Ten top coming of age stories

John Corey Whaley is the author of Where Things Come Back and Noggin. At the Guardian he tagged ten "absolutely genius, life-changing coming of age books for teens," including:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky

I found this book shortly after I’d read Catcher [the the Rye] for the first time and it meant just as much to me – to have a character speak my truths and emotions so well was such a turning point in my life. I guess if Catcher opened up in me that desire to figure out the world, this book encouraged me to try and figure it out through storytelling. Perks was also the first book I ever read with a homosexual character, which, for a closeted kid in a conservative Louisiana town, was pretty damn monumental. I think a piece of my heart will always belong to Patrick and I know a piece of it belongs to Mr Chbosky.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is on Ema O'Connor's top ten list "of the most rockin’ songs mentioned in the most rockin’ books" and Lauren Passell's list of the best Manic Pixie Dream Girls in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue