American Son by Brian Ascalon Roley is a story about the life of brother Gabe and Thomas. Their mother who had came over to American to escaped the Philippines only to land an abusive husband in the states. This book is very much a coming of age story because it illustrate the growth of the hero through his initial realization of his surrounding and the discontent with his brother that drove him from his family. While the protagonist is contrasted against his darker looking brother Thomas who is a Mexican wanabe gangster, he soon loses his passive good side and becomes like his brother when he leaves for northern California due to conflict with his brother. In many ways the journey gone through by Gabe is similar to Holden in catcher in the rye in that both have no definite identity in society and goes through a serious of event that lead to a loss of innocence. The alienation felt by both character describe their conflict with society at large and with their own identity. Gabe’s escape to northern California is similar to holden’s escape to New York city and both their journey led them to both to self isolation in a long journey to find themselves.