brothers and a sister—not drawn from blood, but drawn from a deep need to fill a void in their single parent households. Theirs was a relationship of communication without speaking, of understanding without judgment, of intimacy without rules and limits.
But as the three of them mature and emotions become more complex, Ida and Jackson find themselves more than just siblings. When Jackson’s somnambulism produces violent outbursts and James is hospitalized, Ida is paralyzed by the events that threaten to shatter her family and put it beyond her reach. Kathleen Alcott’s striking debut, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets, is an emotional, deeply layered love story that explores the dynamics of family when it defies bloodlines and societal conventions.

My Review:

The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets is a debut novel for Kathleen Alcott – but you wouldn’t know it from her writing. This is a complex story about three people: Ida, Jackson, and James. Jackson and James are brothers, and Ida the young girl who grew up with them. The three form a bond as close as family – cemented by mutual loss. They have each lost one parent.

With stark, beautiful language, Alcott puts this story out there, weaving between time successfully. I say she was successful because I was able to move from past to present back to past easily without being confused – and that indicates that something was right. When I read this book I felt as if I was slowly peeling back the petals of an artichoke, each piece giving me just a bit of a taste of the heart to come until it’s there, beautiful and delicious and ready to be savored.

I found so much beauty in this book. There’s an entire chapter in which Ida details everything she knows about Jackson. We learn everything from intimate body details to favorite things. If you’ve ever taken a writing course, you know an exercise is to just write down facts about a character – to get inside that character and know him/her. Well, the chapter that does just that to Jackson is a perfect example of how wonderful that exercise is. I almost wept, it was that beautiful to read.

This is a worthy novel, and one that would not only make excellent book club reading and discussions, but deserves every bit of attention it will doubtless receive. And to think it’s Alcott’s debut… wow. This is an author I’ll be following, for sure.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Lonely Owl| Anne’s New Thing | Real Simple

Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Published by: Other Press
Release Date: 9/11/2012

31 August, 2012

Coming of Age, Contemporary, reviews

Alcott, Coming of Age, Debut Author, relationships

Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan

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Reason for Reading:

I’ve heard a lot about David Levithan’s writing and wanted to experience this story (the premise looked incredible).

I also recommend:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

Summary from GoodReads:

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

My Review:

Imagine living in a world where you are free from sex, gender, sexuality, identity, and experience absolutely no repercussions for your actions. Now, with that thought in mind, ask yourself: “What would I do?”

The answer for A is clear through this brilliant, beautiful, heart-aching story written by David Levithan. In Every Day, A wakes up in a new body – able to access memories, actions, and every day occurrences, but unable to create any lasting bonds for him/herself. Then, one day, a girl named Rhiannon walks into A’s life.

The premise behind this story is mind-blowing. The idea of jumping from body to body, experiencing life through the eyes of such a diverse group of characters – but not only seeing that, but also how it can affect an individual. I found myself constantly wanting to know more of A – why A ticked the way s/he did, why s/he acted with the thoughts of others in mind. And, in the process, I fell for this 16 year old spirit who, through the events in his/her lifetime, had an older soul than I could have imagined as a 16 year old.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect for an ending for this book, and I don’t want to spoil the ending – but I will say that it worked. That I reached the end and I cried. I cried because I wanted to see the world A did, I cried because I wanted to be surrounded by others who saw the world that way.

I’ve just returned from a week away with people who acted with integrity, where all races, ethnicities, religions, background, etc came together and listened and talked openly with one another in a place devoted to learning about leadership. It was, for one week, an isolated world that showed me what things could be like if each of us lived in the others shoes. The timing of reading this book was perfect for me because I was primed to accept it. Not only that, this book proves what I passionately believe: that reading opens the mind and teaches people how to not only accept, but respect each other, not for decisions made, but because we are all human, each and every one of us.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Red Headed Book Child| Reading Writing Breathing | Sweet Tidbits

The publisher provided this review copy via NetGalley.
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: 8/28/2012

12 August, 2012

Coming of Age, Contemporary, Favorites, reviews, Young Adult

Change, Coming of Age, Diversity, Integrity, Levithan

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

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Reason for Reading:

I’ve read a lot of pre-war books, and this one, being post-war, intrigued me.

I also recommend:

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Summary from GoodReads:

Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha’s Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their ‘real lives’: Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena’s husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena–with their children, Daisy and Ed–try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.

My Review:

Tigers in Red Weather houses a story that had a very, very bold undertaking. In this story, Liza Klaussmann weaves together a tale that not only spans years (and decades) but also switches from one point of view to the next. What do I mean?

The first section of time periods is devoted to one character, but then we go back to those same time periods, this time seen through the eyes of the next character…so on and so forth. What should have been completely confusing, as a result, is at times repetitive, but also filled with revelation upon revelation heaped on the reader as the story unfolds.

While reading Tigers in Red Weather I was reminded of eating an artichoke. No, really, I was. One by one the petals get pulled away and savored, enjoyed, then discarded until finally those last few are peeled away and the heart of the artichoke (or story) is bared, ready to be fully devoured and relished. And that’s what happened with this story – I devoured those final moments and was shocked by what they meant to the rest of the story.

In some ways, Tigers is a coming-of-age story – for both the young people and their parents involved in the story. In others, it’s a tragic look at how different things were in the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s. Post-war relationships are thoroughly explored, innocence lost, and family relationships are brutally bared as their secrets come to light.

A thoroughly engrossing novel.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Little Words| The Book Garden | Chicks Dig Books

The publisher provided this review copy via NetGalley.
Published by: Little, Brown and Co.
Release Date: 7/17/2012

4 August, 2012

Coming of Age, Historical, reviews, Social Issues

2 comments

Coming of Age, Klaussmann, Love, Murder, War

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

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Reason for Reading:

The idea of time slowing down captured my interest.

I also recommend:

Green by Ted Dekker
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Summary from GoodReads:

Luminous, haunting, unforgettable, The Age of Miracles is a stunning fiction debut by a superb new writer, a story about coming of age during extraordinary times, about people going on with their lives in an era of profound uncertainty.

On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

My Review:

The Age of Miracles is making a big splash for being such a quiet little book. When I started to read it, I was hooked by the innocent voice and the strange things which puzzled that voice. It’s such an interesting idea – the idea of the earth slowing down and time being prolonged.

Shortly into the novel I realized this is not your typical science fiction, or even post-apocalyptic type of book. This is the book that shows us the other side, you know.. the side we never see in movies. While we’re used to seeing the astronauts out to save the world, or those last minute government decisions, very rarely do we get to see the side of the average Joe and how he, his family, his neighborhood, and his community handles a crisis like this. And the narrator of this story professes a very similar sentiment.

There are no big disasters in The Age of Miracles. There are just small things that get a little larger – things that you wouldn’t expect to bother you, but … give them enough space and it’s clear that they just might after all. I was sincerely moved as I journeyed through this story with its young narrator, and I found myself wondering what would happen if something similar happened to us.

There are no real answers in the book, so don’t go into them expecting to receive a clear-cut one (hear that, Stephen King? No aliens needed). Rather, I think this book is made all the stronger for not having one because it opens the imagination and gives the reader something to think about, long after the pages are closed.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Alison’s Book Marks| Coffee and a Book Chick | The Book Smugglers

Post-Apocalyptic, reviews

13 July, 2012

Apocalyptic, Coming of Age, Walker

Irises by Francisco X. Stork

Irises by Francisco X. Stork

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Reason for Reading:

Francisco X. Stork made me a fan with Marcelo in the Real World

I also recommend:

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Summary from GoodReads:

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. — if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate’s boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it’s Mama’s life that might divide them for good — the question of *if* she lives, and what’s worth living for.

My Review:

Here’s what I love about Francisco X. Stork: He writes inspirational stories without feeling the need to preach.

I saw it in Marcelo in the Real World, then again in The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, and now… he completely turns away from the male-focused stories and focuses instead on two girls, sisters, ages 16 and 18, and manages to write with such an honest and clear voice I found my heartstrings being tugged at again and again.

While I didn’t love this story as much as I loved Marcelo and Summer, I still found it had honest merit, and I could relate to it. I grew up in a fairly restricted environment, and my sympathies were definitely inclined toward the sisters.. but I also found myself disbelieving some things as well – such as the scenes with the new, young pastor. It just seemed a bit far-fetched and strange to me, and that’s what kept me from overly gushing at this book – but still it had a quiet sort of beauty that made me glad to have read it, and once again I was proven right in my love for Mr. Stork.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Justin’s Book Blog

My Friend Amy

14 May, 2012

Coming of Age, reviews, Young Adult

Coming of Age, Grief, Ministry, Stork

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

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Reason for Reading:

John Green climbed to the top of my list of favorite young adult authors with his newest novel – so now I’m going back and reading his previous ones!

I also recommend:

Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Summary from GoodReads:

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. He’s also a washed-up child prodigy with ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a passion for anagrams, and an overweight, Judge Judy-obsessed best friend. Colin’s on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which will predict the future of all relationships, transform him from a fading prodigy into a true genius, and finally win him the girl. Letting expectations go and allowing love in are at the heart of Colin’s hilarious quest to find his missing piece and avenge dumpees everywhere

My Review:

I am not a math lover – but I loved nearly everything in this book (Including the math, nerdy appendix).

Here’s what I’ve come to love about John Green. He makes nerd look AMAZINGLY COOL. And I have to give him props for that. He also makes the most amazing heroes out of kids that.. well, they aren’t exactly easy hero material.

An Abundance of Katherines is about Colin, a boy prodigy who dates only girls named Katherine, loves anagrams, and is pretty scared of not becoming a genius … kinda. Basically, he wants to make his mark in the world, something I think everyone can agree with.

So after completing high school he sets out on a journey with his Muslim friend (who, by the way.. hilarious – yet again. Love the sidekicks in Green’s books).

I cannot express how much this book tickled me, even with all of the math and the footnotes, which.. I admit, I kind of glazed over at times (with permission of the author of course!).

Highly recommended for teenagers who think that being cool means you have to conform to a certain mold, and for adults who want to read a fun, interesting novel.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Fictitious Delicious

Mostly Reading YA

11 May, 2012

Coming of Age, reviews, Young Adult

Coming of Age, Green, Math

Night Swim by Jessica Keener

Night Swim by Jessica Keener

Order from:

Reason for Reading:

There’s just something about a family that’s messed up.

I also recommend:

The Tower, the Zoo and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart

Summary from GoodReads:

Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kunitz lives in a posh, suburban world of 1970 Boston. From the outside, her parents’ lifestyle appears enviable – a world defined by cocktail parties, expensive cars, and live-in maids to care for their children – but inside their five-bedroom house, all is not well for the Kunitz family. Coming home from school, Sarah finds her well-dressed, pill-popping mother lying disheveled on their living room couch. At night, to escape their parents’ arguments, Sarah and her oldest brother, Peter, find solace in music, while her two younger brothers retreat to their rooms and imaginary lives. Any vestige of decorum and stability drains away when their mother dies in a car crash one terrible winter day. Soon after, their father, a self-absorbed, bombastic professor begins an affair with a younger colleague. Sarah, aggrieved, dives into two summer romances that lead to unforeseen consequences. In a story that will make you laugh and cry, Night Swim shows how a family, bound by heartache, learns to love again.

My Review:

This book surprised the heck out of me. I don’t know what I loved more – Jessica Keener’s descriptions of the world contained within the book, or her ability to really capture the voice of each and every individual character. When I picked up Night Swim and started to read, I struggled a little bit to find a groove, figure out what Keener was doing, but man – once I got into a groove I couldn’t put this book down, to the detriment of the stacks upon stacks of homework I had to do.

A sort of coming-of-age story, but also a story about relationships between parents and children, different races and classes, religions, and more. This was a hodge-podge of everything that is dynamite in a story, and instead of overwhelming that story with too much, it worked very, very well, creating a compelling story that’s been stuck in my mind since I put the book down.

Every once in a while I pick up a book that I wouldn’t normally pick up in a book store. The biggest complaint about this book is the cover, I find it way too boring and bland considering the content it’s hiding. If I had seen it in a bookstore, I just wouldn’t have been interested – but I didn’t. Instead I was hooked by a description and that hook was enough to get me to look past the cover and find the story.

Y’all, this one was very much worth the read.

About the Author

Information regarding Jessica Keener:

For more reviews on Night Swim by Jessica Keener, please follow the book tour.

Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers

1 February, 2012

Coming of Age, Contemporary, reviews, Social Issues

4 comments

class, Coming of Age, Keener, race, Religion

Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers

Order from:

Crown Duel & Court Duel by Sherwood Smith

Reason for Reading:

The title – such an interesting one!

I recommend:

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Summary from GoodReads:

A captivating debut, introducing a spirited young heroine coming of age in coastal Maine during the early 1960s.

When her mother disappears during a weekend trip, Florine Gilham’s idyllic childhood is turned upside down. Until then she’d been blissfully insulated by the rhythms of family life in small town Maine; watching from the granite cliffs above the sea for her father’s lobster boat to come into port, making bread with her grandmother, and infiltrating the summer tourist camps with her friends. But with her mother gone, the heart falls out of Florine’s life and she and her father are isolated as they struggle to manage their loss. Both sustained and challenged by the advice and expectations of her family and neighbors, Florine grows up with her spirit intact. And when her father’s past comes to call, she must accept that life won’t ever be the same while keeping her mother vivid in her memories. With Fannie Flagg’s humor and Elizabeth Stroud’s sense of place, this debut is an extraordinary snapshot of a bygone America through the eyes of an inspiring girl blazing her own path to womanhood.

My Review:

This book charmed the heck outta me. Right away, while reading a description of a time long past, a coast I’d never seen, and a girl and her mother making a spontaneous trip, I fell in love. Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea is the perfect coming-of-age story for an older generation of women, and for the younger generation as well so they can get a glimpse of what life was like.

Here’s what I love the most about this captivating little story. There are no neat endings, no tidy wrap-ups, and no cliches. Instead there is heartfelt emotion, and it’s raw.. and it hurts, and I wanted to rage right along with Florine at the unfairness of life – but bravo to Rogers for making life unfair, because that’s what made this book real. It was so real I could smell the salty air, and I could see the hot tears on Florine’s face, and feel her rage as she acts out against the adults in her life, you know – the adults who actually stuck around for her.

When I first finished this book, I sat it down and I looked at it and I thought.. that was okay, but .. do I want more? And now that I’ve had time to sit back and think, to let the story settle, I am really, really appreciating this story for being the gem it is.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Coming of Age, Contemporary, reviews

1 comment

Abandonment, Beach, Coming of Age, Grief, Maine, Rogers

Double Feature – Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith

Order from: