My Brilliant Friend is the first of a quartet of novels by Ferrante, including The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child.
Consider other coming-of-age novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Little Women.
My Brilliant Friend explores a darker side of female friendship; compare it to lighter novels such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.
Books like The Grapes of Wrath can provide comparison to poor and working-class families in America.
