The “Growing-up Novel” and its Growth in China
Zhang Guolong

Abstract
The “growing-up novel” is a new field of research in contemporary literary criticism and children’s literature. Focusing on the issue of “growing-up,” this paper investigates the anthropological origin of the term and suggests that the lack of puberty ritual is the main reason for the disorder and chaos in the growing-up process in modern society. I argue that the “growing-up novel” is the substitute for such a ritual. Through a survey of the development of this genre in China, I also reveal that the absence of “subjectivity” is still a major problem that most writers are facing.

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