What Makes Coming-of-Age Appeal To Teens (and Previous Teens)
Forged Series: Exploring Themes & Tropes
To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.
What Makes Coming-of-Age Appeal To Teens (and Previous Teens)
Remember your teen years when you were a walking contradiction of being a know-it-all and a ball of frayed wires without a clue? Jump into any young adult fiction novel, and you could find your awkward teen self on the pages. If not the main character, then hidden in one of the quirky side characters. This is why I love to read YA books.
Sure, coming-of-age stories are meant to be a safe space for the 12- to 18-year-old audience to explore and compare their own journeys.
For adults, these novels can evoke a nostalgic appeal to your younger self. Or help you re-frame the drama faced before you possessed a fully developed frontal cortex.
Some of my favorite stories I’ve read as an adult have been from the YA genre that focus on self-identity, personal growth, and finding one’s way in life. Take The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The novel has both the literal and figurative search for one’s way. The characters all enter the Glade with no memories of their past, so they each must piece together their identity and purpose while searching for a way to escape the ever-changing maze.
Do you have a favorite YA story? One you read as a teen or later in life? Tell me in the comments!
Perhaps you can relate to the Gladers’ sense of confusion with your own experiences of having to navigate social expectations at school (and work) or shifting dynamics of friendships and family issues.
Coming of age describes the process of reaching emotional maturity or attaining legal adulthood in society. For fiction, a primary component within the trope involves a journey of self-discovery. The protagonist must navigate social expectations and find their place in the world. Shattered focuses on this development of identity to craft the coming-of-age story.
Shattered
For fourteen-year-old Tessa Wright, she finds herself ripped from her life in the Wilds and forced to attend public school for the first time. High school can be intimidating for even the most confident teen. For Tessa, she has the added stress of processing the death of her family and the loss of her way of life. In the early pages, her grief is close to the surface, easily triggered by a word, a smell, or a well-meaning gesture.
Out of her comfort zone, she suddenly has to figure out how to fit into high school's complex and ever-shifting social structures. Her rural accent, her clothes, and even her test scores set her apart, causing friction with other students on her first day.
Students continued to surge around me like a flock of starlings darting among the derelict skyscrappers of old Portland. Hundreds of individuals undulated in graceful waves as if a single entity.
Excerpt from Shattered, book one of the FORGED Series, published by Provender Press, 2025.
As Tessa settles into her schedule and explores new friendships, her days are not without challenges. First, a panic attack during lunch sends her racing out of the crowded cafeteria. Then she finds herself in the middle of two estranged friends vying for her attention. Even the tech-forward lifestyle causes her anxiety.
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Her Path
As the story progresses, Tessa faces her new reality with both resistance and resilience. She is forced to take the first steps toward emotional maturity, but not without a support system.
Her Aunt Clari and Uncle Finn welcome Tessa into their home and give her a safe space.
They take her to Dr. Weaver, a therapist whose role is to guide her on her journey of grief and aid her adjustment to living in the urban center.
She leans on the few friends she makes—Isaiah and Jenna are the first to accept her, despite being from the Wild, and offer their friendship, something she never had in her sheltered youth, thanks to being homeschooled and immunocompromised.
Her new life in the urban center proves to be more complex than it first seems. As she accepts her path and embraces the beliefs that matter most to her, Tessa develops a growing self-awareness, which gives her the strength to face the uncertainty of her situation. And the courage to uncover the truth about her strange memories.
But you’ll have to read the book to find out more about that aspect of the story!
Inspiration
I’ve experienced major first-day-in-a-new-place jitters six times. When I was four, my family moved to a new town. After this first big move, I embodied the Jenna-like qualities of an extroverted social butterfly. I went door-to-door, knocking and asking at each house on my block if they had any little kids to play with.
The next move, I was entering third grade. Though I don’t remember repeating my canvassing of the neighborhood, I do remember sitting in class that first day of school, silently watching the kids swarm around me. They buzzed with excitement at seeing each other after the summer. I didn’t experience anxiety about not knowing anyone. It was more a feeling of being left out—a sensation of sadness for not being able to participate, like watching a movie unfold around me but having no role to play.
By the time we moved to Boise, I was old enough to be self-conscious. Though I have successfully repressed the specifics of the early days of fifth grade, the internal dread and panic are etched in my mind. The impressions imprinted from this experience became the framework for Tessa’s first days of high school.
Experiences four, five, and six were my first day of college (I was the only kid wearing hiking boots on the campus of the East Coast private women’s college), transferring to a small Pacific Northwest liberal arts co-ed college (why did none of the girls participate in class discussions?!?), and starting my first job a week after college graduation (the corporate lawyer sitting next to me brought in a case of beer on my first Friday and pretty much blew up all my pre-conceived perceptions about corporate America). From these experiences, I drew upon the feeling of standing out in a crowd, not understanding the unspoken power dynamics, and confusion about unknown social expectations to base Tessa’s reactions to her new life.
