Coming of age..

Rule of the Bone is a coming of age novel. Russell Banks the author uses topics and instances that can actually happen in day to day life of a teenager, but most authors don't use it in their writings. Coming of age novel I would describe as the unspoken taboo. The things that happen everyday and everyone knows about but doesn't speak of. Every kid knows about sex, drugs and pedophiles but everything we read doesn't talk about it. This book opens up teenagers to the real world, to what actually can happen in a family.  " Get the hell back here, Im gonna Fuck you right once and for all!" This quote from the book really captures what could happen and does happen by step-parents. ( I'm not saying all step parents would say this to a step child). But you hear about this thing happening but you cant really think of anything to say cause you don't know the people it happened too. But reading this book you come to love and care about chappie( the main character) and it hits home when his step dad tries to rape him. " he made me touch his dick and suck on it for him" this is another one of those we hear about it all the time but it doesn't really hit any nerves unless we know who it is. Since we know the character chappie then we instantly have much harder feelings towards whats happening to him, and since we haven't read anything or our parents haven't told us stories about this happening then i think when we read it for ourselves it takes on a new meaning and we kinda grow with it. " all the lies he told to my mom and made me tell too so she wouldnt find out" This is another one of those things that kids hear about and actually do, but when we read we understand the difference from little white lies we tell to people and lies that keep the secrets that can make or break a family apart. This book does a excellent job on talking, exploring and opening the things some parents dont talk about, it sheds light on topics that people stay away from. 
some coming of age things that I have experienced do not come close to what chappie has gone through but I do remember when I got my drivers license. I remember freaking out when they said i passed and how happy I was. This little piece of hard plastic was my ticket to coming and going as I pleased. It was like I could decide when and where I would go. Also when I went and got my tattoo. Most people are probably thinking like wow really a tattoo is coming of age. But for me it was. Its a permanent decision that you live with forever and you make the decision all by yourself. Its what you want and its like your first real thing on your own.