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books

  • STACKED
  • About Us
  • Categories
    • Audiobooks
    • Book Lists
      • Debut YA Novels
      • Get Genrefied
      • On The Radar
    • Cover Designs
      • Cover Doubles
      • Cover Redesigns
      • Cover Trends
    • Feminism
      • Feminism For The Real World Anthology
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    • In The Library
      • Challenges & Censorship
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A Pair of Contemporary Reviews

April 19, 2017 |

I don’t usually read a ton of contemporary realistic fiction, but participating in my workplace’s Mock Printz committee makes it hard to avoid. I like that committees such as this one force me to pick up books I otherwise never would have – it makes me a more well-rounded reader and, as a result, a more well-rounded person. Both of my most recent contemporary reads have focused on grief.

optimists die first nielsenOptimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

Petula de Wilde’s baby sister died in an accident two years ago, and Petula blames herself (and feels everyone else does, too). Since then, Petula has been preoccupied with avoiding random accidents, rare diseases, and other events that can end a life early, to the point where it impacts her ability to live her life fully. She’s placed in a Youth Art Therapy (YART) class at her school with other troubled teens who are working through their own problems. While she’s initially resistant, her walls start to crumble when she befriends Jacob, a boy with a prosthetic arm who is the only survivor of a drunk driving accident.

Lest this description mislead you, this is not really a story about how a cute boy helps a girl learn to live again. Jacob has his own hangups, and Nielsen fleshes out a number of subplots involving other students in YART, Petula’s parents, and her former best friend. The result is a complex portrait of a grieving girl who grows – but is still perhaps not yet fully healed – by the end of the book. At times it has a bit of an after school special feel, and Nielsen’s writing is less sophisticated than a lot of other YA. Still, her straightforward style ably tells the story, and she’s able to mine significant humor – without mockery – from Petula’s and her classmates’ problems and their various methods of dealing with them (some quite healthy by the end). Readers will be happy to see Petula blame herself less – and live more – by the time they turn the last page.

we are okay lacourWe Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Marin fled her home in California for college in New York after an unnamed tragedy, and now that it’s the winter break, her (former?) best friend Mabel is coming for a brief visit. Marin hasn’t returned any of Mabel’s texts, and she’s chosen to stay at her dorm over the break, even though everyone else has left and the winter promises to be fierce. Over the course of the story, what exactly precipitated Marin’s departure unfolds in flashbacks.

Wow, can Nina LaCour write. It’s almost painful to read this book because Marin’s loneliness is so palpable. LaCour’s depiction of Marin is intimate and impossibly sad, showing readers a hurt, betrayed, and grief-stricken girl living in (chosen) isolation, wanting to let Mabel back in, but not knowing how. While LaCour does eventually reveal what has caused Marin’s grief, there aren’t really easy answers to how Marin can come back from it, nor why things happened the way they did in the first place. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this novel, but there’s no doubt LaCour’s mastery of her craft is on full display here. This one is for readers who love introspective YA.

Filed Under: contemporary ya fiction, realistic fiction, Reviews, ya fiction, Young Adult, young adult fiction

2015 Contemporary YA Fiction For Your Radar

December 5, 2014 |

What better way to round out this week’s contemporary YA celebration than with a booklist of what’s to come in 2015? This is an incomplete list, in part because it would be impossible to find everything and in part because the fall publisher catalogs aren’t available yet. This is primarily a guide to the contemporary YA hitting shelves in the first half of the year.

I’ve pulled from my own knowledge, from publisher catalogs, and from reviews I’ve seen of upcoming titles to put this list together. Aside from being incomplete, I know it’s possible a title or two included here end up not being contemporary — I can only pull so much from short descriptions — but I do know for sure most of these are. Like last year, the biggest trend in realistic YA is, without doubt, romance. This is a very romance-heavy list. I’ve also not included crime thrillers in this list, even though many could be seen as contemporary.

If you know of other contemporary YA titles publishing in 2015 through traditional publishers, feel free to let me know in the comments. Because not all of these books have WorldCat descriptions nor do they all have covers yet, I’m linking directly to Goodreads entries. Most, if not all titles, should have a description there.

Grab your pens and paper and hop on Goodreads because your to-be-read list is about to grow. As a head’s up, know this is a very long post. Contemporary YA was never dead, and it still isn’t.

Read Between The Lines by Jo Knowles (March 10)

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (May 5)

Zero Day by Jan Gangsei (January 1)

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert (May 19)

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (June 16)

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp (March 3)

Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys) by Amy Spalding (April 14)

Love, Lucy by April Lindner (January 27)

Scarlett Undercover by Jen Latham (May 19)

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery (July 7)

The Road to You by Alecia Whitaker (July 14, book two in the “Wildflower” series)

Those Girls by Lauren Saft (June 9)

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff (January 27)

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson (January 20)

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood (August 11)

Better Than Perfect by Melissa Kantor (February 17)

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga (February 10)

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand (February 10)

Geek Girl by Holly Smale (January 27)

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes (February 17)

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (March 10)

How to Win at High School by Owen Matthews (March 3)

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Little Peach by Peggy Kern (March 10)

Liars, Inc by Paula Stokes (March 24)

The Pretty App by Katie Sise (April 14, second in the “App” series)

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April 7)

99 Days by Katie Contugno (April 21)

City Love by Susane Colasanti (April 21)

No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss (February 24)

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (April 21)

Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby (April 21)

Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales (September 15)

Endangered by Lamar Giles (April 21)

Invincible by Amy Reed (April 28)

The Secrets of Attraction by Robin Constantine (April 28)

Endangered by Lamar Giles

Finding Paris by Joy Preble (April 21)

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio (April 28)

