There is simply no other novel that could possibly top this list. Salinger's masterpiece has practically become the definition of the coming-of-age novel, and has been both censored and praised since the day it was printed. In the words of the novel's iconic protagonist Holden Caufield, The Top 13 would have been a "phony" not to put this novel at number one.

Much like Holden Caufield, Joyce's alter-ego in Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus, is a rebel. Unlike Caufield, Dedalus' rebellions are small and subtle, almost imperceptible. In the end, though, Joyce/Dedalus' transformation is every bit as earth-shattering. All that aside, it's just really good. This is also Joyce's most accessible work, particularly when compared to his most well-known novel, Ulysses.

Groan if you must, naysayers, but this is the modern coming-of-age tale. Rowling certainly does not have the prosaic prowess of a Joyce or a Salinger, but in ten years and seven books, she has followed the growth of three characters from childhood to maturity in unbelievably lush detail – paralleling her primary audience's lives. Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and a work of literature which should not be ignored; it is human drama in the trappings of epic fantasy.

Universally beloved by the select few who've read it on this side of the Atlantic, this is the French analog to A Separate Peace and Catcher In The Rye. It is required reading at every école-secondaire across France. Le Grand Meaulnes is unflinchingly romantic, beautiful, and nostalgic; in other words, it's French. Translated numerous times into English, this book has been alternately titled The Wanderer and The Lost Estate.

One of the most evocative debut novels of the nineties, The Virgin Suicides portends to be about the titular virginal sisters, but in fact follows the nameless male narrators on their journey to adulthood. This is a tale of sexual-awakening and suburban ennui that has a place on every American bookshelf.

Labeled a "murder mystery in reverse" by New York Times critic A.O. Scott, The Secret History may not seem like a coming-of-age novel on the surface, but appearances can be deceiving: This is a novel preoccupied with the notion of an extended childhood for the wealthy and the process of finding and creating one's self in college. It also happens to be spectacular.

No, Truman Capote didn't write it. Yes, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel is every bit as great as you remember it, and Scout may just be the best young character ever written. Although Capote didn't write it, he did play a role in its creation. To Kill a Mockingbird is at least loosely based on people and events from Lee's childhood, including her father, an attorney who unsuccessfully defended two black men accused of murder. Capote (then known as Truman Parsons) was Lee's neighbor and was so close to her that the character of Dill was based on him.

To say too much about this subtle piece of genre subversion from the Booker Prize winning author of The Remains of the Day risks ruining some of the pleasure for a first-time reader, but the twists really aren't what make this remarkably assured coming-of-age tale so haunting. This is a book that transcends any genre classification; while it's typically referred to as a coming-of-age story, it also includes elements of science fiction, mystery, and British boarding school tales.

Ignore the fact that in high school your sophomore English teacher tried to shove this novel down your throat. Just put your preconceptions aside and reread A Separate Peace. When you do, you'll find a remarkably contemporary poem of a novel. With its languid pacing and allegoric plot, A Separate Peace will seem far more powerful without the looming threat of a pop-quiz.

Cormac McCarthy's two most disturbingly violent novels (this one, the full name of which is Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West , and The Road) also focus on the youngest of his protagonists. While that might seem misanthropic, in a way it makes sense: Adolescence is an extremely trying period in anyone's life, and both characters are unnamed everymen ("The Kid" in Blood Meridian and "Son" or "Boy" in The Road). Let's just say that "The Kid" has an extremely trying adolescence, one which makes for an amazing, not to mention affecting, read.

The best graphic novel of the past decade also happens to be one of the best bildungsroman of all time. Equal parts Dazed and Confused and Halloween, author/artist Charles Burns has a specific knack for turning genre conventions on their head. At the end of the day, though, his overarching message in this story about the repeated transmission of a horribly disfiguring sexually transmitted disease is pretty classic: Being a teenager sucks.

Just as no list of coming-of-age novels could leave off The Catcher In The Rye, none would be complete without the novel that, for all intents and purposes, invented the bildungsroman: David Copperfield. But make no mistake, this isn't on the list solely out of obligation. David Copperfield is a stunning novel that rivals Dickens' best work.

This story about two young Jews in love and lust launched Roth's career and won him the National Book Award, and it remains one of his strongest works. In the most grandiose of terms, this novella (found in a short story collection by the same name) can be read as an allegory about ethnic identity and assimilation in an America on the verge of a cultural revolution. But in its quietest moments, it reveals itself to be a portrait of that first, fumbling, serious relationship every young adult seems predestined to experience.