Coming-of-Age Journeys

Lyddie is a 1996 novel written by Katherine Paterson, winner of the National Book Award, the Newbury Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Astrid Lindgren Award, the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. Lyddie was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children’s Book, and an Honor Book of the International Board on Books for Young People. Some of her notable books include Bridge... Read Lyddie Summary

David R. Slavitt’s 2015 translation of the Mahabharata is an abridged, modern English rendition of the ancient Indian epic. Slavitt, an American poet, novelist, and translator, is experienced in translating classical texts for contemporary audiences. His translation seeks to make this foundational work of South Asian literature accessible to modern readers.The Mahabharata is traditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa and was composed between approximately 400 BCE and 400 CE. As one of the longest epic... Read Mahabharata Summary

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Manchild in the Promised Land is a 1965 novel by American author Claude Brown. The story is a fictionalized version of Brown’s childhood, depicting his experiences in the world of Harlem street crime and juvenile correctional facilities from the age of six. Upon its publication, the novel proved controversial and was banned in several school districts for obscenity, but it is now celebrated for its realistic portrayal of racism, urban poverty, and working-class struggles in... Read Manchild in the Promised Land Summary

Published in 1990, Maniac Magee is a Newbery award–winning middle grade novel by renowned children’s author Jerry Spinelli. After his parents die, 11-year-old Jeffrey Lionel Magee runs away from his guardians and a year later ends up in the racially divided Pennsylvania town of Two Mills. Jeffrey, a white boy, finds a home with a Black family, but racial tension and threats send him back on the run. By accepting a host of challenges with... Read Maniac Magee Summary

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“Master Harold”…and the boys, a one-act play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater in 1982. The play, which is set in 1950, draws on Fugard’s own experience growing up during South Africa’s apartheid era. It explores a complex relationship between 17-year-old Hally, a white boy, and Sam and Willie, two Black men who are servants in Hally’s family’s tea room. The play was initially banned in South Africa... Read Master Harold and the Boys Summary

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Men of Iron is an 1891 young adult novel written and illustrated by Howard Pyle. Pyle was born in Delaware in 1853, and after years of training—beginning with a childhood passion for art—he taught illustration at Drexel University before establishing his own institute, the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. His style of art, which he himself was instrumental in developing, was named the Brandywine School after the mid-Atlantic region from which the artists in... Read Men of Iron Summary

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Middlesex is a 2002 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides that tells a multigenerational, epic tale of a Greek family who immigrates to the US. The narrator, Calliope (or Cal) tells the story of how his grandparents, Lefty and Desdemona Stephanides, flee their homeland during a time of war and uncertainty, settling in the US. They harbor a family secret that changes the course of the narrator’s life: They’re brother and sister, and carry a genetic mutation... Read Middlesex Summary

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Miracle’s Boys (2000) is a young adult novel by Jaqueline Woodson. The novel tells the story of three brothers, ages 21, 15, and 12, coping with the sudden death of their mother a year before. The middle brother, Charlie, recently returned home from a juvenile detention facility, where he was serving a two-year sentence for attempting to rob a candy store at gun point. Set in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York City, Miracle’s... Read Miracle's Boys Summary

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