Why Do Readers Relate to Coming of Age Stories

COMING OF AGE

To discover some of the best coming of age fiction books in the Amazon Kindle Store, you can start with a look at their top 100 best sellers.  When you browse through this list, you may find yourself wondering why readers seem to somehow connect with coming of age stories.  This is a fitting question when you consider how diverse the various titles in this book category really are.  For instance, notice these top three titles in Amazon’s 100 best coming of age books in the Kindle Store.

   

The Queen's Poisoner (The Kingfountain Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jeff Wheeler

Commonwealth

by Ann Patchett

Billionaire…

by Claire Adams

The first book is a period book, set in “the court of Kingfountain”, the second book is a modern day book set in “southern California”, while the third book is set in Manhattan.  While all three of these books are categorized as coming of age fiction, they couldn’t be more different from one another.  So what is it that makes a reader of this type of fiction be content to enjoy one or all three books and manage to find some connection?

I believe that the thoughts and perceptions that we all experience as children growing up are both unique and yet the same to all of us.  The relationships we form and how we form them at different ages and stages actually demonstrates just how much alike we humans really are.  That is why you can read a coming of age story about a prince or princess from another time and era and still find some point that is relative to your own upbringing.  But the beauty of it all is the fact that when we’re not busy enjoying what is familiar to us, we like to get a peek at things that are new and foreign.  So either way, when we pick up a good coming of age book and dive into the pages, we expect to be delighted in two different ways.

My new novel: Skipping Childhood:  A Novel (From Abused Foster Child to Adolescent Serial Killer) is a different sort of coming of age book.  It contains some memorable references and episodes about growing up in the late 60’s and 70’s but the book also deals with more than just a casual walk down memory lane.  You can find Skipping Childhood in Amazon’s Mystery, Thriller & Suspense category, in addition to the coming of age section.  That gives you a hint that this novel is a whole lot more than your average story in this genre.  Why not pick up a copy of Skipping Childhood:  A Novel the next time you’re looking for a good coming of age story.

Mixing Urban Drama with Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

URBAN DRAMA

Amazon best-selling authors can typically be found in the Mystery, Thriller & Suspense category.  This is a popular category because many readers love to devour this type of fiction.  It doesn’t matter whether they buy it from the Kindle Store or some other type of digital download, or if they purchase a traditional print publication.  When it comes to curling up with a good book, there’s nothing better than enjoying Mystery, Thriller & Suspense.   

But what happens when you throw a lot of urban drama into the mix?  You end up with a dark coming of age story like:  Skipping Childhood:  A Novel (From Abused Foster Child to Adolescent Serial Killer).

When you think of an urban setting, you couldn’t ask for a better one than a rundown apartment on the south side of Chicago.  As for drama; is a twelve-year-old serial killer enough drama for you?  Needless to say, this story contains some other weighty content so you can expect profanity and violence.  With heavy subject material like physical and sexual child abuse, not to mention murder, why bother trying not to curse?  In fact, the entire raw and gritty tone of this African American novel is what makes this fictional piece of urban drama an interesting read. 

If you typically enjoy browsing through Amazon’s Mystery, Thriller & Suspense category for a good read, why not try a little urban flavor in the mix and check out my new novel: Skipping Childhood:  A Novel (From Abused Foster Child to Adolescent Serial Killer).

Coming of Age Novel with a Dark Side

COMING OF AGE

A popular form of fiction are coming of age stories; oftentimes due to the similarities we all seem to share when growing up.  Some readers look for things they can relate to when reading about someone else’s upbringing.  But there are also readers who like getting a glimpse into someone’s life that was completely different from their own.  Typically, coming of age books focus more on the journey and the path of the main character as well as their successes and failures along the way.  But sometimes certain events in a character’s life will manage to overshadow their overall journey.  When this happens, you end up with a novel like Skipping Childhood:  A Novel (From Abused Foster Child to Adolescent Serial Killer).

A Dark Side

Skipping Childhood is an urban novel that can be classified into a number of different genres.  The book definitely qualifies as a coming of age story because it spans from the main character’s birth (Deandra Baxter), up until she becomes an adult.  But this particular coming of age story has a serious dark side.  Events begin to unfold with more and more momentum.  Once Deandra resorts to murder as a solution to handling her problems, the suspense starts to mount.  This element to the book makes the title worthy of qualifying in Amazon’s Kindle Store:  Mystery, Thriller & Suspense category.

Hopefully, these two categories won’t somehow end up canceling each other out.  The two categories may seem like an odd partnership, depending on what a person wants to read.  The same can be said about the topic of sexual and physical child abuse.  Such subject matter might be more expected in a coming of age story, but perhaps not so much with a thrilling suspense story.  Yet, despite not necessarily being what readers might typically expect, Skipping Childhood:  A Novel has:

• All the ups and downs of a coming of age story
• All the tears and pain of an abuse story
• And all the excitement and anxiety of a suspense story

Pick up a copy today, and see for yourself what a surprisingly enjoyable blend this book is.