Why are coming-of-age stories important?
For the traditional target audience of YA fiction, reading stories that model a path of self-discovery provides someone in the midst of their journey with a map to follow. Coming-of-age stories supply examples of how others navigate the challenges. Prove that they are not alone in the struggle. Empower teens by presenting options, techniques, and strategies they can apply to their own situations.
But coming-of-age stories are not only for the 12- to 18-year-olds. Readers with more life experience can still find enjoyment and lessons to be learned within the pages of a YA book. Consider any animated movie targeted to a younger audience. Movie makers know that the films must also appeal to the adults who will buy the tickets and take their young charges to the theater.
On the Top Kids/Family movies of all Time, as ranked by IMDb, you will find the Toy Story franchise. Although decidedly targeted at kids, the films also appeal to adults. A major theme is the fleeting nature of childhood and the need to “let go” and “grow up.”
Similar to the coming-of-age trope in books like Shattered, young movie watchers can apply the lessons they learn through the antics of Woody and Buzz Lightyear to their own trials and tribulations of getting older. Adults who watch the Toy Story movies may reflect on their own past and the difficulties they face in letting go of treasured possessions or even loved ones.
Another one of my favorite “kid” movies is The Incredibles, which is really about Mr. Incredible’s mid-life crisis (his unfulfilled potential as a retired-superhero-turned suburban-dad), the burden of responsibility (juggling work, family, and personal desires), and societal constraints that suppress individuality (not only does the ban on supers affects the development of self-identity for Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. but it causes insecurities for all the adult supers trying to “fit into” society).
What’s your favorite movie made for kids? What’s your favorite line? Tell me in the comments!
Likewise, YA novels may target a younger audience, but they also contain deeper meanings and offer adults opportunities to connect their life experiences with those of the fictional characters.
So, I invite you to share Shattered with the teens in your life. I also hope you will consider immersing yourself in Tessa’s coming-of-age journey to find a deeper connection within yourself.
Upcoming Events & Happenings
Saturday, July 19, Bierly Brewing, McMinnville, Oregon - The first annual Mac Minicon. Kevin Carver and I will be panelists on building rich worlds and characters. More info to come.
Saturday, August 9th, Third Street Books, McMinnville, Oregon - I’ll be the featured author at the indie bookstore, Third Street Books, in the historic downtown McMinnville during MacFresco. More info to come.
Boise Peeps! My publisher is working on booking an event sometime between July 11-14, 2025. Watch for more details!
Bonus Materials! Sign up to receive companion novellas as soon as they become available. Jump inside the head of Isaiah Iverson. Find out what really happens during the Remote Thought Intervention sessions at Dr. Weaver’s office. And learn more about Julia Ryker’s rise to power and the foundations that created the Underground. Sign up HERE.
What I’m reading
Here are some other dystopian and SciFi fiction pieces you might also enjoy.
Aurora Cycle series - I recently checked the audiobook, Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Krisstoff, out from my library, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I received notice that Book Two, Aurora Burning, was available, I immediately accepted the loan. Multiple voice actors perform the audiobook and use voice sound effects to imitate the sound of dialogue as heard through helmet comms. I love how each character has a very distinctive “voice” and way of communicating their experiences and perceptions. I highly recommend the audiobooks!
Dear Sylvia, Love Jane - When I attended the 2025 Terroir Creative Writing Festival, I sat next to Erin Hall during one presentation. In a later presentation, she was the presenter on writing tension in any genre. I picked up a copy of her book, a historical queer noir mystery. It’s my lunchtime reading material. I foresee a book review in my future, so check back later for more about this book!
Kick Drum - Ben Wakeman is doing a weekly series of brief character sketches he is calling, Passing Strangers. This is the first one. More are available. Fast, super fun explorations of characters. Great imagery packed into the limited word count. Check them out!
There is Hope: A Dark Night - Season 5 of There is Hope is now out. Author Claudia Befu will be putting her serial behind a paywall soon as the five seasons become a published work. If you want to read them on Substack but miss the window to access them as a free subscriber, know that upgrading to a paid subscription will be well worth the subscription fee. I’m looking forward to having the complete set for my bookshelf!
Rabbit’s Foot - S.E. Reid has started a new serialized novella, Ivy On The Trail. This is the first episode. If you don’t already have her stories coming to your inbox, subscribe NOW. The tales she weaves are captivating!
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I know this is a basic answer, but I really like the Percy Jackson series as a coming of age story. It puts meaning behind growing up with heroism and the sense of figuring out life together. It also normalizes neurodivergence, especially ADHD.
My first novel is a coming of age, and despite it is targetted to adults I secretly wish it could resonate with a couple of teens...