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Hispanic Heritage Month: A YA Reading List

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While I may live in small town Wisconsin, one of the things that makes this community unique is that roughly 1/3 of the residents are Hispanic. During the month of May, the city swaps out the flags lining downtown to Mexican national flags to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and during Hispanic Heritage Month — September 15 through October 15 — there are multiple celebrations throughout town.

So why the mid-month beginning and ending to the celebration? Beginning in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month began as a way to commemorate the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Within this same September 15 to October 15 time frame, Mexico, Chile, and Belize celebrate independence day. More about the history of Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrations that take place can be found here.

In honor of this month of honoring those of Hispanic heritage, I thought it’d be worthwhile to pull together a YA book list. These are titles written by Hispanic authors or books featuring Hispanic main characters. This won’t be comprehensive, so feel free to let me know of other authors and titles to include in the comments. 

I’ve limited my entries to one per author, but I’ve noted authors of Hispanic heritage with a * for further reference, and note that I’ve made those determinations based on information I could find and may miss some. All descriptions are from WorldCat. 

For those seeking even more information about Latino/a authors, it’s worth digging into this excellent resource. 

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler: Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. But as Jude begins to fall for Emilio Vargas, she begins to wonder if her sisters were wrong.

It’s Not About the Accent by Caridad Ferrer*: Caroline Darcy decides to explore–and exploit–her distant Cuban ancestry when she goes away to college, claiming to be half-Cuban, calling herself “Carolina,” and dying her blond hair Havana Brown, but soon faces profound consequences.

Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz*: Sammy Santos and Juliana Rios live amongst the racism, discrimination, and everyday violence during the Vietnam years of the 1960s in a small town in Southern New Mexico.

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena*: Sixteen-year-old Danny searches for his identity amidst the confusion of being half-Mexican and half-white while spending a summer with his cousin and new friends on the baseball fields and back alleys of San Diego County, California.

Red Glass by Laura Resau: Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina*: One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away?

Border Town (series) by Malin Alegria*: When Fabiola’s sister Alexis joins her at Dos Rios High, she warns her away from the troublemaking superjock Dex Andrews, but Alexis does not listen, and soon it is up to Fabiola to make things right, even if it means breaking her sister’s heart. 

**Alegria also wrote Estrella’s Quincenara, which was wildly popular in the local library here. 

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa*: Violet Paz, a Chicago high school student, reluctantly prepares for her upcoming “quince,” a Spanish nickname for the celebration of an Hispanic girl’s fifteenth birthday.

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall*: Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry.  

Amigas series by Veronica Chambers*: Carmen is turning fifteen and her friends Sarita, Alicia, Jamie, and Gaz plan to throw her a quinceañera; but when the group decides to join a reality show competition, Carmen feels like her party is becoming less important.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer: After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of New York City.

Sweet 15 by Emily Adler and Alex Echevarria: Shortly before her fifteenth birthday, Destiny Lozada’s traditional Puerto Rican mother and feminist older sister hijack her quinceañera, each pushing her own agenda and ignoring the possibility that Destiny, a skateboarding tomboy, might have her own ideas about the coming-of-age ritual she is about to participate in.

Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos*: In the 1960s, Rico Fuentes, a pale-skinned Cuban American teenager, abandons drug-infested New York City for the picket fence and apple pie world of Wisconsin, only to discover that he still feels like an outsider and that violent and judgmental people can be found even in the wholesome Midwest.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X Stork*: Seventeen-year-old Pancho is bent on avenging the senseless death of his sister, but after he meets D.Q, who is dying of cancer, and Marisol, one of D.Q.’s caregivers, both boys find their lives changed by their interactions.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez*: After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter, but when he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders.

Chasing the Jaguar by Michele Dominguez Greene*: After having unsettling dreams about the kidnapped daughter of her mother’s employer, fifteen-year-old Martika learns that she is a descendant of a long line of curanderas–Mayan medicine women with special powers.

Cubanita by Gaby Triana*: Seventeen-year-old Isabel, eager to leave Miami to attend the University of Michigan and escape her overprotective Cuban mother, learns some truths about her family’s past and makes important decisions about the type of person she wants to be.

Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa by Micol Ostow: Forced to stay with her mother in Puerto Rico for weeks after her grandmother’s funeral, half-Jewish Emily, who has just graduated from a Westchester, New York, high school, does not find it easy to connect with her Puerto Rican heritage and relatives she had never met.

Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachman: In 1986, when seventeen-year-old Daniel’s father arrives in Madison, Wisconsin, after five years of torture as a political prisoner in Chile, Daniel and his eighteen-year-old “gringa” girlfriend, Courtney, use different methods to help this bitter, self-destructive stranger who yearns to return home and continue his work.

La Linea by Ann Jaramillo When fifteen-year-old Miguel’s time finally comes to leave his poor Mexican village, cross the border illegally, and join his parents in California, his younger sister’s determination to join him soon imperils them both.

Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper: Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harrassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.


City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende*: When fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his individualistic grandmother on an expedition to find a humanoid Beast in the Amazon, he experiences ancient wonders and a supernatural world as he tries to avert disaster for the Indians.

When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez* (February 10, 2015): Elizabeth Davis and Emily Daniels seem to have little in common except Ms. Diaz’s English class and the solace they find in the words of Emily Dickinson, but both are struggling with to cope with monumental secrets and tumultuous emotions that will lead one to attempt suicide.

The Vicious Deep (series) by Zoraida Cordova*: After being sucked out to sea in a tidal wave, Tristan Hart returns ashore on Coney Island with no memory of what happened to him–yet he can sense the emotions of others and dreams of a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

Carmen by Walter Dean Myers: A policeman’s obsessive love for a tempestuous wig factory worker ends in tragedy in this updated version of Bizet’s Carmen, set in Spanish Harlem, and told in screenplay format.

Illegal by Bettina Restrepo: Nora, a fifteen-year-old Mexican girl, faces the challenges of being an illegal immigrant in Texas when she and her mother cross the border in search of Nora’s father.

Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright: Sixteen-year-old Carlos Duarte is on the verge of realizing his dream of becoming a famous make-up artist, but first he must face his jealous boss at a Macy’s cosmetics counter, his sister’s abusive boyfriend, and his crush on a punk-rocker classmate.

The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu*:  M.T. is a high-achieving high school student who is hiding the fact that she’s an undocumented immigrant in the United States

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales: Sofia grows up in the close-knit community of the barrio in McAllen, Texas, then finds that her experiences as a scholarship student at an Episcopal boarding school in Austin only strengthen her ties to family and her “comadres.”

What Can(‘t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez*:Marooned in a broken-down Houston neighborhood–and in a Mexican immigrant family where making ends meet matters much more than making it to college–smart, talented Marissa seeks comfort elsewhere when her home life becomes unbearable.

Accidental Love by Gary Soto*: After unexpectedly falling in love with a “nerdy” boy, fourteen-year-old Marisa works to change her life by transferring to another school, altering some of her behavior, and losing weight.
Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole: Laura, a seventeen-year-old Cuban American girl, is thrown out of her house when her mother discovers she is a lesbian, but after trying to change her heart and hide from the truth, Laura finally comes to terms with who she is and learns to love and respect herself.
Muchacho by LouAnne Johnson: Living in a neighborhood of drug dealers and gangs in New Mexico, high school junior Eddie Corazon, a juvenile delinquent-in-training, falls in love with a girl who inspires him to rethink his life and his choices. 

The God Box by Alex Sanchez*: When openly gay Manuel transfers to Paul’s high school, Paul, a born-again Christian, begins to question his own sexuality.

Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States edited by Lori Marie Carlson: “i think in spanish “i write in english “i want to go back to puerto rico, “but i wonder if my kink could live “in ponce, mayaguez and carolina “tengo las venas aculturadas “escribo en spanglish “abraham in espanol “–from “My Graduation Speech,” by Tato Laviera A new collection of bilingual poems from the bestselling editor of “Cool Salsa Ten years after the publication of the acclaimed “Cool Salsa, editor Lori Marie Carlson has brought together a stunning variety of Latino poets for a long-awaited follow-up. Established and familiar names are joined by many new young voices, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Oscar Hijuelos has written the Introduction. The poets collected here illuminate the difficulty of straddling cultures, languages, and identities. They celebrate food, family, love, and triumph. In English, Spanish, and poetic jumbles of both, they tell us who they are, where they are, and what their hopes are for the future.

Silver People by Margarita Engle*: Told in free-verse narratives, Fourteen-year-old Mateo and other Caribbean islanders face discrimination, segregation, and harsh working conditions when American recruiters lure them to the Panamanian rain forest in 1906 to build the great canal.

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero* (October 14): Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy’s pregnancy, friend Sebastian’s coming out, her father’s meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially, the poetry that helps forge her identity.

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey* (April 28, 2014): Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known. Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act. Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it. But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire. (Description via Goodreads).

Extraction (series) by Stephanie Diaz*: When she proves Promising enough to be “extracted” from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, sixteen-year-old Clementine learns that the planet’s leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers, including Logan, the boy Clementine loves.
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera* (June 16, 2015): When it first gets announced, the Leteo Institute’s memory-alteration procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto – miracle cure-alls don’t tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. Aaron can’t forget how he’s grown up poor, how his friends all seem to shrug him off, and how his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. He has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it’s not enough. Then Thomas shows up. He doesn’t mind Aaron’s obsession over the Scorpius Hawthorne books and has a sweet movie set-up on his roof. There are nicknames. Aaron’s not only able to be himself, but happiness feels easy with Thomas. The love Aaron discovers may cost him what’s left of his life, but since Aaron can’t suddenly stop being gay Leteo may be the only way out. (Description via Goodreads). 

Reality Television Redux

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Back in January, Kelly created a pretty lengthy booklist of novels featuring reality TV and documentaries. As 2014 has progressed, I’ve seen more and more books on this theme being published and buzzed. (It’s been on my mind since I first picked up The Vault of Dreamers several weeks ago.) Part of the trend for these newer and forthcoming novels seems to be teens creating their own reality shows or videos, usually online via Youtube or something similar. While Kelly rightly mentions that reality television itself peaked in popularity a while ago, I think the Youtube/online angle is something that’s still being explored, and it’s especially attractive to teens since it allows them to flex their own creative muscles.

Here are a few more recent and forthcoming titles that tackle reality TV in some way. Descriptions of currently published novels are from WorldCat; forthcoming titles are from Goodreads.

Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner [August 2014]
Sixteen-year-old Torrey Grey’s YouTube videos on fashion and beauty for
teenagers were famous, but when her younger sister is killed by a drunk
driver during a filming her world falls apart–cyber bullies are
attacking her, her father moves them to Texas, and she does not know who
to trust at her new school or whether her cousin is really a friend.

Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan [October 2014]
Millions of people
witnessed Emma Taylor’s first kiss—a kiss that needed twelve takes and
four camera angles to get right. After spending nearly all of her teen
years performing on cue, Emma wonders if any part of her life is real
anymore . . . particularly her relationships. Jake Elliott’s face
is on magazine ads around the world, but his lucrative modeling deals
were a poor substitute for what he had to leave behind. Now acting is
offering Jake everything he wants: close proximity to home; an
opportunity to finally start school; and plenty of time with the smart
and irresistible Emma Taylor . . . if she would just give him a chance. But on-set relationships always end badly. Don’t they?

Diamonds in the Rough by Michelle Madow [October 2014]
The three Diamond
sisters survived the summer in style after coming to live with their
long-lost billionaire father. But making a place for themselves at their
exclusive new Las Vegas private school is throwing them any number of
gold-plated curves. Savannah’s YouTube stardom turns into a Sweet
Sixteen reality show extravaganza—with complimentary enemies on the
side. Dangerous flirtations don’t keep Peyton from a gamble that will
risk far more than she planned to bet. And when Courtney and the
sisters’ archenemy, Madison, uncover two explosive secrets, it will rock
even this town of glittering illusion—and turn their lives upside down
all over again.

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh O’Brien [September 2014]
Rosie Sinclair, who attends an elite arts school where students are
contestants on a high stakes reality show, skips her sleeping pill one
night and discovers that the school is really a cover-up for the
lucrative and sinister practice of dream harvesting.

