In the books “How to Save a Life” and “Rapture Practice”, the theme of coming of age is always present. Coming of age is the time when a person matures and becomes an adult. Becoming an adult also means accepting yourself and those around you. In these books, the characters Jill, Mandy, and Aaron are all dynamic. They became dynamic from their environment. The theme also completely encompasses the change that Jill, Mandy, and Aaron undergo. In "How to Save a Life", Jill changes throughout the book. She starts out as an emotional wreck, who had behavioral problems. After her father died, Jill's personality changed to who she was in the book. Throughout the story, Jill realizes that her behavior is out of control. She talks about her anger and finally understands that she must control it. Jill gradually begins to change in the second half of the book, particularly with her attitude towards Mandy. Jill was very angry with Mandy at first because she thought her mother was trying to replace the loss of a family member. Having Mandy in Jill's life finally made her understand how she was acting, and then she fixed the problem. Jill also noticed her attitude problem when she was with Ravi. Ravi, like Mandy, opened Jill's eyes. “As I look at the headstone, I wonder: did Dad send me Ravi? Is this something I believe even remotely possible? Because however he got here, Ravi has been exactly what I needed and he sticks to it like he was assigned by God. (Zarra 265). In this quote, Jill realizes that Ravi may/may not have been sent by her father to support and care for her. Ravi kept her in check and helped her make the necessary changes for her to grow. Ravi and Mandy pushed Jill... middle of paper ...... Dad raised me to be. We may disagree on the truth, but somewhere in the middle of the issues, if we fight for each other rather than against each other, our love will bring us here, to a quiet place of transcendent beauty, towards a simple moment of elegance - a moment that I now understand has a name: Grace. (Hartzler 386). When Aaron realized this, it shows that he finally grew up with the help of his environment. In both books, "Rapture Practice" and "How to Save a Life", the theme is still present, which allows these characters to change. . Aaron, Mandy and Jill have all realized their mistakes and learned from them. This is the true meaning of “coming of age,” not necessarily becoming an adult and maturing, but becoming a better self. In these two books, the characters changed and grew with the help of their environment..