By turns touching and hilarious, Coming of Age in America gathers together writers from fifteen different ethnic groups who, through their fiction, explore the terrain we all traversed as we came of age, no matter our race, ethnicity, gender, or class.

Whether we read to remember or to commiserate, here we find it all - classroom bullies and sibling rivalries, first loves and first losses, first victories and first defeats. Frank Chin and Gish Jen vividly recall the excitement of young romance, Adam Schwartz and Dorothy Allison remind us of how trying families can be, and Wanda Coleman and Nicholasa Mohr write about those piercing moments when we realize that our religion, skin color, or ethnicity differentiate us from our best friends.

With over twenty short stories and fiction excerpts, Coming of Age in America shows that our common experiences are more binding than our differences are divisive. A wonderfully readable and groundbreaking collection, this is a marvelous resource for those people looking for alternatives to The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace.