Lives of Girls and Women (1971), Alice Munro’s second published book, is a female coming-of-age story akin to "Boys and Girls." It also delves into the protagonist's journey as a writer.

Writers of the twentieth century exploring themes of artistic calling should consider James Joyce’s masterful Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914). This book, much like Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, belongs to a fiction sub-category where authors fictionalize their own artistic growth.

A Canadian critic has penned an essay specifically addressing Canadian coming-of-age narratives. In this essay, the critic compares Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women to other Canadian works that explore themes of adolescence and maturation: Anthony B. Dawson, "Coming of Age in Canada," Mosaic 11, No. 3, Spring, 1978, pp. 47-62.

Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping (1970) is a remarkable and beautifully written story about a family of four women who, similar to Munro’s characters, experience rural life.