Announcing the Tag for March

[Anita]

While all three tags garnered votes this go around, there was a definitive winner.

The tag for next month is:

coming of age

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below.

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as "coming of age" on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

One way to find books to read for this tag is to please visit:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

We encourage people to link to additional lists below if they find them.

Happy Reading!!!

[Theresa]

Thanks, Anita!

I was surprised to see just how many books in my TBR Towers I have that fit this tag. And how very diverse they are!

[NancyJ]

I can start a listopia for our exact requirements by tomorrow. I’ll post the link when it’s ready. I find these very useful, and I hope you will too.

The coming of age tag list cuts off at 32 tags, so if anyone has favorites with 5 to 32 tags, those would be extremely helpful to the rest of us.

[Nicole R]

Well, I still haven't finished my January or February books, but I am slowly making progress. I think my goal is to read books that fit the tags just any time this year. lol

I have a couple on my shelves that will fit "coming of age":

Hell Is a World Without You -- this is my #1 choice for this tag. A friend just read it and could not rave about it enough.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow -- I know less about this book but am intrigued.

Greta & Valdin -- I am getting ready to start this book soon, but while it is tagged by 3 people as coming of age it seems more new adult.

Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea -- has anyone read this? It is not tagged coming of age, but the description sounds like it would fit. Let me know your thoughts if you have read it!

[NancyJ]

Here is the link to the listopia for The Coming of Age spelling challenge. Please add books that fit the requirements for the spelling task. 5+ coming of age tags. and title or author last name begins with a letter on COMING.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

If you notice any errors, please post them in the comments below the listopia.

Questions?

[Jason]

I am going to start with Demon Copperhead. I do t have many on my to read shelf but I have read many tagged as coming of age

[Theresa]

I should warn BWF participants that I actually have a Coming of Age shelf - I rarely have shelves that match tags because I'm a bit idiosyncratic in my shelf naming and tagging. If a book only has 5 tags and I'm one of them, it doesn't qualify for BWF according to game rules. Gingerbread by author:Helen Oyeyemi|80808] is one of those.

I've just changed my shelf name slightly so that it won't compromise anyone playing BWF.

[Karin]

I'm pleased because this is less broad than Adult and we just had historical mystery so would like a bit more of a break before we do another tag like that :)

Plus there are coming of age books in many genres and not all are y/a books.

[NancyJ]

Thanks JenK for adding to the listopia!

[Robin P]

I was also surprised how many books have Coming of Age tags. I think it will be a good tag, and allows for both fiction and nonfiction books.

[LibraryCin]

Karin wrote: "I'm pleased because this is less broad than Adult and we just had historical mystery so would like a bit more of a break before we do another tag like that :)..."

Ditto! This is why I was hoping for this one so, YAY!

[Theresa]

It's such a wonderfully diverse tag!

[KateNZ]

So happy for this tag because it’s so varied, but it still makes sense!

Some great books that I’ve read recently which would fit:
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - especially if you’re into gaming, but it’s much more about character than IT
• The Clockmaker's Daughter - a real chunkster of a historical mystery with multiple timelines
• Fledgling - the start of a story arc in one of my favourite space opera series
• Fourth Wing - dragons!
• City of Thieves - I read this for the Birthday challenge last year as it’s in PBT’s ‘best of’ lists, and I loved it.

Demon Copperhead is a great idea, Jason. That one is sitting begging to be read on my shelf. And I love your suggestions, Nicole.

[Amy]

I too wanted to say that I was really pleased with Jason’s pick. And I have quite a few of my own.

[Booknblues]

Coming of Age is a tag, I am always drawn to, so I am quite pleased with it.

I plan to read My Side of the River which just came out this month, so it does not have enough tags yet for BWF.

Will be back with more ideas.

[Amy]

I have a bunch of choices for this month. The last Carolina girl, lovely war, extremely loud and incredibly close accompany of swans, Anna and the French kiss, and the river we remember. All of those had a ton of tags. Sam by Allegra Goodman.

[Cora]

Some coming of age books that I read and can recommend are:

Never Let Me Go
King and the Dragonflies
The Outsiders
The Saturday Night Ghost Club
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
American Born Chinese
Looking for Alaska
Jacob Have I Loved
All Boys Aren't Blue
The Book of Lost Things
Untamed Shore
Labyrinth Lost
The Poet X
Let the Right One In
Assassin's Quest

[Joanne]

Some I have liked, that are on the list

City of Thieves
Every Heart a Doorway
Fruit of the Drunken Tree
The Red Tent
Daughter of the Forest
When Women Were Dragons

[Nicole R]

Booknblues wrote: "Coming of Age is a tag, I am always drawn to, so I am quite pleased with it.

I plan to read My Side of the River which just came out this month, so it does not have enough tags ye..."

I am reading My Side of the River for February! I am not too far into it yet, but I am really looking forward to it. I look forward to your review so we can discuss!

[Robin P]

Good idea, books we actually liked!

The Cape Ann
Cat's Eye
The Center of Everything
Cold Sassy Tree
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (probably also works for Feb tag)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

On the Come Up
Ordinary Grace
Our Missing Hearts
Out Stealing Horses

The Marriage Portrait
Maurice
The Member of the Wedding
The Mountains Sing
My Family and Other Animals

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
I Capture the Castle
In the Distance
The Island of Sea Women

The Namesake
Normal People
Norwegian Wood

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Giovanni's Room
The Girl with the Louding Voice
The Greengage Summer

[Karin]

There are so many great books, where to begin?

Five star ones for me from the shelf include
To Kill a Mockingbird
Little Women
Ordinary Grace
All the Light We Cannot See (listened on audio)
Beartown
audiobook only of The Dutch House--the print book would probably have been 4 stars.
Pride and Prejudice
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

[NancyJ]

I really enjoyed:
A Complicated Kindness, and others by Miriam Toews
Remote Control and others by Nnedi Okorofor
If I Stay
I Know This Much Is True
Now Is Not the Time to Panic
Nothing to See Here
Everything Sad Is Untrue:
True Biz
All the Bright Places
Lives of Girls and Women (short stories)
The Language of Flowers
Silver Sparrow
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
On Such a Full Sea- it’s weird but I loved it
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Jane Eyre
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

Some of the books above don’t match the letters for BWF. I put only letter+ tag match books on the listopia.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[NancyJ]

I want to read
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Chemistry
The Unseen World
The Outsiders
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Betty
The Red Tent
Books by Nnedi Okorofo, and maybe John Green

I’m sure I must have more in my tbr that just aren’t tagged.

[Theresa]

Some I've read and enjoyed that I think those on PBT will also enjoy that fit Coming of Age. If you are reading them for a year long challenge, check tags and page length. I have not.

When Dimple Met Rishi
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories by Truman Capote
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - also a retelling of the Odyssey

3 Dickens Classics:
Oliver Twist
David Copperfield
Great Expectations

The Julie & Wolves trilogy - Jean Craighead George - the first and third especially are wonderful

A Proper Introduction to Dragons - a prequel that can be read before reading rest of Jane Austen Dragon series. I love this series and this features an 11 yo Elizabeth.

[Anita]

NancyJ wrote: "I want to read
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Chemistry
The Unseen World
The Outsiders
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Betty
[b..."

Maybe I will read Cloud Cuckoo Land with you. That's been on my TBR for awhile. I didn't realize it fit!

I LOVED I'm Glad My Mom Died. Highly recommend.

[NancyJ]

Anita wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I want to read
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Chemistry
The Unseen World
The Outsiders
I'm Glad My Mom Died
[book:Bet..."

Perfect! was going to read it if adult fiction won. Ive had it on my tbr for a long time too. I had no idea that it fit coming of age until Linda C put it on the coming of age listopia. So thank you Linda!

Is anyone else interested in a Cloud Cuckoo Land buddy read? I put a hold on it and I expect it in less than 2 weeks.

[Jenni Elyse]

I totally forgot to vote, lol. Oh well. I would've been happy with any of the picks. Coming of age will be fun.

[Anita]

NancyJ wrote: "Anita wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I want to read
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Chemistry
The Unseen World
The Outsiders
[book:I'm Glad My Mom Died|59364..."

Okay I will put a hold on it at my library and hope for the best!!

Update: Wait time is 20 weeks. UGH. I may just buy it if I have to.

[Meli]

I have quite a few Coming Of Age on my tbr.
If I can fit it in, I would love to read Monstrillo.

[Booknblues]

In February one of my goals was to read a variety of different types of books for Authors of Color and while I didn't read as many as I wanted, I did achieve that goal. I plan to do the same for Coming of age, I have lined up a nonfiction My Side of the River, a classic which I may have read before A Room with a View and two by William Kent Krueger who I have never read to compare and contrast, Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land.

I read a good share of coming of age books and sifted through what I could recommend, trying to present a variety and ones which might not have been listed yet:

Recommendations
Crow Lake
Pearl
Swimming Back to Trout River
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World
Make Your Home Among Strangers
Indian Horse
Washington Black
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Wintering
Let Us Descend
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North
We Need New Names
Hild
Greyhound
The Good Lord Bird

[KateNZ]

I did the same this month, BnB - I tried to read around the world. It was largely successful. And I knocked off several things that have been on my TBR for ages.

For coming of age, like you I’m going to try to keep up the wide variety of genres. There’s such a huge choice! I’m really enjoying exploring the options on my shelves.

[Jen K]

Meli wrote: "I have quite a few Coming Of Age on my tbr.
If I can fit it in, I would love to read Monstrillo."

I'm hoping to read this one too!

