Oneal's other two young adult novels deal with some of the same themes in The Language of Goldfish. Both A Formal Feeling and In Summer Light center around female protagonists who struggle with changes that occur in the transition from childhood to adulthood. In A Formal Feeling, Anne must learn to accept the death of her mother, and like Carrie, she resists change and retreats from the world. In In Summer Light Kate also struggles to cope with the confusion of growing up. All three of Oneal's protagonists struggle to separate fantasy from reality.

J. D. Salinger's classic tale of Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye), a confused teenage boy on the verge of a mental breakdown, shares similar themes with The Language of Goldfish. Salinger dissects Holden's thoughts and reveals truths about the human mind that we all recognize as part of ourselves. Joanne Greenberg's...