Scripted by Maya Rock [February 2015, no cover image]
To the people suffering
on the war-torn mainland, Bliss Island seems like an idyllic place. And
it is: except for the fact that the island is a set, and the islanders’
lives are a performance. They’re the stars of a hit TV show, Blissful
Days—Characters are adored by mainland viewers, yet in constant danger
of being cut if their ratings dip too low. And no one really knows what
happens to cut Characters.

Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Seigel & Brent Bradshaw [March 2015]
When two teens are cast in Spotlight, a reality TV singing competition,
both see it as their chance to start anew. With each episode, as they
live together in a Hollywood Hills mansion and sing their hearts out,
Ford and Magnolia fall in love. But how genuine can that love be when a
television audience is watching their every move—and when their pasts
are catching up them so much faster than they can run?

The Pretty App by Katie Sise [April 2015]
Poor Blake Dawkins!
She’s rich, she’s gorgeous, and she’s the queen bee of Harrison High.
But it
turns out Blake’s life is not so perfect—just talk to her dad, who
constantly reminds her that she’s not up to par, or to her ex-bff,
Audrey, who doesn’t even look her in the eye. Then Harrison—and
every other high school in America—becomes obsessed with posting selfies
on the ubiquitous Pretty App. Next: Leo, an adorable transfer student,
arrives at Harrison and begins to show Blake that maybe being a queen
bee doesn’t mean being a queen bitch. And though Audrey suspects
somebody’s playing foul, Blake finds herself catapulted to internet fame
after being voted one of the prettiest girls in the country. She’s
whisked away to star in a reality show—in Hollywood, on live TV. But she
doesn’t know who to trust. Because everybody on the show wants to win. And nobody is there to make friends.

The Big Male YA Narrator Round-up

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Last week, a comment on a post mentioned that we haven’t talked about many YA books this year featuring male narrators. Part of that is simply because we’re reading less and what we’re reading and reviewing tends to be along the lines of what we really want to talk about — most of those books have had female protagonists, but not all of them. In other words, we don’t review everything we read. Another part of this is because some genres in YA just have more female protagonists than others. Kimberly’s mythology genre post, for example, did feature primarily female narrators because that’s what’s out there; it’s not an oversight, and I suspect in the adult and middle grade worlds, you’ll find heaps of novels exploring mythology featuring male protagonists (Rick Riordan is the go-to for this in middle grade). And yet another part of this is because we’ve simply been pitched fewer books with male protagonists this year. I suspect after putting together this book list, much of that is because these books are realistic fiction not in the vein of the popular, New York Times Best Sellers style realistic fiction. 

That said, I thought for those looking for more male narrated books, it would be worthwhile to do a big round-up of books out this year or coming out in the next couple of months that do feature them. This won’t be an exhaustive list, but it’s pretty thorough and features titles from a wide range of genres. Some of these books we’ve talked about, some we will talk about, and some we haven’t and likely won’t talk about. There’s no shortage of male-narrated books; in fact, many of this year’s “biggest” books are male-POV books (both of the Andrew Smith titles, John Corey Whaley’s title, and Jandy Nelson’s dual-voiced book). 

As always, there’s no comment here about these books being “for boys” or “for girls.” Rather, it’s my hope all readers will find something to appreciate; sometimes you just want a story with a male narrator. 

All descriptions are from WorldCat unless otherwise noted, and I’d love any additional suggestions of books from 2014 that feature male main characters. I’m including titles where the male main character is part of a dual or cast of voices as well, and I’m sticking to books that are first in a series — so series books that had volume 3 or 4 out this year, I’m not including. I’ve also limited to traditionally-published titles. 

When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds: Ali lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back. 

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith: Finn Easton, sixteen and epileptic, struggles to feel like more than just a character in his father’s cult-classic novels with the help of his best friend, Cade Hernandez, and first love, Julia, until Julia moves away.

Why We Took The Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf: Mike Klingenberg is a troubled fourteen-year-old from a disfunctional family in Berlin who thinks of himself as boring, so when a Russian juvenile delinquent called Tschick begins to pay attention to him and include Mike in his criminal activities, he is excited–until those activities lead to disaster on the autobahn.

V is for Villain by Peter Moore: Brad Baron and his friends discover dangerous secrets about the superheroes running their society.

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston: In an alternate world where industrialization has caused many species of carbon-eating dragons to thrive, Owen, a slayer being trained by his famous father and aunt, and Siobahn, his bard, face a dragon infestation near their small town in Canada. (Edited to add: this is narrated by Siobhan, a female narrator, but Owen is a main character — so not a male voice, but a male main character along with the female main character/narrator).

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer: When a sleazy reality television show takes over Ethan’s arts academy, he and his friends concoct an artsy plan to take it down.

This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready: After his older brother is killed, David turns to anger and his parents to religion, but just as David’s life is beginning to make sense again his parents press him and his sister to join them in cutting worldly ties to prepare for the Rush, when the faithful will be whisked off to heaven.

There Will Come A Time by Carrie Arcos: Overwhelmed by grief and guilt after his twin sister Grace’s accidental death, seventeen-year-old Mark Santos is persuaded by his best friend to complete the “bucket list” from Grace’s journal.

The Other Way Around by Sashi Kaufman: To escape his offbeat family at Thanksgiving, Andrew West accepts a ride from a band of street performers who get their food and clothing from dumpsters, but as he learns more about these “Freegans” he sees that one cannot outrun the past.

The Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson: Robert “Cali” Callahan, seventeen, gets swept up into the private-investigator business and must deal with the ramifications of looking for fellow runaways who may not want to be found–and with falling in love with one of them.

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos: Written as a college admission essay, eighteen-year-old Harry Jones recounts a childhood defined by the hideous scars he hid behind, and how forming a band brought self-confidence, friendship, and his first kiss.

The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher: Orphan Nicolo Zen is all alone in 1700s Venice, save for his clarinet, enchanted by a mysterious magician to allow its first player to perform expertly. Soon Nicolo is a famous virtuoso, wealthy beyond his dreams, but he can’t stop wondering if he earned the success — or the girl he met in Venice is safe from the harm. 

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin: As Jin Ling tries to save her sister, Mei Yee, from the Brotherhood of the Red Dragon in Hak Nam Walled City, one boy, Dai, can reunite them and save their lives–but only if he’s willing to risk his own.

