6 Coming-of-Age Novels for Grownups

Wonder Boys, by Michael Chabon
Grady Tripp, once an amazing young novelist and now a has-been stuck in the middle of a 2,000-page book, is essentially living like a college student, even though he’s technically supposed to be teaching them. He’s been avoiding making life’s difficult choices for years, but just when he takes a promising student under his wing, it seems Grady can’t avoid disaster for too much longer. Is middle age too late to make a new start? For Grady’s sake, we sure hope not.

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
Meet Gary, Denise, and Chip, the three adult children of Alfred and Enid Lambert. They’re all dealing with their own problems—Gary feels like his family is turning against him, Denise is stuck in the middle of a complicated affair, and Chip is having a bit of a career crisis—but mostly, they’re all trying to avoid spending the holidays with their parents. Which, of course, is the only thing their mother really wants. But Enid Lambert is determined to get what she wants just this once, and if all the kids can make it, they might figure out how to a be a family of actual grownups.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
June has only ever really felt understood by her uncle Finn, a portrait artist. When Finn dies, June begins to befriend a man named Toby, with a link to Finn she doesn’t fully understand, despite the fact that her mother warned her not to have anything to do with him. But Toby is the only person who misses Finn as much as June does, and she’s determined to take care of him. As their friendship grows, June starts to learn why her mother resented Finn so much and why, in turn, her own sister Greta seems to resent June. And, of course, there’s the small matter of her uncle’s valuable final portrait, which seems to be gaining a few posthumous additions.

On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
Howard and Kiki Belsey are an interracial couple living in a college town in New England, where Howard is a middling faculty member having an affair with one of his colleagues. As Kiki tries to decide how she is going to deal with Howard’s unfaithfulness, their three children are growing up—and, unfortunately, not feeling like they belong in either of their parents’ worlds. Enter the Kipps. Monty Kipp is Howard’s academic rival, but it’s the rest of the family that really turns Howard and Kiki’s world upside-down. In between all that hatred and friendship, the Belseys just might realize where they truly want to be.

The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Madeleine Hanna is an English major, writing her thesis on Jane Austen, George Elliot, and the other great marriage novels of British literature. But life mirrors art, so Madeleine finds herself caught up in the familiar triangle present in all good marriage plots: should she choose the charming, charismatic loner, or the steady, respectable guy? There’s one thing they don’t tell you in those novels, though, which is what happens after the heroine makes her choice. And do you really want to live your whole life with one decision made while you’re young?

Maybe in Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Hannah Martin is, theoretically, too old to not know what she wants to do with her life. Except, do you really ever know? At 29, she’s living in her best friend’s guest room, trying to decide what she wants to do next. But when Hannah reconnects with high school boyfriend Ethan at a party, she faced with two alternate realities: one where she leaves the party with Ethan and one where she doesn’t. As she lives out these choices, you can’t help but wonder: is there a path your life is supposed to take? Or is it all just chance?
What’s your favorite coming-of-age story?