Looking for Coming of Age Books/Movies for a Gift

[Princeton]

My cousin (who I'm very close to) turns 18 in January and I'd really like to get him something special, like maybe a book or movie that tells a coming of age story. However, I don't want to pick something really obvious like "Catcher in the Rye", so I thought I'd start this thread to come up with some other suggestions. Can't wait to hear what you come up with!

 

[Vincent L]

I find the books by John Green to be good candidates, especially The Fault in Our Stars (I think that counts). Boy, you do have a lot of time to think about it.

 

[fuzzygobo]

"The Breakfast Club". Anthony Michael Hall is just one week older than me. This movie pretty much defined my generation- I was the exact same age as several of the cast when it came out in 1985- but the themes are timeless.

 

[Drtooth]

You know... I managed to catch most of "The Way Way Back" last month and found it to be amazing. Almost makes me wish I saw it in theaters... if it wasn't for another Steve Carrel movie that came out on the same day. One with a lot more bananas.

 

[mr3urious]

"The Breakfast Club". Anthony Michael Hall is just one week older than me. This movie pretty much defined my generation- I was the exact same age as several of the cast when it came out in 1985- but the themes are timeless.

Any other of John Hughes' coming of age movies are a valuable read. Despite filled with '80s cheese, their messages stay relevant to any time period.

 

[dwayne1115]

the TV show Boy Meets World is a great coming of age show.

 

[mr3urious]

I also forgot about A Goofy Movie. Definitely different from a lot of other Disney animated movies at the time.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The Outsiders is a good coming of age book. There's a movie as well but I haven't seen it yet.

American Graffiti's a classic coming of age movie I'd highly recommend as well.

 

[Dominicboo1]

I find the books by John Green to be good candidates, especially The Fault in Our Stars (I think that counts). Boy, you do have a lot of time to think about it.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS IS AMAZING! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER!

 

[Drtooth]

I also forgot about A Goofy Movie. Definitely different from a lot of other Disney animated movies at the time.

The sequel has some surprisingly good moments too. Too bad that they made the film to promote the X-games, or we'd have some better moments between Goofy and Max.