Boarding school/coming of age novels

[chocolateyclur]

I'm going through a real phase of reading these at the moment, and hoping people can give me some recommendations. I'm an absolute fiction addict and really enjoy something I can "get my teeth into". The lengthier the better. And, if it helps, I'm one of those who despised The Lovely Bones and Time Travelers Wife.

Recent books I've enjoyed:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Chbosky) - my absolute, all time favourite book.

Skippy Dies (can't remember the author for the life of me!)

IT (King)

Prep (Sittenfeld)

A Certain Age (Ray)

Coming Home (Pilcher) - a guilty pleasure!

A Seperate Peace

There are probably loads more I've got through over the years, but pregnancy brain forbids them to make an appearance in my head. If anyone could recommend, I would be very grateful.

'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith, you can watch the film afterwards too which is lovely.

Your thread title reminded me of all the 'chalet school' and 'mallory towers' books I used to read when I was younger...bet no school library stocks anything of the sort nowadays.

Trebizon. More "coming of age" but bubblegum if that makes sense - they're like a modern take on Malory Towers. Not exaclt epic though.
The Stand is pretty epic or there's a series by Juliet Marillier called "Sevenwaters" that is nice and big (and has a coming of age theme) and is rooted in Celtic myth. I enjoyed those. The first one is called "Daughter of the Forest" - she wrote the "Bridei Chronicles" too, they're in the same world setting - the first of those is "The Dark Mirror".

Antonia White's Frost in May is an old one but brilliant. The Book People was selling Mallory towers books which aren't brilliant quite recently, but I think you're looking for books of slightly more literary merit from the books you mention enjoying!

The Kingscote novels by Antonia Forest are amazing if you can find them. autumn Term, End of Term, Cricket Term and Attic Term are the originals. There is a new one written by another author but I haven't read that yet ( it's on my Xmas list).

Ditto Frost in May by Antonia White. I read it obsessively when I first came across it - like 15 times. I could probably type it out here, from memory! But instead will go to bed [no life emoticon]

This thread seems to have died but had to add Beswitched by Kate Saunders as a modern boarding school tales that DD and I both love.

Ooh yes, I had a review copy of Beswitched, which is a time travel boarding school story.

Another vote for Frost in May - wasn't it the first novel in a trilogy?

I suppose you could say the Harry Potter novels fall into the boarding school/coming of age category .

"To Serve them all my days" by RF Delderfield is set in a Boarding school.

Goldengrove (and Unleaving) by Jill Paton Walsh - I remember these being v good. The one is as the protagonists are on the cusp of adulthood, the other years later I recall
www.amazon.co.uk/Goldengrove-Unleaving-Jill-Paton-Walsh/dp/0552996556/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323196516&sr=1-2

Brill, thank you all!

The Malory Towers/St Clares/Trebizon series are all to blame for the obsession I think, so I'll be adding your suggestions to my Christmas list

'Charlotte Sometimes' and 'Daddy Long Legs' are both gorgeous children's books set in boarding school/college. Two of my favourite books ever!

Yes to 'I Capture The Castle.'

Lots of people on here rate, 'A Prayer For Owen Meaney' which I suppose is a kind of coming of age novel. It irritated me but it's worth a try.

If you liked, 'It' you'll love 'The Stand' though it is neither boarding school nor coming of age.

Lolita

Brideshead Revisited

Neither of those two are what you've asked for but they are v good and I think you'd like them.

Catcher In The Rye - I hate it but it's the definitive coming of age novel!

There's a book set in a boarding school which has a sort of vampire theme iirc but I can't remember what it's called - it might be something like 'The Moth Diaries' - it's by no means great art but it's okay.

For boarding school ones - definitely Charlotte Sometimes by (Penelope someone?) I read it over and over as a child and wished I was Charlotte.

For coming of age ones, can't beat The Outsiders by S.E Hinton

Previous post has reminded me of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It's actually YA fiction and definitely not highbrow but I really enjoyed the whole series and am not reading spin off series. Ticks both the boarding school and coming of age boxes too.

Sorry meant to type 'am now' instead of 'am not' which makes no sense.

Penelope Lively

Rosamund Lehmann is fantastic for coming of age books, especially Dusty Answer. It's somewhere between the Nancy Mitford Love in a Cold Climate type books and Brideshead, which is possibly the best place a book can be

Charlotte Sometimes is by Penelope Farmer. Penelope Lively has written some good children's books too.

You are right, of course - and I am an idiot!

apologies for lower case-coffee plus laptop = no capitals and limited punctuation.
i loved i capture the castle and also to serve them all my days, my favourite coming of age novel would have to be breath by tim winton

No Talking After Lights gets me every time I read it. She captures so accurately what it's like to feel that you don't belong and yet are trapped.

Bilgewater by Jane Gardam - coming of age novel set in a boarding school, but definitely not the run of the milll sort of one.

Back Home by Michelle Magorian is also a good read technically a children's book but a great read, the same author also wrote Goodnight Mister Tom which I think would also fit your coming of age theme - you need tissues for that one though

Also, A Long Way from Verona by Jane Gardam... Not boarding, but school.

But yes, you need Antonia Forest!

'A Question of Upbringing' by Anthony Powell