Forum: Story Recommendations

Teenage girl's coming of age stories

HjUotila 🚫
Updated:

I'm currently in the middle of reading Aroslav's "Living Next Door To Heaven" series. An excellent coming of age story, written from the point of view of a boy named Brian. I like the way Aroslav builds up the characters and the storyline, as well as the teenage boy's typical growing issues. And, for sure, the boy's sexual awaking, slowly making the story more and more erotic.

For the further reading, I'm looking for coming of age stories written from the teenage girl's point of view. I recently read again Harold Robbins's old trashy novel "79 Park Avenue", and I enjoyed especially the first part of the book where Robbins describes the character of teenage Marja, a 15 years old early bloomer girl dealing up with men sexualising her in the depression-era New York. In the book, there are scenes where she is enjoying her sensuality, teasing boys, getting some discount from old creepy candy store keeper, sleeping nude... There's also described the darker side that the girl has to deal with, men sneaking up on her while she's changing clothes or having a bath, her stepfather trying to come on to her (finally raping her).

So basically, I'm looking for coming of age stories written from teenage girl's point of view. While I'm particularly looking for erotic stories, the actual sex scenes are not so important for me, I'm looking for stories including things involved with girl's growing up, body development, first bras, men sexualising her...

Thanks in advance (hope you understand my rambling text, English is not my own language...)

EDIT: What I also have enjoyed in Aroslav's story is that it all could easily have been happened in the time when I was a teen myself, before the time of internet and mobile phones.

Replies: Quasirandom Switch Blayde samuelmichaels Michael Loucks helmut_meukel Mushroom

Quasirandom 🚫

@HjUotila

When I get a chance later, I'll dig up specific recs, but you could do worse than rifle through the stories of Janna Leonard.

Switch Blayde 🚫

@HjUotila

I'm looking for coming of age stories written from the teenage girl's point of view.

I've been writing the story for months and have many more months to go before it's complete, but I'm writing a novel narrated in 1st-person by an old woman in our present time reflecting on her life as a nymphomaniac. And the way I write, the reader is living the girl's life even though it's being narrated from the future. It begins shortly before she turns 16 in 1956. The date is important because back then she didn't have any normal way to learn about sex or her body — no Sex Ed in school, no internet, a much sexually censored time. I'm 20 chapters into it, but she's still 16.

So I have a question for you since you're interested in coming of age stories. The beginning of the novel is about her learning about her body and sex (already 20+ chapters), but it will keep going to include her adult years as well. Maybe not in as much detail as when she was 16, but it will span a lot of years. So is it a coming of age story? The beginning is for sure, but the rest isn't. So does the whole story have to be what the beginning is for it to be coming of age?

Sorry I don't have a recommendation for you, but your post triggered this question. Others can chime in.

Replies: HjUotila

HjUotila 🚫

@Switch Blayde

Seems to be a very interesting idea! I'm really looking forward to reading your story whenever it's ready. One thing that I liked in that Robbins's novel was that it put a lot of effort to describe teenage Marja in 1930's New York. She's not sexually active, however, but her sensual energy is obvious and men are over-sexualising her, and the events lead her to be a dancer, then a prostitute.

I'm not sure if I'm the right person to answer your question, but in my opinion, a story can be called a coming of age story when the beginning is it.

Replies: Switch Blayde

Switch Blayde 🚫

@HjUotila

a story can be called a coming of age story when the beginning is it.

Thanks. When the story is finished, it will be on Bookapy but also posted to SOL a chapter at a time. Coming of Age has no significance to Bookapy, but it does to SOL which is why I asked.

The 16-yo in my novel is not like that Harold Robbins character. The definition of nymphomania that I found is "uncontrollable or excessive sexual desire in a woman." Another definition is: "Nymphomania is an outdated term previously used to describe excessive sexual desire in women. Today, healthcare providers refer to hypersexual behavior as hypersexuality disorder, compulsive sexual behavior, or sex addiction."

So in 1956, my character has urges she flat out doesn't understand and doesn't know what to do about. Her total knowledge of sex is a few tidbits she and her friends get from one of the friend's older sister, but the desires are there. I try to make the reader feel my character's desires and frustrations and embarrassment and confusion and exuberance when she learns and experiences something. My character happens to know a married woman not much older than her who teaches her a little at a time.

I haven't written her adult life yet, but it's not about learning about sex, it's about dealing with her desires in society so no more Coming of Age. It's about her different experiences and problems her proclivity for sex causes.

Thanks again.

samuelmichaels 🚫

@HjUotila

A few recommendations:
Bec and sequels by BarBar;
Once More, With Feeling by The Night Hawk (although it's a do-over);
several by Gina Marie Wylie, including Kate and Lyn, Tree Symphony and sequel, Kennedy.

Michael Loucks 🚫

@HjUotila

I'm writing this for the MC's daughters in A Well-Lived Life 3. Books 1-3 are available, and as the series progresses, the kids will take over most of the narration.

Replies: HjUotila

HjUotila 🚫

@Michael Loucks

I just bookmarked the series for further reading. Seems very interesting.

helmut_meukel 🚫

@HjUotila

So basically, I'm looking for coming of age stories written from teenage girl's point of view. While I'm particularly looking for erotic stories, the actual sex scenes are not so important for me, I'm looking for stories including things involved with girl's growing up, body development, first bras, men sexualising her...

Hmm, oyster50's Smart Girls may fit. At least in the earlier stories (Cindy, Christina, Nikki) the main narrator is the older guy who gets snatched by the teenage girl. The sequel to the three stories is Community and the narration lies mostly by the girls.
Let me quote from the Introduction of Community:

This story starts out with a wedding, as eighteen year old Susan marries twenty-six year old Jason in a little town in Tennessee.

But this story is itself a wedding, the melding of three separate stories in my "Smart Girls" universe. Three stories of young girls unfortunate enough to be 'mothered' by trashy moms, each of them 'rescued' in her own particular way.

To understand "Community", you really need to read "Cindy", "Christina" and "Nikki" and meet the girls and their mates. Find out how they react to finding love and security and family, how personalities and capabilities blossom when there's an opportunity.

Give it a try.

HM.

Mushroom 🚫

@HjUotila

So basically, I'm looking for coming of age stories written from teenage girl's point of view. While I'm particularly looking for erotic stories, the actual sex scenes are not so important for me, I'm looking for stories including things involved with girl's growing up, body development, first bras, men sexualising her...

Actually, quite a bit of that is in a story I wrote called "Valley Girl". But that is really a companion story to "Country Boy, City Girl" where we see things from the point of view of the main female lead at the start.

It is a long three book story, and half way through the second book her life took a dark turn. So I added that to explain how she came to be as messed up as she was, and what a mess she made of her life afterwards. I actually wrote that purposefully so it would mesh in with chapters of the first story, so if wanted a reader could then see how things were from her point of view.

I imagine it can be read as a stand-alone, and it is only 8 chapters. But it would probably make a lot less sense.

Another one is "Dire Wolf and Fang". It is also part of a series, but can be read by itself. The starting chapters are about a girl who becomes blind, and the challenges of a blind girl going through puberty. The confusion of trying to find out what some things written in sex education pamphlets mean as they are mostly written for those that can see, and learning about her own body. But the first 7 or 8 chapters all cover her from around 10 until she is 19.

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Forum: Story Recommendations

Teenage girl's coming of age stories

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