The Young World by Chris Weitz: Jefferson, with his childhood friend Donna, leads a tribe of teenagers in New York City on a dangerous quest to find an antidote for a mysterious illness that wiped out all adults and children.

The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely: Managing the challenges of his fractured family by taking Adderall, sneaking drinks, and confiding in an abusive priest, Aidan finds support from new friends including a crush, a wild girl, and a swim-team captain with his own secrets.

The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp: In eighteenth-century England, young Christopher Kit Bristol is the unwitting servant of notorious highwayman Whistling Jack. One dark night, Kit finds his master bleeding from a mortal wound, dons the mans riding cloak to seek help, and changes the course of his life forever. Mistaken for Whistling Jack and on the run from redcoats, Kit is catapulted into a world of magic and wonders he thought the stuff of fairy tales. Bound by magical law, Kit takes up his masters quest to rescue a rebellious fairy princess from an arranged marriage to King George III of England. But his task is not an easy one, for Kit must contend with the feisty Princess Morgana, goblin attacks, and a magical map that portends his destiny: as a hanged man upon the gallows

Sway by Kat Spears: High school senior Sway could sell hell to a bishop. When Ken, captain of the football team, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of Bridget, Jesse agrees. While learning about Bridget, he falls helplessly in love. A Cyrano De Bergerac story with a modern twist, it’s Jesse’s point of view, his observations about the world around him unimpeded by empathy or compassion; until Bridget forces him to confront his devastation over a crushing event a year ago and just maybe feel something again. 

Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin: Querry Gen, a member of one of the last human survivor groups following global war, is targeted by the monstrous Skaldi, although Querry has no memory of why.

Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop: On the first day of vacation thirteen-year-old Davey Tsering wakes up early, slips out of his family’s hotel room without telling anyone, and heads for the beach and a swim in the warm Floridian waters–and a fateful meeting with a shark.

Schizo by Nic Sheff: A teenager recovering from a schizophrenic breakdown is driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother and becomes wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing.

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern: Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can’t walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized. When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other’s lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins: Eighteen-year-old Matt’s atheism is tested when, after a horrific accident of his own making that plunges him into a dark, quiet place, he hears a voice that calls everything he has ever disbelieved into question.

In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak: Fifteen-year-old math prodigy Seth Gordon hopes to compete professionally playing Starfare, the world’s most popular computer game, but when he gets the chance to move to Korea and train full-time, he may not be ready for the culture shock and leaving his possible girlfriend, Hannah.

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson: A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah. 

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon: When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter, Jack Franklin, is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.

Road Rash by Mark Huntley Parsons: When teen drummer, Zach, signed up to spend the summer on tour with a rock band, he didn’t realize the stairway to heaven was such a bumpy ride.

Press Play by Eric Devine: Greg Dunsmore, a.k.a. Dun the Ton, is focused on one thing: making a documentary that will guarantee his admission into the film school of his choice. Every day, Greg films his intense weight-loss focused workouts as well as the nonstop bullying that comes from his classmates. But when he captures footage of violent, extreme hazing by his high school’s championship-winning lacrosse team in the presence of his principal, Greg’s field of view is in for a readjustment. Greg knows there is a story to be told, but it is not clear exactly what. And his attempts to find out the truth only create more obstacles, not to mention physical harm upon himself. Yet if Greg wants to make his exposé his ticket out of town rather than a veritable death sentence, he will have to learn to play the game and find a team to help him. (Description via Goodreads). 

Perfectly Good White Boy by Carrie Mesrobian: After losing his virginity to an older girl who dumps him at the end of summer, Sean decides to join the Marines, but first he must get through his senior year of high school.

Guy In Real Life by Steve Brezenoff: The lives of two Minnesota teenagers are intertwined through the world of role-playing games. 

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith: Austin Szerba narrates the end of humanity as he and his best friend Robby accidentally unleash an army of giant, unstoppable bugs and uncover the secrets of a decades-old experiment gone terribly wrong.

One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva: When Alek’s high-achieving, Armenian-American parents send him to summer school, he thinks his summer is ruined. But then he meets Ethan, who opens his world in a series of truly unexpected ways.

Noggin by John Corey Whaley: After dying at age sixteen, Travis Coates’ head was removed and frozen for five years before being attached to another body, and now the old Travis and the new must find a way to coexist while figuring out changes in his relationships.

Grandmaster by David Klass: A father-son chess tournament reveals the dark side of the game.

Going Over by Beth Kephart: In the early 1980s Ada and Stefan are young, would-be lovers living on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall–Ada lives with her mother and grandmother and paints graffiti on the Wall, and Stefan lives with his grandmother in the East and dreams of escaping to the West.

More Than Good Enough by Crissa-Jean Chappell: When seventeen-year-old Trent Osceola moves to the Rez to live with his father, a member of Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe, he faces new questions about his identity and reconnects with his childhood friend Pippa.

Dirt Bikes, Drones, And Other Ways to Fly by Conrad Wesselhoeft: Seventeen year-old dirt-bike-riding daredevil Arlo Santiago catches the eye of the U.S. military with his first-place ranking on a video game featuring drone warfare, and must reconcile the work they want him to do with the emotional scars he has suffered following a violent death in his family.

Drift by MK Hutchins: To raise his family out of poverty, seventeen-year-old Tenjat joins a dangerous defense against the naga monsters that gnaw at his drifting island’s foundation.

Fake ID by Lamar Giles: An African-American teen in the Witness Protection Program moves to a new town and finds himself trying to solve a murder mystery when his first friend is found dead.

Fat Boy vs. The Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach: When the high school cheerleading team takes over a soda vending machine’s funds, which were previously collected by the pep band, Gabe Johnson, an overweight “band geek” tired of being called names and looked down on, declares war.

Game Slaves by Gard Skinner: A highly intelligent group of video game enemy non-player characters (NPC) begins to doubt they are merely codes in a machine. Their search for answers leads them to a gruesome discovery.

Diamond Boy by Michael Williams: When Patson’s family moves to Marange region of Zimbabwe, he begins working in the mines, searching for blood diamonds, until government soldiers arrive and Patson is forced to journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister and a better life.

