Why We Read “Coming of Age” Stories
A couple of weeks ago I finished my reread of all the Harry Potter books. To say I'm deep in the feels is putting it mildly.
"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children isn't a good children's story in the slightest."
This C.S. Lewis quote has been close to my heart for a long time. I thought about it often as I re-read Harry Potter this year.
The books we read can shape our lives. The ones we return to can reflect the subtle (and momentous) changes that we go through as we grow up, and grow older.
I was in middle school when I first read Harry Potter. The themes of friendship, bravery, and discovery were what stuck with me. I think a lot of us love the series so much because we got to grow with Harry.
It's not limited to this series. I love returning to The Chronicles of Narnia, Percy Jackson, Ella Enchanted, and more. YA is one of my favorite genres. Coming of age stories are ever-engaging.
I think there's more to it than the simple fact that we've all been kids before, and we all grow up. I think that throughout our lives we are constantly coming of age in different ways:
encountering new situations
developing new emotions
meeting new people
working through new challenges
Our personal story arcs may be less defined than the ones we read as kids, but the story beats still hit similarly.
Discovery.
Difficulty.
Growth.
Coming of age stories are focused on kids so often because it makes the growth tangible. The coming of age shows a coming into understanding.
It's human nature to make sense of what we can't understand. That's why we share knowledge, why we learn, why we explore, why we read.
All the books I've read this year have made me so grateful for authors sharing their stories, for fellow readers sharing their thoughts, and for the very ability to live in this world with an abundance of books.
If you've made it this far, thanks for listening to my rambling!
And if you reread a children's book or coming of age story recently, I want you to remember the sense of pride that you felt for the characters when they bested an obstacle — and I challenge you to feel that for yourself when you experience something new. 💛