May 20, 2018

An ultimate guide to YA books with mental health representation || Mental Health Awareness Month

It's Mental Health Awareness Month! So I thought of compiling a list of books with mental health representation and are neurodiverse. Special thanks to Inge and C.J. who helped me out in the exhausting search for titles. While I hope that you guys find some good recommendations, I am also aware that some titles might not be perfect, so feel free to let me know if I have mistakenly included any problematic books. And feel free to let me know the titles I have missed in the comments!





DEPRESSION / SUICIDE


All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Play On by Michelle Smith
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Hold Still by Nina Lacour
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Every Heart A Doorway  by Seanan McGuire
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Hello Me, It’s You by Hannah Todd
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
When Reason Breaks  by Cindy L.Rodriguez
This is Not a Test  by Courtney Summers
Will Grayson, Will Grayson  by John Green and David Levithan
Rage  by Jackie Morse Kessler
America by E.R. Frank
Aspen by Rebekah Crane
Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Cracked by K.M. Walton
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Crash Into Me by Albert Borris
Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick
Empty by K.M. Walton
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Jerkbait by Mia Siegert
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K. Kelly Martin
A Not-So-Simple Life by Melody Carlson
nugrl90 by Cheryl Dellasaga
Permanent Record by Leslie Stella
The Program by Suzanne Young
A Really Awesome Mess by Brendan Halpin & Trish Cook
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard
The View From Who I Was by Heather Sappenfield
Walkaway by Alden R. Carter
When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez
When We Collided by Emery Lord
A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

GRIEF


Hold by Rachel Davidson Leigh
Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh
We are Okay by Nina LaCour
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
Every Heart A Doorway  by Seanan McGuire
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell
The Hate U Give  by Angie Thomas
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges
Willow by Julia Hoban
How to be Brave by E.Katherine Kottaras

ANXIETY / PANIC ATTACKS


How it Feels to Fly by Kathryn Holmes
Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall ( Agoraphobia )
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella ( Agoraphobia )
The Things I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier ( + Selective Mutism )
Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley
Don’t Touch by Rachel M.Wilson
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman ( social anxiety )
What it Takes by Jude Sierra
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Consumed by Abbie Rushton ( + Agoraphobia)
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno
180 Seconds by Jessica Park
The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno
Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
I Don’t Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
It’s All Your Fault by Paul Rudnick
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Shackled by Tom Leveen
The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn
Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge
Life Unaware by Cole Gibson
Release  by Patrick Ness

OCD


Am I Normal Yet by Holly Bourne
Total Constant Order by Crissa Jean Chapell
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Don’t Touch by Rachel M.Wilson
Addition by Toni Jordan
Compulsion Heidi Ayarbe
Lexapros and Cons Aaron Karo
OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
OCDaniel by Wesley King
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser
Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo
Not As Crazy As I Seem by George Harrar
OCD the Dude and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
The Shattering by Karen Healey

ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE


Addicted to you by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.
Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Far From You by Tess Sharpe
Wasting Talent by Ryan Leone
Addicted to You by Krista Richie and Becca Ritchie
Sharp Objects by Gilian Flynn
Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Clean by Amy Reed
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Eleanor by Justin Garley
Yellow by Megan Jacobson
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock
Beneath a Meth Moon by Jaqueline Woodson
Disconnect by Lois Peterson
Invincible by Amy Reed
No Problem by Dayle Campbell Gaetz
Other Broken Things by Christa Desir
Spiral by K.L. Denman
Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore Stultz
Tweak by Nic Sheff


PTSD


Cold Summer by Gwen Cole
Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith
Far From You by Tessa Sharpe
Among Others by Jo Walton
Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
Bruised by Sarah Skilton
The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian
Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Underwater by Marisa Reichardt

SELF HARM


Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Break by Hannah Moskowitz
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Drown by Esther Dalseno
Willow by Julia Hoban
Cut by Patricia McCormick
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

EATING DISORDER


Paperweight by Meg Haston
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz
Tiny Pretty Things by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra
Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi
Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe
On the Spectrum by Jennifer Gold
Believarexic  by J.J. Johnson
Empty by K.M. Walton
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Nothing by Robin Friedman
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
Pointe by Brandy Colbert
Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan
The Stone Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Tides by Betsy Cornwell
A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger
Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price
The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
My Demon’s Name Is Ed by Danah Khalil
Consumed by Abbie Rushton
Never Enough by Denise Jaden
How It Feels to Fly by Kathryn Holmes
Nothing Tastes As Good by Claire Hennessey

BIPOLAR DISORDER


Wintersong by S.Jae Jones
When We Collided by Emery Lord
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Crazy by Amy Reed
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun
The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstorm
Find You in the Dark by A.Meredith Walters
Every You, Every Me by David Levithan
Fragile Line by Brooklyn Skye
Ceiling Star by Sandra Diersch

SCHIZOPRENIA


Made You Up by Chelsia Zappia
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Your Voice is All I Hear by Leah Scheier
Life is But a Dream by Brian James
Whisper to Me by Nick Lake
Words On Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton
Whisper to Me by Nick Lake
The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
The Hollow City by Dan Wells
17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
Border Crossing by Jessica Lee Anderson
Calvin by Marine Leavitt
Cameron and the Girls by Edward Averett (schizophreniform)
Finding Alice by Melody Carlson
The Form of Things Unknown by Robin Bridges
Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught
Inside Out by Terry Trueman
King of the Pygmies by Johnathon Scott Fuqua
Lowboy by John Wray
Me, Myself, and Ike by K.L. Denman
Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Schizo by Nic Shef

OTHER / UNIDENTIFIED / NOT SURE


One Last Song by S.K.Falls ( Munchausen Syndrome )
Black Iris by Elliot Wake ( Borderline Personality Disorder )
The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
Secrets for the Mad by Dodie Clark (Depersonalisation Disorder)
Counting Wolves by Michael F. Stewart
Reality Boy by A.S. King (ADHD and impulse control problems)  
How It Feels to Fly by Kathryn Holmes ( Body Dysmorphia)
Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Multiple Personality Disorder)
Never Ending by Martyn Bedford (Korsakoff Psychosis )
Oblivion by Sasha Dawn (Graphomania, Amensia)
The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf (Hypochondria)
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson (Synesthesia, Tetrachromacy)
A World Without You by Beth Revis (Delusions)
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi
Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn
The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Please Don’t Tell by Laura Tims
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
We’ll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean
Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught ( ADHD)

Resources/Links


Quiet YA’s list of Neuro Diverse YA

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