Blur by Steven James: The isolated town of Beldon, Wisconsin, is shocked when a high school freshman’s body is found in Lake Algonquin. Just like everyone in the community, sixteen-year-old Daniel Byers believes that Emily Jackson’s death was accidental. But at her funeral, when he has a terrifying vision of her, his world begins to rip apart at the seams. Convinced that Emily’s appearance was more than just a mere hallucination, Daniel begins to look carefully into her death, even as he increasingly loses the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. What’s real? What’s not? Where does reality end and madness begin? As Daniel struggles to find the truth, his world begins to crumble around him as he slips further and further into his own private blurred reality.

Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock: Told in three separate voices, dreamy Claire, seventeen, with her complicated home and love life, shy Max, also seventeen, a state senator’s son whose parents are too focused on the next election to see his pain, and twenty-one-year-old paranoid schizophrenic Barkley teeter on the brink of destruction.

Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn: Jamie’s mother was murdered when he was six, about seven years later his sister Cate was incarcerated for burning down a neighbor’s barn, and now Jamie, fifteen, learns that Cate has been released and is coming back for him, blaming him for all the bad things that led to her arrest.

Call Me By My Name by John Ed Bradley: Growing up in Louisiana in the late 1960s, where segregation and prejudice still thrive, two high school football players, one white, one black, become friends, but some changes are too difficult to accept.

Amity by Micol Ostow: Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors.

Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho: Althea and Oliver, who have been friends since age six and are now high school juniors, find their friendship changing because he has contracted Kleine-Levin Syndrome.

Caged Warrior by Alan Lawrence Sitomer: From age three, McCutcheon Daniels, now sixteen, has been trained in Mixed Martial Arts and must keep winning to feed his five-year-old sister and father, but chance presents an opportunity to get out of the Detroit slums using his brain instead of his fighting skills.

Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt: Jonah and Brighton are about to have the most awkwardly awful night of their lives. For Jonah, every aspect of his new life reminds him of what he has had to give up. All he wants is to be left alone. Brighton is popular, pretty, and always there to help anyone, but has no idea of what she wants for herself.

Allies & Assassins by Justin Somper: Sixteen-year-old Jared inherits the throne of Archenfield after his older brother, Prince Anders, is murdered. He relies on the twelve officers of the court to advise him but soon suspects one of them could be responsible for his brother’s death and vows to hunt down the killer, who may be after Jared as well.

All Those Broken Angels by Peter Adam Salomon: Both haunted and inspired by the shadow of his best friend, Melanie, since her disappearance and presumed death when they were six, Richard, now sixteen, is completely unprepared when a new classmate, Melanie, arrives at Savannah Arts Academy High School claiming to be that same friend.

The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder: Lauren is the new girl in town with a dark secret. Colby is the football hero with a dream of something more. In alternating chapters they come together, fall apart, and build something stronger than either of them thought possible–something to truly believe in.

Boy on the Edge by Fridrik Erlings: Henry has a clubfoot and he is the target of relentless bullying. One day, in a violent fit of anger, Henry lashes out at the only family he has– his mother. Sent to live with other troubled boys at the Home of Lesser Brethren, an isolated farm perched in the craggy lava fields along the unforgiving Icelandic coast, Henry finds a precarious contentment among the cows. But it is the people, including the manic preacher who runs the home, who fuel Henry’s frustration and sometimes rage as he yearns for a life and a home. Author Fridrik Erlings offers a young adult novel that explores cruelty and desperation, tenderness and remorse, but most importantly, kindness and friendship.

Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy: Danny Wright, seventeen, joined the Idaho Army National Guard to serve the country as his father had, but when the Guard is sent to an anti-government protest in Boise and Danny’s gun accidently fires, he finds himself at the center of a conflict that results in the federal government declaring war on Idaho.

Get Genrefied: Mythology

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For this month’s genre guide, we’re tackling mythology, which actually crosses genres. Though it’s most often associated with fantasy (the myths themselves are full of what modern readers would call magic), there are also some intriguing mythology-inspired stories that are strictly realistic, plus some historical fiction and science fiction too. Part of the appeal of mythology, much like with fairy tale re-tellings, is its ability to recall familiar stories while simultaneously making them new again.

In this guide, we use the word “mythology” to mean a collection of traditional or legendary stories, often involving gods and goddesses. Usually, myths are created to explain phenomena that can’t be explained using natural or scientific means (how the earth and humanity came to be, for example). We focus mainly on ancient mythology here: the religious and spiritual beliefs of peoples long-dead that are generally considered untrue – therefore mythical – by modern humans. That said, it’s certainly possible to call more modern religious or spiritual beliefs “mythical” – and some people do. I took a class in college where the professor stated the only difference between mythology and modern religion is that no one believes in the myths anymore. (Not all of you may agree with this, but it’s interesting to think about.)

This is important to consider when choosing the right term for a particular book inspired by a traditional story – is the story a myth or a religious parable? The word “myth” is heavily loaded and implies untruth. This might be more of a challenge for Western librarians who come across non-Western stories featuring gods and goddesses about which they know very little. (All the more reason to become acquainted with the beliefs of all peoples across the world and know which beliefs are mythical and which remain a part of the living religion.)

Mythology is ripe for re-imaginings since it’s already full of action, war, love, and betrayal – the stuff of any good story. It’s a perennially popular topic for kids and teens and will often lead them to check out some nonfiction on their favorite gods, goddesses, or creatures. (Edith Hamilton’s Mythology is the classic work, and younger kids at my library have loved the Mythlopedia books from Scholastic.) Greek mythology reigns; this was true even before Percy Jackson conquered the shelves. Still, the success of Rick Riordan’s novels has given rise to mythology-inspired stories from many different pantheons, including Norse, Japanese, and Korean.