[Book Concierge]

Of course I have to recommend To Kill a Mockingbird

Others I'd recommend from my C-O-A shelf:
The Kite Runner
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The House on Mango Street
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
The Secret Life of Bees
Little Women
Peace Like a River
The Reader
The Joy Luck Club
The Turtle Warrior
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Jim the Boy
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The Boston Girl
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

[NancyJ]

Booknblues wrote: "In February one of my goals was to read a variety of different types of books for Authors of Color and while I didn't read as many as I wanted, I did achieve that goal. I plan to do the same for Co..."

I had the same goal this month and I loved it. One of my favorite ways to learn about different cultures is through the eyes of young protagonists. It’s a way for authors to describe their observations of their world (and the enacted values of the culture) without being limited by the distorted language of espoused values. The walk versus the talk. My inner teenager is always amused by hypocrisy.

So now, to that goal, I’m spotting some coming of age books on these lists that fit the letters in AUTHORS but not COMING. And vice versa. I’m doing the month end shuffle - what books didn’t I get to this month, that I can push to next month? And what should I read now that won’t work as well next month? I still have Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on hand, and I’m very tempted to reread Sing, Unburied, Sing this weekend.

[Joy D]

Some of my favorite coming of age books are:

The Goldfinch
The Nix
The Immortalists
Montana 1948
My Real Name Is Hanna
In the Distance
World's Fair
The Go-Between
Norwegian Wood
The Eternal Audience of One
Vintage Contemporaries

[Holly R W]

This is such a great tag. I love reading everyone's recommendations and recognize several books that I've thought were wonderful. Rather than make a list myself, please feel free to peruse my Coming of Age shelf. Here is the link. All are books that I have read and reviewed.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[Amy]

Thats a great shelf, Holly. I have read quite a lot of it. It was really fun to revisit so many loved books. And of course, there are three on my TBR I have not read, actually four, and I am hoping to get to one of those this month!

[Holly R W]

Thanks, Amy. I have loved a lot of these books.

[Theresa]

Holly R W wrote: "This is such a great tag. I love reading everyone's recommendations and recognize several books that I've thought were wonderful. Rather than make a list myself, please feel free to peruse my Comin..."

You have a great shelf! I have read some and have other's gently maturing on my TBR.

[Holly R W]

Thanks, Theresa. I'm excited for the tag this month, since it will lead to so many great reads for people here.

[Karin]

NancyJ wrote: "I really enjoyed:
A Complicated Kindness, and others by Miriam Toews
Remote Control and others by Nnedi Okorofor
If I Stay
[book:I Know This Much Is Tru..."

I gave 4 stars to The Silver Sparrow because it is good, but if I added 4 star books my list would have been too long :)

[KateNZ]

Fabulous shelf, Holly! You always have such wonderful recommendations

[Holly R W]

Aww, thank you Kate! That makes me happy.

[NancyJ]

Holly R W wrote: "This is such a great tag. I love reading everyone's recommendations and recognize several books that I've thought were wonderful. Rather than make a list myself, please feel free to peruse my Comin..."

Thanks for sharing !! I added a few to the listopia and my own plan. So good.

[Holly R W]

You're welcome, Nancy!

[Lyn]

I am excited for this tag! My next F2F book group read is Clark and Division, tagged 9x coming of age!
I found The German Girl on my bookshelf. And I will be reading either Tunnel in the Sky or Red Planet for my steeplechase book, which will get me my first bonus in the race! Yippee! I am looking forward to a fun month of reading.

[Jen]

Joy D wrote: "Some of my favorite coming of age books are:

The Goldfinch
The Nix
The Immortalists
Montana 1948
My Real Name Is Hanna..."


Montana needs a trigger warning......It is an important story but please read the blurb before you pick it up so you don't end up triggered like a bunch of our girls at school were when the English department decided to use it as a set text without offering an alternative. (We are a rough underprivileged school and new teachers sometimes forget that our kids have far too much life-experience for what is normal at any age.)

[Jen]

Holly R W wrote: "This is such a great tag. I love reading everyone's recommendations and recognize several books that I've thought were wonderful. Rather than make a list myself, please feel free to peruse my Comin..."

Interesting....I read a lot of coming of age and yet only overlap with your list by 1 book (THUG, which we gave the same rating) and 1 on my TBR (Klara and the Sun, which I am about to start for Jan). You have caused so much trouble if I end up rating that the same too as I will have to go and get a bunch more off your list.

[Holly R W]

Jen, you made me laugh! (I'm not used to causing trouble!) ;0)

I hope you like "Klara and the Sun."

[Jgrace]

So many good books! There's not much that I can add to the previous recommendations but there are a few very good titles that I think haven't been mentioned:

Black Swan Green - David Mitchell
Medicine Walk - Wagamese
Joyland - Steven King

and just for fun
Nation - Pratchett