Abstract: The subject of this research is the image of a modern American teenager described in John Green’s novel “Paper Towns”, which represents the coming-of-age story of a young man. The article analyzes the inner world of the protagonist, his relationship with patterns and friends, demonstrates the difficulties he faces on the path of becoming a new person. The theoretical framework contains the works of Russian (M. M. Bakhtin, A. V. Dialektova, Y. S. Kamardina, N. V. Osipova, N. S. Shalimova) and foreign scholars (C. Morgenstern, W. Dilthey, M. Hirsch, D. Buckley) dedicated to the history and theory of the novel. The research is conducted on the basis of literary method of analysis with the elements of linguistic. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that the author is first to analyze the image of a teenager and his personal becoming in John Green’s educational novel “Paper Towns”.  It is established that transformation of the inner world of the protagonist and moving into adulthood takes place under the influence of the feelings of love and trials associated with them. In the course of the research, the author determines the storyline elements reflecting such events in the character’s transition into adulthood as first love, wanderings and disappointments.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the research of the fiction image of leader-teenager on the material of the novel "Secret History" by modern American writer Donna Tartt. Plot situations, which express the behavioral characteristics of the hero and his manner of speech, are observed. The special attention is paid to the personality development of the character as a leader in the process of interaction with surrounding people: a teacher and fellow students. In the process of the analysis, the specificity of the representation of the fictional image of the leader-teenager, which manifests itself in the usage of a delegated narrative, is revealed, and also the author's position in the text of the analyzed novel is presented. The methodological basis of the work was the works of famous Russian literary scholars on the concept of "image", as well as works on social psychology, revealing the concept of "leader". The scientific novelty is due to the fact that for the first time the image of a teenage leader is analyzed on the material of the novel "Secret History" by Donna Tartt, the positive and negative qualities of the character, describing a typical leader, are shown. The study showed the paradox of this image, which manifests itself in the fact, that character's charm, high education, erudition developed in him a sense of permissiveness, which led to the commission of crimes.