Before we get to the booklist, here are a few resources of interest:

  • The Mythopoeic Society gives out an annual award for books in the fields of myth and fantasy. They have an adult category as well as a children’s (including YA) category. You won’t find a lot of Greek or Egyptian mythology-inspired winners here. Instead, the society focuses on recognizing books that best exemplify the spirit of the Inklings (a group of Oxford academics and writers which included J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis). The mythology recognized in the Mythopoeic Award is usually that of the writers’ own making, meaning honored books will often have interesting, detailed world-building. They also honor nonfiction work in the field – in Inklings studies as well as myth & fantasy studies. Recent winners and finalists include Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, and Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
  • The Encyclopedia Mythica is an online treasure trove of myths and folklore from all parts of the world. It currently has over 7,000 entries, plus a bestiary, image gallery, and genealogical tables.
  • Epic Reads’ chart of 162 YA Retellings is worth revisiting since they include mythology. They even break down Greco-Roman mythology by myth – Hades/Persephone, Cupid/Psyche, Helen of Troy, and everything else.
  • This post from Brittany at the Book Addicts’ Guide is about a project where participating bloggers wrote about various classics retold during September of 2013. Brittany was in charge of mythology, so her introductory post features a lot of great examples.

A lot of mythology-inspired stories being published today are more middle grade than YA, probably due to Percy Jackson’s influence (think of Loki’s Wolves or The Savage Fortress). Riordan’s stories have good crossover appeal to teens, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other middle grade mythology stories do as well. That said, there are plenty of solidly teen stories about mythology out there, and we’ve compiled a list for you below. They’re mainly broken down by pantheon, though those with only one or two books have been combined by region.

If you know of any others, particularly realistic or Asian or African-inspired, please let us know in the comments.

Greek & Roman

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
When shy sixteen-year-old Helen Hamilton starts having vivid dreams
about three ancient, hideous women and suddenly tries to kill a new
student at her Nantucket high school, she discovers that she is playing
out some version of an old tale involving Helen of Troy, the Three
Furies, and a mythic battle. Sequels: Dreamless, Goddess

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Regretting her decision to forfeit her life on Earth to become an
immortal on Everneath, a world between Earth and Hell, teenaged Nikki is
given the chance to return to the Surface for six months, in this story
loosely based on the “Hades and Persephone” myth. Sequels: Everbound, Evertrue

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Galen, prince of the Syrena, is sent to land to find a girl he’s heard
can communicate with fish. He finds Emma and after several encounters,
including a deadly one with a shark, Galen becomes convinced Emma holds
the key to his kingdom. Sequels: Of Triton, Of Neptune

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Athena and Hermes’ search for the cause of their unexpected,
life-threatening illnesses leads them to Cassandra, a former prophetess,
who may be key to a war started by Hera and other Olympians who have
become corrupt anti-gods determined to destroy their rivals. Sequels: Mortal Gods (October), Ungodly (2015)

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing
seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her
ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love
in her hands and refusing to be defeated. [Based on the Odyssey] Sequel: The Island of Excess Love

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Eden, Michigan, high school student Kate Winters strikes a bargain with
Henry, Greek god of the underworld, if he’ll cure her dying mother of
cancer. The bargain she strikes with him is a grim one, but the full
enormity of what she has undertaken–“live forever or die trying”–Is
not revealed until it’s too late to recant. Sequels: Goddess Interrupted, The Goddess Inheritance

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
When her mother suddenly decides to marry a near-stranger, Phoebe, whose
passion is running, soon finds herself living on a remote Greek island,
completing her senior year at an ancient high school where the students
and teachers are all descended from gods or goddesses. Sequel: Goddess Boot Camp

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Betrothed to the demon who rules her country and trained all her life
to kill him, seventeen-year-old Nyx Triskelion must now fulfill her
destiny and move to the castle to be his wife. [There are elements of a number of myths here, including Hades/Persephone and Pandora’s box.] Kimberly’s review

Solstice by P. J. Hoover
Eighteen-year-old Piper lives with her controlling mother amid a Global
Heating Crisis, but when she gets her first taste of freedom she
discovers a universe of gods and monsters where her true identity, kept
secret from her birth, could make all the difference in the world.

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

In post-apocalyptic New Orleans, now a sanctuary for supernatural
beings, a hardened teenager on the run searches for the truth about her
monstrous heritage and discovers a curse that could ignite the ancient
war between gods and monsters. Sequels: A Beautiful Evil, The Wicked Within

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry

In the Pacific Northwest, the bond between two best friends is
challenged when a mysterious and gifted musician comes between them and
awakens an ancient evil. [Inspired by the Orpheus myth] Sequel: Dirty Wings, inspired by the Persephone/Hades myth

Over You by Amy Reed
A novel about two girls on the run from their problems, their pasts, and
themselves. Max and Sadie are escaping to Nebraska, but they’ll soon
learn they can’t escape the truth. [Inspired by a number of Greek myths presented as chapter introductions] Kelly’s review

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
Persephone runs off to the Underworld with Hades, with whom she has
fallen in love, but when her mother Demeter threatens to destroy the
earth to save her, Persephone finds a way to come back once a year,
bringing spring.

Egyptian

Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner
Although she is a dutiful daughter, Nefertiti’s dancing abilities,
remarkable beauty, and intelligence garner attention near and far, so
much so that her family is summoned to the Egyptian royal court, where
Nefertiti becomes a pawn in the power play of her scheming aunt, Queen
Tiye. Sequel: Sphinx’s Queen

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer
Princess Cleopatra, the third (and favorite) daughter of King Ptolemy
XII, comes of age in ancient Egypt, accumulating power and discovering
love.

Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Cleopatra Selene, the only surviving daughter of Cleopatra and Marc
Antony, recalls her life of pomp and splendor in Egypt and, after her
parents’ deaths, captivity and treachery in Rome.

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Sixteen-year-old Isadora, the mortal daughter of Isis and Osiris, is
sick of being in the middle of family drama so she jumps at the chance
to leave Egypt and start a new life in San Diego with her brother.

Norse

Stork by Wendy Delsol
After her parents’ divorce, Katla and her mother move from Los Angeles
to Norse Falls, Minnesota, where Kat immediately alienates two boys at
her high school and, improbably, discovers a kinship with a mysterious
group of elderly women–the Icelandic Stork Society–who “deliver
souls.” Sequels: Frost, Flock

The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton
In an alternate U.S.A. (the United States of Asgard), Soren Bearskin,
the son of an infamous beserker, and Astrid Glyn, daughter of a renowned
seer, embark on a road trip to find Baldur, the missing god whose
absence has caused panic throughout the country. Sequel: The Strange Maid

Starling by Lesley Livingston
Mason Starling, a champion fencer at Gosforth Academy, finds her school
overrun with terrifying creatures after a mysterious, ferocious storm
falls on Manhattan and the mysterious stranger who saves her life
becomes her only ally as they work together to discover his past and
learn of Mason’s family’s dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods. Sequels: Descendant, Transcendent

Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
While visiting Norway, sixteen-year-old Ellie must step out of the
shadow of her popular older brother, join forces with his infuriating
best friend, and embrace her Valkyrie heritage to rescue teen boys
kidnapped to join the undead army of the ancient god, Odin.

