Stevenson's 1886 novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde studies conflicting emotions associated with what society considers good and evil. Stevenson's other 1886 novel, Kidnapped, follows the ordeals of protagonist David Balfour who is left with no money to live on after the death of his father. Like Treasure Island, Kidnapped is a coming-of-age novel.

Louis Sachar's Holes (2000) is also a coming-of-age novel about a young boy who claims he has been cursed. He always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in a juvenile detention hall somewhere in the middle of a desert. His task is to dig holes each day of his sentence. His journey, however, is to find out why he is digging these holes, and his discovery frees him from his curse.

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) inspired Stevenson...