Mental Health in YA: a reading list
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As mental health advocacy is something near and dear to my heart, I thought I’d put together a list of YA books from the last ten years that address mental illness as a main focus and/or influence. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do since I wrote this post (and got some great suggestions in the comments). The result is certainly not an exhaustive list by any means, but it’s a start. I’ve read a good number of books on the list, but not all of them (a few are forthcoming), so there may be errors or things I’ve overlooked. Please feel free to correct me. I’ve also tried to organize them by category. While many of the books could belong in multiple categories, I’ve grouped each title into just one.
Looking at the list now, it’s interesting to see what’s not represented. For instance, there are a number of books about OCD, but far fewer about generalized anxiety disorder or social phobia. I’m not sure if that’s an indicator of what books are on my radar, or if somehow these diagnoses don’t get addressed in the same way. I also think it’s interesting that all the books about bipolar disorder are focused on females (either teens or mothers). But again, I’m sure there are others books out there that I am just not aware of.
Feel free to add more recs in the comments!
Depression and Suicide
The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
Hold Still by Nina Lacour
Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci L. Jones
Cracked by K.M. Walton
By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
Promise Me Something by Sara Kocek
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Namesake by Steven Parlato
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
The Program by Suzanne Young
Anxiety Disorders
Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo
OCD, The Dude, and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn
A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone
Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe
OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Say What You Will by Cammi McGovern
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
I Don’t Want to be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell
Not As Crazy As I Seem by George Harrar
The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram
Eating Disorders
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Pointe by Brandy Colbert
A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger
Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
Nothing by Robin Friedman
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Never Enough by Denise Jaden
Tides by Betsy Cornwall
Bipolar Disorder
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Chasing the Milky Way by Erin E. Moulton
This is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky
Crazy by Amy Reed
The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
Thought Disorders
The Chance You Won’t Return by Annie Cardi
Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock
17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
Cameron and the Girls by Edward Averett
Where the Moon Isn’t by Nathan Filer
Schizo by Nic Sheff
A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler
Life is But a Dream by Brian James
Crazy by Han Nolan
Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
PTSD/complex PTSD
Echo by Kate Morgenroth
I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena
Bruised by Sarah Skilton
Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar
The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Scowler by Daniel Kraus
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Never Ending by Martyn Bedford
Impulse Control/Self Harm
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
Break by Hannah Moskowitz
Willow by Julie Hoban
Reality Boy by A.S. King
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omolulu
Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriott
My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K. Kelly Martin
Boy on the Edge by Fridrik Erlings