Asian

Ink by Amanda Sun (Japanese)
Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka,
Japan, Katie feels lost. When Katie meets
aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school’s kendo team,
she is intrigued by him…and a little scared. His tough attitude seems
meant to keep her at a distance, and when they’re near each other,
strange things happen. And unless
Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life. Somehow Tomo is connected
to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan–and as
feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of
control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they
discover the truth, no one will be safe. Sequel: Rain

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff (Japanese)
In this dystopian steampunk fantasy set against a backdrop of feudal
Japan, warrior Yukiko captures a supposedly extinct (but crippled)
griffin for the Shogun, then learns — after meeting secretive Kin and
the rebel Kage cabal — of the horrifying extent of the Shogun’s crimes,
both against her country and her family. Returning to the city, Yukiko
is determined to make the Shogun pay — but what can one girl and a flightless griffin do against the might of an empire? Sequels: Kinslayer, Endsinger (November)

Prophecy by Ellen Oh (Korean)
A demon slayer, the only female warrior in the King’s army, must battle
demon soldiers, an evil shaman, and the Demon Lord to find the lost ruby
of the Dragon King’s prophecy and save her kingdom. Sequels: Warrior, King (2015) | Kimberly’s review

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon (Chinese)
With her father long overdue from his journey and a lecherous merchant
blackmailing her into marriage, seventeen-year-old Ai Ling becomes aware
of a strange power within her as she goes in search of her parent. Sequel: Fury of the Phoenix

Other

The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (multi-pantheon)
This morning, seventeen-year-old Kyra Locke was late for school. But
that’s not out of the ordinary in a transformed Washington, D.C.,
dominated by the embassies of divine pantheons and watched over by the
mysterious Society of the Sun that governs mankind’s relations with the
gods. What is unusual is Kyra’s encounter with two trickster gods on her
way home, one offering a threat, and the other a warning. 

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey (Maori)
Eighteen-year-old New Zealand boarding school student Ellie Spencer must
use her rusty tae kwon do skills and new-found magic to try to stop a
fairy-like race of creatures from Maori myth and legend that is plotting
to kill millions of humans in order to regain their lost immortality.

Suicide and Depression in YA: A Discussion and Book List

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“So I guess that’s why it doesn’t feel like talking about my mental health is tantamount to airing my dirty laundry. Instead, to extend the metaphor, it feels like I’m just hanging my regular old laundry out to dry. And I’m hanging it somewhere visible, like a laundry line strung up between two buildings or something. And everything – absolutely everything – that I wear is on that line. My cute little sundresses are there, as well as my jeans, my shorts, and a variety of tops. But my underwear is also hung up there – even the big old comfy granny panties – and my bras and thongs are there too, waving like flags in the wind. Because we all wear underwear. Everyone knows that people wear underwear. Everyone knows that underwear needs to be washed and dried before you wear it again. So why should it be embarrassing to hang it outside?
Everyone knows that mental illness exists; everyone knows the devastating effect that it can have, both on the people suffering from it and their friends and families. This is not new information – it’s something that we’ve known forever and ever. But the hush-hush way we’ve developed of discussing it and dealing with it clearly aren’t working. So let’s finally start talking about it, because that’s the only chance that we have of beating it.” — from Airing My Dirty Laundry by Anne Theriault

The two final paragraphs from this blog post really resonated with me last week when I read them. Everyone knows mental illness exists, everyone knows that the effects of mental illness can be terrible, and yet, people don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a pleasant topic, but it’s one that needs to be addressed and needs to be approached with more honesty and compassion. 

Over the last year, depression and suicide have seen more time in the spotlight. Ned Vizzini’s suicide, followed by Robin Williams’s — and the near 40,000 suicides that happen per year in the US — make it clear we need to be talking about this more. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America. While depression is not indicative of suicide, the two are linked together in a way that makes talking about them in tandem make sense.

There’s a mythology that surrounds depression and suicide, particularly when it comes to creative types. It’s a mythology that’s exceptionally destructive and belittling to all those who suffer from mental illness, and it’s this: that that anguish is what causes the best work to happen. 

Following Williams’s death, I read the comment far too often that creative people are most likely to suffer because that suffering is where art is born. It tends to be the complete opposite. Creative types don’t see depression as what drives them. The best work isn’t made when they’re down, but rather, when artists are up. When down and the work isn’t coming together, it actually further fuels the depression/anxiety cycle, making it even more difficult to create and engage in a healthy way. Myra McEntire and Stephanie Perkins have both written about this and the ways that depression has impacted not just their careers, but their personal lives, as well. 

Part of why people believe and engage in this myth telling is because it’s easier than trying to make sense of an illness that often doesn’t appear to have a root cause. How could someone talented or successful be depressed? How can someone who seems to have it all together find it difficult to get out of bed, to take a shower, to want to talk with the people who love and care about them? When people choose to look at an illness through that set of lenses, they blame the victim, rather than educate themselves on the disease. 

When we do that, we further stigmatize those who are suffering from depression, making them less likely to seek treatment or practice necessary self-care and preservation. 

One of the most memorable moments of my career in librarianship came at the very end. I’ve worked with teens for many years, and one of the reasons I like working with them and advocating for them is because they’re far more likely to be open minded and receptive to ideas and tough discussions than adults can be. But nothing really got to me and emphasized the importance of having resources available — and being a resource myself through listening, advocating, and being in tune with the array of challenges teens face — than when a teen got up during one of our programs and delivered a piece of slam poetry about a friend. 

She’d been quiet during the event. Her cousin had been urging her to get up in front of the (small) group of mostly adults and some teens who’d come to the program. She’d written something while listening to other performances, and her cousin really hoped she’d share. 

