A New Coming-of-Age YA Romance in 2025

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Coming-of-age stories can be a lot of fun. It’s exciting to see characters come to understand the world and their place in it as they learn more about who they are and what they want.

I wrote a YA romance called “What Happens After You Confess Your Feelings to Someone?”, and I would consider it a coming-of-age story. It’s the tale of a high school sophomore named Chloe who’s deeply in love with a junior at her school named Mordecai. Meanwhile, her good friend Simon is in love with her.

Simon is constant and reliable. Mordecai is complex and unpredictable. Simon is a good friend. Mordecai is a complicated friend. Simon struggles to tell Chloe how he feels. Mordecai knows how Chloe feels, but hasn’t shared how he feels about her. Simon is often there to pick up the pieces after Mordecai breaks Chloe’s heart. Mordecai’s seeming indifference to Chloe’s feelings results in him breaking her heart often.

But Chloe loves Mordecai. And she only sees Simon as a friend.

And because of Chloe’s parents’ “no dating until senior year” rule, she won’t be allowed to date until she becomes a senior.

But when she is finally allowed to date, who will she choose?

You’ll have to read the story to find out.

Making the Transition to Adulthood

As I talk about in this post, one of the things that can be intriguing to see in high school young adult stories is how teenagers make the transition from childhood (or adolescence) to adulthood. Teenagers are soon-to-be-adults, and they can find it challenging to go from being kids to being adults who have to deal with adult stuff and make adult decisions.

In that post, I include an excerpt that shows how Chloe feels overwhelmed at the thought of making big decisions about the future. She feels overwhelmed at the thought of moving forward, especially as she’s still dealing with her present responsibilities. I can imagine that many teenagers—if not all—go through something like this at some point.

Here’s another sample from Chapter 22 that shows how Chloe is struggling with this transition. She has just told Mordecai how, even if she did have a boyfriend and wanted to go out with him on that particular evening, she wouldn’t be allowed to because it’s a school night. (Her IM name at this part of the story is Stillstrong93 and Mordecai’s is More2come81.)

More2come81: that’ll change too
More2come81: one day u’ll be able to decide when u go out
Stillstrong93: I know, but…
Stillstrong93: honestly I hope that day doesn’t come too soon
Stillstrong93: that day means adult duties and responsibilities
More2come81: and privileges
Stillstrong93: I’d just rather stay a kid forever
More2come81: no u wouldn’t
More2come81: u’d get bored of it eventually
Stillstrong93: I don’t think so
More2come81: i think u would
More2come81: anyway ur not as kid-like as u’d like to believe
Stillstrong93: hey
Stillstrong93: I resent that
More2come81: i just mean for someone ur age ur actually really mature
More2come81: and that’s a good thing
Stillstrong93: I don’t want to be mature
Stillstrong93: I want to be a kid
More2come81: too late

Despite Chloe’s maturity and the freedoms that will come with adulthood, she longs for the simplicity of childhood. I think this is one reason people enjoy coming-of-age stories. We understand the struggle that comes with making these kinds of transitions. And we like to see how characters handle it.

Chloe’s Friendships With Simon and Mordecai

One thing you might notice as you read the story is how different Chloe’s interactions with Mordecai and Simon are—and not just because she has a crush on Mordecai.

Simon is the one who tries to encourage Chloe to play and be a kid for as long as she can. In fact, when Simon first meets Chloe’s parents, all of them bond as they play board games—Chloe included. While she does enjoy playing these games with her parents, she also has this deep love for Mordecai that pulls her into his world. And in his world, while they can enjoy some playful banter, Mordecai is leading Chloe toward more adult stuff.

Here’s another excerpt from the same chapter that shows how Chloe longs to be a child again.

Mordecai and I chat for a few more minutes before I sign off and go do homework. But as I’m taking my binder and books out of my bag, I think about how often now I genuinely wish I could go back to being a kid. The closer I get to having to make decisions about college and my future, the more I want to go back to when other people made all my decisions for me.

Even as Chloe longs to return to childhood, it’s interesting how she gravitates toward Mordecai when he’s the one pulling her more into the adult world. Meanwhile, Simon tries to encourage her to play, but she only sees him as a friend. Maybe the reason is because of something else she says in that chapter: “…if I went back to being a kid, I would go back to life without Mordecai. And, frankly, that seems like no life at all.”

Noticing this difference in Chloe’s two friendships might make you curious about what a romantic relationship with these two guys might be like for her. And that curiosity might also lead you to wonder who she’ll end up choosing.

Final Thoughts

“What Happens After You Confess Your Feelings to Someone?” is a new coming-of-age YA romance. It shows how high school sophomore Chloe and her friends manage their current reality and responsibilities while navigating the transition to adulthood. And as they do this, Chloe has to deal with an intense crush on someone who encourages her maturity while having a good friend who reminds her to play.

If you’re looking for a high school YA romance featuring this kind of transition, go ahead and click here to learn more about the story or here to start reading Chapter 1 on Medium. (The first three chapters are free and you don’t need an account to read them. But you’ll need a Medium account to read the rest. And you may also need to become a Medium member.)

~ Ashley C.

P.S. If you would like to sample more of my story-writing style, feel free to click here to read some stories that are currently available.