Showing titles in Coming of Age

A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

Bloomsbury presents Lean Cat, Savage Cat, written and read by Lauren J. Joseph. A Talented Mr Ripley for contemporary Berlin: a twisting, sensual, heady and razor-sharp exploration of creativity, fame, desire and the divided self ‘The book that’s been missing from my reading habits...

Finalist for the 2026 LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist for the 2026 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize Finalist for the 2025 CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Longlisted for the 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award "Jam-packed with queer angst and queer joy . . . and a truly incredible amount of heart. I...

Cassandra Edwards is a graduate student at Berkeley: gay, brilliant, nerve-racked, miserable. At the beginning of this novel, she drives back to her family ranch in the foothills of the Sierras to attend the wedding of her identical twin, Judith, to a nice young doctor from Connecticut. Cassandra, however, is hell-bent on sabotaging the wedding.  

Brought to you by Penguin. ***Shortlisted for The Goldsmiths Prize 2025*** Ask anyone non-Northern, they’ll only know Donny as punch line of a joke or place they changed trains once ont way to London. But Doncaster’s also the home of Rach, Shaz and Kel, bezzies since childhood and Donny...

Insightful and full of understanding and warmth, Patrick Gale's FRIENDLY FIRE is a richly compelling story of adolescence, sexuality and the lessons we carry forever. 'An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational' Daily Express 'Utterly compelling from first to last'...

Buying into the dream that education is the road out of poverty, a teen mom takes a chance on bettering herself, gets on welfare rolls, and talks her way into college. But once she's there, phallocratic narratives permeate every subject, and creative writing professors depend heavily on Freytag's pyramid to analyze life. So Ariel turns to a rich subcultural canon of resistance and failure, populated by writers like Audre Lorde, Tillie Olsen, and Kathy Acker. Wryly riffing on feminist literary tropes, We Were Witches documents the survival of a demonized single mother.

A smoldering, soul-splitting debut that tracks three friends through the celestial chaos of adulthood, love, and queer identity. Jordan Caleb is a freshman at McCallen College when she meets Trace. From the moment the confident, tattooed Trace compliments Jordan's Alanis Morissette T-shirt...

Eleanor Pilcher is electric in her witty, funny, and heartfelt women’s fiction debut, following polar opposite best friends Beth and Serena. When demisexual Beth decides she’s done with being a virgin and enlists Serena’s help, her new personal journey just might be the thing to end their...

Anthony has decided to come out to his school in a big way and faces backlash, not just from his fellow students, but the principal as well. Cameron’s mom is still drinking and his dad remains absent. Can he turn to his boyfriend for support? Mindy has the hots for a guy who is most certainly taken, a predicament that intensifies when they're paired for a project. Silvia’s secrets are catching up with her, Keisha struggles to set aside her feelings for a girl she can’t have, and Omar’s dreams are about to crash and burn.

Eighteen years old, pregnant and working as a pizza delivery girl, our dysfunctional heroine is deeply lost and in complete denial about it all. She’s grieving the death of her father, avoiding her loving boyfriend and flagrantly ignoring her future. Her world is further upended when she becomes obsessed with Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighbourhood, who comes to depend on weekly deliveries of pickle-covered pizzas for her son’s happiness.

'Extraordinary. I loved it' - Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist 'Engrossing and moving . . . gives voice to so much that's unspoken about Ireland' - Emma Donoghue, author of Room 'Wonderfully compelling . . . haunting' - Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea Delving into the lives of...

Brought to you by Penguin. When Obiefuna's father witnesses an intimate moment between his teenage son and the family's apprentice, newly arrived from the nearby village, he banishes Obiefuna to a Christian boarding school marked by strict hierarchy and routine, devastating violence. Utterly...

Growing up on a homophobic council estate in South Wales with an abusive veteran father made Jamie Taylor’s life intolerable. Her only release was feeding her obsession for rich kid Heather Gardner.

All This Could be Different introduces us to Sneha. A recent college graduate freshly arrived in Milwaukee, she occupies her days with rote, stressful work as a young consultant for a battery production corporation. She is, as her boss reminds her, a 'contractor, no benefits'. Her nights are spent ordering furniture off the internet, trying out the newfangled invention of dating apps and avoiding confrontation with the terrifying property manager who lives below her. But the rewards are bountiful.

Ohne Geld und mit wenig vorzuweisen nach seiner Ausbildung an der Kunsthochschule, nimmt Cal die Fähre nach Hause auf die Insel Harris und all das, vor dem er nach Edinburgh geflüchtet war, ist wieder da: das karge Leben auf den Hebriden, der windgepeitschte Kreislauf aus Schafzucht und Nächten am Webstuhl, die Enge der Inselgemeinschaft. Sein Vater hat ihn nach Hause in sein altes Leben beordert. Sie sind einander so nah und kennen sich so wenig, blind für das wohlgehütete Geheimnis des anderen.

Evan never imagined anyone could notice him—let alone Dalton, the son of a wealthy hotel chain owner. While the two grew up together, they lived in different worlds. Evan, the son of a maid, did his homework in the supply room while Dalton lived a life of leisure. When their paths cross one fateful day, they find themselves drawn to each other as they navigate loss and inevitable change.

His world was water and rhythm. Hard work and drive kept Royal O'Connell one step ahead of his competition. His spot on the swim team, keeping his scholarship, was the only plan that mattered. His world was ebony and ivory. Natural talent and ambition set Camden Morgan apart from the other music majors. His dedication scored him a full ride. Normally, their paths would have never crossed...but when Royal meets his best friend's new roommate, his big plan and Camden's controlled environment faces a variable that could destroy it all: attraction.  

Of Human Bondage charts the life of Philip Carey, a sensitive and introspective individual born with a clubfoot. Orphaned at a young age, Philip searches for meaning through pursuits such as religion, art and medicine, but much of his early life is marked with emotional turmoil. Grappling with loneliness, unrequited love and existential doubt, Philip gradually learns the art of acceptance and how to live in harmony with the imperfections of life.

Once upon a time, I was a typical foster kid—overlooked, bounced around, and just waiting until I was old enough to get out. Some girls in my situation might dream of being a secret fairy princess, but not me. I simply wanted a chance. It came by accident when a bird flew into my latest home. No big deal, right? Except that was all it took to get noticed. Now I'm heading to Silver Oaks Institute, an elite private college with very specific acceptance criteria. My caseworker got me an interview on a technicality, and when they say elite, they mean it.