After she performed the piece, she stood at the front and accepted the audience applause shyly. But she didn’t leave the front of the room. She stood there, as if she needed to say more or explain what her piece was about. With more encouragement from her family, she explained that her friend had committed suicide just days ago, and the piece was a tribute to her friend. 

The room went silent. People didn’t try to distract themselves. They sat. They’d heard exactly what she said and took it in, thinking about not just what that meant on a grand level, but what it meant right here and right now for a young teen girl to get up and express her feelings about the situation while the wounds were so fresh. What do you do with that? What can you do with that? 

When the event was over, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t approach her, offering kind words or a hug. Many had said something after they’d collected themselves, encouraging her never to stop working through her feelings with words like she’d just done. And that she’d done so openly. 

I put together a display in the teen area the next day of books about “tough issues”: realistic fiction tackling mental illness and suicide. I knew if one girl who was hurting, others were, too. The books did not last long on the display. People were looking for these stories. And as I saw again on social media in the wake of Williams’s suicide, people were asking for books about depression and suicide. Books and art, of course, are ways into talking about mental illness and suicide, as they allow a space for thinking, for considering, and for making sense of them privately. 

That’s why hearing a teen girl sharing a poem about it left such an impact. She shared. 

With that, here’s a thick list of YA titles that explore depression and/or suicide. Again, these aren’t inextricably linked: one can be depressed and never suicidal, while one can be suicidal and it’s not borne of depression. Likewise, depression is often linked to other mental illness, but I’ve tried to focus on those stories where depression is the primary force. I’ve limited myself to realistic fiction, but feel free to offer up additional titles within any genre of YA in the comments. These stories focus on depression and/or suicide from a wide array of perspectives. 

All descriptions are from WorldCat. A handful of additional titles, which I’ve not included on my list, can be found at Disability in KidLit. 

 

I Swear by Lane Davis: After Leslie Gatlin kills herself, her bullies reflect on how things got so far.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta: Sixteen-year-old Francesca could use her outspoken mother’s help with the problems of being one of a handful of girls at a parochial school that has just turned co-ed, but her mother has suddenly become severely depressed.

Fat Kid Rules The World by K. L. Going: Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly 300 pounds, gets a new perspective on life when a homeless teenager who is a genius on guitar wants Troy to be the drummer in his rock band.

Hold Still by Nina LaCour: Ingrid didn’t leave a note. Three months after her best friend’s suicide, Caitlin finds what she left instead: a journal, hidden under Caitlin’s bed.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins: Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada’s Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives.

By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters: High school student Daelyn Rice, who’s been bullied throughout her school career and has more than once attempted suicide, again makes plans to kill herself, in spite of the persistent attempts of an unusual boy to draw her out.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: A day in the life of a suicidal teen boy saying good-bye to the four people who matter most to him.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales: Nearly a year after a failed suicide attempt, sixteen-year-old Elise discovers that she has the passion, and the talent, to be a disc jockey.

The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff: In the Florida projects, sixteen-year-old Jayson struggles with the harsh realities of his life which include an abusive mother, a drug-addicted father, and not fitting in at his predominately white school, and bring him to the brink of suicide.

Survive by Alex Morel: A troubled girl is stranded in an arctic winter terrain after a plane crash and must fight for survival with the only other boy left alive.

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard: The summer Ryan is released from a mental hospital following his suicide attempt, he meets Nicki, who gets him to share his darkest secrets while hiding secrets of her own. 

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard: Sent to an Amherst, Massachusetts, boarding school after her ex-boyfriend shoots himself, seventeen-year-old Emily expresses herself through poetry as she relives their relationship, copes with her guilt, and begins to heal.

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris: Four suicidal teenagers go on a “celebrity suicide road trip,” visiting the graves of famous people who have killed themselves, with the intention of ending their lives in Death Valley, California.

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams: Living with their mother who earns money as a prostitute, two sisters take care of each other and when the older one attempts suicide, the younger one tries to uncover the reason.

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers: As she searches for clues that would explain the suicide of her successful photographer father, Eddie Reeves meets the strangely compelling Culler Evans who seems to know a great deal about her father and could hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington: After her sister’s suicide, Harper Scott takes off for California with her best friend Laney to scatter her sister’s ashes in the Pacific Ocean.

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford: Brimming with sarcasm, fifteen-year-old Jeff describes his stay in a psychiatric ward after attempting to commit suicide.

Blackbox by Julie Schumacher: When Dora, Elena’s older sister, is diagnosed with depression and has to be admitted to the hospital, Elena can’t seem to make sense of their lives anymore. At school, the only people who acknowledge Elena are Dora’s friends and Jimmy Zenk–who failed at least one grade and wears black every day of the week. And at home, Elena’s parents keep arguing with each other. Elena will do anything to help her sister get better and get their lives back to normal–even when the responsibility becomes too much to bear. 

Everything Is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis: When her father leaves for a job out of town, Mazzy is left at home to try to cope with her mother, who has been severely depressed since the death of Mazzy’s baby sister.

Silhouetted By The Blue by Traci L. Jones: After the death of her mother in an automobile accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother when their father cannot pull himself out of his depression.

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick: An emotionally damaged sixteen-year-old girl begins a relationship with a deeply troubled older man.

Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern: When her parents confine her to a mental hospital, an overweight teenaged girl, who suffers from panic attacks, describes her experiences in a series of letters to a friend.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith: The discovery of a startling family secret leads seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd from a protected and naive life into a summer of mental illness, first love, and profound self-discovery. *Read Hilary’s guest post on mental illness in YA fiction, too, while you’re at it. 

Crazy by Amy Reed: Connor and Izzy, two teens who met at a summer art camp in the Pacific Northwest where they were counselors, share a series of emails in which they confide in one another, eventually causing Connor to become worried when he realizes that Izzy’s emotional highs and lows are too extreme. This book deals with bipolar disorder. 

Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang (September 9): One cold fall day, high school junior Liz Emerson steers her car into a tree. This haunting and heartbreaking story is told by a surprising and unexpected narrator and unfolds in nonlinear flashbacks even as Liz’s friends, foes, and family gather at the hospital and Liz clings to life.