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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of coming of age short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Coming of age Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. No matter how old you are, there’s just something inherently relatable about coming-of-age tales. Discover the best new coming-of-age stories right here!

Coming of age Short Stories – Page 3 of 10

Awkward Silence

Matthew Dion

Weekly Contest #348

Ever since Abraham killed his son Isaac, things have not been the same between them. They talk less, for one. There used to be more free-flowing, spontaneous discussion about any number of trivial things. A comment about sheep husbandry would elicit a joke, which would prompt a reminiscence, which would slow and then interrupt completely whatever task was in progress, and soon the two men would be sitting face to face, cross-legged on the ground or perched on a large rock, chattering until sundown.Now they avoid talking about sheep.They used...

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The grave tree

Gracie Keyes

Weekly Contest #347

The bare November trees were hard and cold as Billy knocked his head back against one to keep from snapping at Robin. She had stopped her slow pace to stare at the map, and sighing again for the thousandth time that day, Billy waited for her to continue leading them through the woods. Her small hands peek out from her giant coat and tightly grip the paper map. The wind seems intent on preventing her from reading it, folding it over in her hands, but she resolutely sniffs and flips it back open, while Billy shivers. That cursed map had been ...

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Longing for my Reason

Yazmin Van De Ven

Weekly Contest #347

“Good Morning Handsome”… “Good Morning Handsome”. I’m tempted to play the recording one more time, but I’ve been indulging in this for 25 minutes now and if I continue, I don’t think I’ll ever stop. I sit up, get up and prepare for the day, being forced to skip tasks again to make sure I make it out in time before... they, wake up. Shower, skip. Face, a splash is all it’s getting. Hair, good enough. Coffee, ground and extracting. Lunch, packed. Breakfast, need a mobile meal so I’ll grab an apple before leaving. Uniform, don’t have enough tim...

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Close to Home

Nick Matsas

Weekly Contest #348

They sat around the pond, Lake Mini-Ha-Ha, and listened to the story of when Kyle got a fishing hook pierced through his cheek through the inside of his mouth and then tugged as his uncle tried to cast the line. They squirmed under the mighty oak tree and got closer together because that's where human nature points, even if you are boys and girls. Kyle had a long scar on his round, tan face. He is the only kid Melchor Garza knows who goes to the bus stop every Memorial Day and Presidents' Day. Days when school is closed, and there are no yel...

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Chasing Hope

Grace Mae

Weekly Contest #347

I wouldn’t say that I’ve been tossing and turning and that’s how I ended up feeling the need to get out of bed. It’s deeper than that. Something is pulling me out of my bed. A faint call from deep within me, waking me out of my half-asleep state.I sit up and briefly glance at my new alarm clock I still haven’t gotten around to setting yet. It’s about 3 AM. My eyes water, but my mind and body are now wide awake. I’m not sure if I’m working on autopilot, or that magnet inside of me is telling me what to do, but I find myself getting up as quie...

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One More Mug: Father's Ale

Bryan Curva

Weekly Contest #347

"How many cups does it take to drown a man?"The stranger asks the man with an empty cup and a missing leg"Bartender, one for me."Requested by the stranger, and as it slid his way, the man took it and, without a word, drank it down"Make it two."As the stranger added, the man finally drunkenly muttered"Why do you care? Hic-"Sighed and replied"You know, sometimes it's easy to let it out with a stranger." He spoke after sipping, and silence greeted them after “...” As you hear the alcohol from his mouth, he muttered, “Listen up, as I won't repea...

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Autumns Wish

Shane Casey

Weekly Contest #348

Autumn’s Wish Autumn waited until the house settled into its soft evening quiet—the kind of quiet that made the lamps glow warmer and the walls feel closer, as if the whole home were leaning in to listen. Her three children had gathered around her almost without being asked, drawn by the way she’d said, “Come sit with me. I want to tell you something important.” They curled up on the living‑room rug, wrapped in blankets and curiosity. Autumn folded her legs beneath her and rested her hands in her lap. Her long dark hair, streaked with a few ...

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My Mothers Lies

Luis Galup

Weekly Contest #347

My mother once told me that my dad was an alien. I was six when she told me that. Now, my parents were born and raised in another country, Peru. They moved here after dad got through med school, and did his residency in Chicago. So, I first thought she meant he was born in another country. But looking at her vacant eyes and expressionless face, her mouth open like a child, her hair unkempt and pointing at all angles, I realized she meant the flying saucer kind. Then she said, -Thats why you are so good at math and science. This is the first ...

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The Last Prayer

Weekly Contest #347

According to the Internet, belief is the acceptance that something is true or real, often without requiring complete proof or evidence. In other words, it is the feeling of certainty—trusting something even when it cannot be fully proven. For Caspian, his belief had always been unwavering. As long as he could remember, his mind clung tightly to the things it decided were true. For example, he believed that if he hadn’t asked his father—on his eleventh birthday—for the new Mario game he wanted so badly, his father would still be alive. Anothe...

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Where The Stars Go

Eliza S

Weekly Contest #347

Raven sat in her father’s study, a first-grader waiting for a bell that never rang. For her, school happened at home. Her father emptied a pack of silver pins into her small hand, preparing her for the geography lesson. The pins were sharp, like little teeth, biting cold against her skin. I liked these the best. In the neon light from the office lamp, the pins seemed to wink at her, tiny sparks dancing across their surfaces, as if they were wishing her good luck. The map hung high on the wall, just above the desk, in her father’s study, ...

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Prayer Circle

Weekly Contest #347

“Alright everybody, we are going to close with our prayer circle,” Geoff the youth pastor said and turned off the overhead lights to bring down the energy in the room. It felt weird how light it was outside this late in the evening. It felt like throughout the entire school year, it was pitch black outside every time we came. The group gathered in a circle in the center of the room as they pushed aside the chairs. I reached for Cassie’s hand, and she squeezed it hard, then looked up at me and smirked. Across the circle, Julius and Zak elbow...

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Safety First - A girl’s first lesson in how love reshapes freedom

Pramothini Dhandapany

Weekly Contest #347

They can sense our fear. Keep your spine straight. Don’t be afraid. Don’t hesitate to look them in the eye. And in the worst case, always remember to pick up a stone. That was my dad teaching me how to be bold with street dogs, after I told him how a single growl had made me surrender the eggs I was carrying home from the grocery store. I had walked away unharmed, but I had walked away empty-handed too.Later, when we were on the rooftop of our three floor apartment in Coimbatore, I complained to my sister. “Easy for Dad to say, pick up a sto...

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Uncle Pete and the Monsters

Zack Herman

Weekly Contest #347

It’s a full moon tonight. They’ll be here. I have to get ready! First, I make the crosses. Two pieces of wood, tied together with a strip of rawhide. One end sharpened into a stake so that I can drive them in the ground and they’ll stay there.Then comes the garlic. I’m not sure what it is about the garlic, but they hate it, can’t stand it. It repels them. I string it together like my grandparents used to string popcorn and cranberries to make homemade Christmas tree trimmings. Yeah, I come from a poor family. Anyhow, I’ll have the garlic str...

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Four Minutes

Weekly Contest #347

My life comes down to four minutes. That’s the humming, thumping beat at the back of my mind, the soundtrack to all the other minutes that have no real significance. All that time I spend getting up at four o’clock in the morning, and the makeup and training leggings and shorts and black layers, the jumpers pulled over insulated tops, and the silent car journey over the forth road bridge while the sky’s still as pitch-black as midnight, blue streaks of dawn tugging very slightly at the edges of the horizon, and the mahoosive roundabouts, th...

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I'd Give Almost Anything for Her

Weekly Contest #347

I love Ella. I don't think I understood how much until now, until there was something real on the line, and I can feel it stretching between us like it might snap if I pull too hard. She's been there for every iteration of me that I didn't know what to do with—the awkward one, the too-loud one, the one who couldn't get through performing without freezing and wanting to disappear. She witnessed all of that and never made me feel like I had to apologize.We constructed all of it together, slowly, over the years. Our living rooms became stages, ...

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