The Bell Jar could be closely compared to The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. The novel could also be compared to Plath's poetry, including renowned works like "Ariel" and "Lady Lazarus" in addition to "The Applicant."
Many critics pair the coming-of-age novel with J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.
Other coming-of-age novels about girls include Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Judy Bloom's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides, and Donna Tartt's The Secret History.
