Firegold is both an adolescent identity quest novel and a coming-of-age novel.

Although not all writers on literature distinguish between the two, the former type deals primarily with the young protagonist's search for self: "Who am I?" and "Where do I belong in the world?" This is probably the most common story theme in fantasy novels; certainly it is in those with a teenaged or young adult protagonist. The coming-of-age novel is more typical of "realistic" fiction with a contemporary or recent setting. While the main character of such a novel may do a fair amount of selfquestioning, the emphasis is on the way events bring him or her to an understanding of, or at least the ability to cope with, the adult world in all its complexity and tragedy.

Jonathon's story is built upon the identity quest structure. But the world he traverses in his...