Lexy's Coming of Age blog

When I first read the ending, I was honestly kind of disappointed. It felt like a failed coming-of-age story in some ways. There was no typical “happy ending” that we usually expect from a coming-of-age novel, but this made it feel more realistic and authentic to me. However, Holden still changes at the end because of Phoebe. Watching Phoebe on the carousel, causing an emotional breakdown eventually leads to a sense of hopefulness . He realizes that Phoebe is her own person and is growing up. She has to live her life and take chances despite the possibility of failure. This realization is a lot more optimistic than what we would expect from Holden. Despite the ending not being very typically climactic, I felt like it was very true to his character. He says, “That’s all I’m going to tell you about. I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all, and what school I’m supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I don’t feel like it.” In hi...

TW// mention of sexual assault When I think of a coming-of-age novel, "The Perks of being a wallflower" immediately comes to mind. Similar to other coming-of-age narratives, Charlie struggles immensely with fitting in, along with his mental health and social life. He is a "wallflower", and stays on the sidelines in life, rather than participating. Charlie is also struggling with beginning high school, while coping with past traumatic events such as the suicide of his best friend, Michael, along with the death of his aunt who was killed in a car crash when he was seven. He discusses his feelings and experiences throughout his Freshman year of high school with his friends, along with parties, drugs, alcohol, sex, and many other experiences that a teenager would have, specifically in a coming of age novel. During the climax of the book, Charlie has a disturbing realization that his aunt molested him as a child, which sends him into a dark depression. He says, “I don’t...