Encore to an Empty Room by Kevin Emerson (April 28, second in the “Exile” series)

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider (May 26)

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb (May 26)

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (May 26)

Emancipated by M. G. Reyes (May 26)

Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher (May 19)

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu (May 12)

A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith (May 19)

Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel (June 30)

The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi (June 16)

Between The Notes by Sharon Huss Roat (June 16)

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (June 23)

Paperweight by Meg Haston (July 7)

Every Last Promise by Kristin Halbrook (April 21)

The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner (March 3)

The Fill in Boyfriend by Kasie West (May 5)

The Revenge Playbook by Rachel Allen (June 16)

Don’t Ever Change by M. Beth Bloom (July 1)

How to Drop A Class (And Fall In Love) by Lisa Brown Roberts (February 3)

Infandous by Elana K. Arnold (March 1)

Paper or Plastic by Vivi Barnes (February 3)

All The Rage by Courtney Summers (April 14)

This Side of Home by Renee Watson (February 3)

When Reason Breaks by Cindy Rodriguez (February 10)

Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills (March 3)

The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver (April 28)

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (March 31)

Boys Don’t Knit by T. S. Easton (March 24)

Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan (April 28)

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre (April 7)

Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman (January 20)

Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark (March 24)

I’ll Meet You There by Heather  Demetrios (February 3)

Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn (June 9)

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan (May 12)

Wild Hearts by Jessica Burkhart (May 5, from the “If Only” series)

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (June 2)

Hello, I Love You by Katie Stout (June 9)

Forever For A Year by B. T. Gottfred (July 7)

Joyride by Anna Banks (June 2)

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller (June 2)

Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Steven Emond (August 11)

Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu (June 2)

Naked by Stacey Trombley (July 7)

Modern Monsters by Kelley York (June 2)

I Was Here by Gayle Forman (January 27)

Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod (January 8)

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed (March 24)

Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Siegel and Brent Bradshaw (March 10)

Mosquitoland by David Arnold (March 3)

The Truth Commission by Susan Juby (April 14)

First There Was Forever by Juliana Romano (April 14)

Still Waters by Ash Parsons (April 21)

The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne (March 17)

Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash (March 10)

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin (April 21)

Tracers by JJ Howard (January 8)

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (June 9)

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (January 6)

Breakout by Kevin Emerson (February 24)

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susan Nielsen (May 12)

A Matter of Heart by Amy Fellner Dominy (May 12)

Even When You Lie to Me by Jessica Alcott (June 9)

Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (March 10)

From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan (August 4)

Rusty Summer by Mary McKinley (May 26)

The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek by Seth Rudetsky (June 23)

Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman (March 31)

Playing A Part by Daria Wilke (March 31)

The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee (March 31)

Anything Could Happen by Will Walton (May 26)

The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg (May 26)

We Can Work it Out by Elizabeth Eulberg (January 27, sequel to The Lonely Hearts Club)

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds (January 6)

Killing Time in Crystal City by Chris Lynch (January 13)

Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols (January 13, part of the “Superlatives” series)

Galgorithm by Aaron Karo (May 5)

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz (March 3)

Promposal by Rhonda Helms (February 13)

The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow (March 10)

Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz (April 7)

Me Being Me is Exactly As Insane As You Being You by Todd Hasak-Lowry (March 24)

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell (May 5)

PS, I Still Love You by Jenny Han (April 21)

After Hours by Claire Kennedy (June 6)

Dime by E. R. Frank (May 26)

Last Year’s Mistake by Gina Ciocca (June 9)

Dancing with Molly by Lena Horowitz (June 2)

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten (July 7)

Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler (June 2)

Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards

Most Likely to Succeed by Jennifer Echols (August 4, part of the “Superlatives” series)

Shackled by Tom Leveen (August 18)

Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini (January 6)

Dating Down by Stefanie Lyons (April 8)

Hit Count by Chris Lynch (May 19)

What Remains by Helene Dunbar (May 15)

Where You End by Anna Pellicioli (June 1)

Blues for Zoey by Robert Paul Weston (February 8)

The View from Who I Was by Heather Sappenfield (January 8)

Violent Ends edited by Shaun Hutchinson (Fall)

Filed Under: book lists, contemporary week, contemporary week 2014, contemporary ya fiction, Uncategorized, Young Adult

Contemporary Realistic YA Week @ STACKED

November 30, 2014 |

It’s hard for me to believe, but this is the fourth contemporary YA week here at STACKED. What began in 2011 as a way to explore a genre within YA has grown into a series that, while a lot of work, is so rewarding to put together each year. You can catch up with the posts from previous years through the contemporary week tag.

This year, we have 5 brand new voices weighing in on topics ranging from mental health to social class to “dude culture” as it appears in contemporary realistic YA fiction. In addition to those thought-provoking posts, I’m writing accompanying, related book lists featuring realistic YA three days, as well. The week will wrap up with a giant post of 2015 contemporary YA books.

To celebrate the event, we’re also offering up a giveaway of a book by each of the contributors. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents only and includes the following books by the (not surprise anymore!) guest authors:

  • Fake ID by Lamar Giles and a pre-order of Endangered, out in April (the topic of his post)
  • Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson
  • Press Play by Eric Devine
  • None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio, a pre-order, out in April

I’ll also be offering up a copy of my book, It Happens, which should give the winner an even larger selection of book lists and discussion fodder relating to contemporary YA fiction. To enter, fill out the form here, and I’ll pull a winner at the end of next week so books can be on their way before the holidays. The winner will walk away with a total of 6 books. 
As always, I hope this is an interesting, engaging, and exciting series for readers, as much as it is for me to put together and think about. 

Filed Under: contemporary week, contemporary week 2014, contemporary ya fiction, Uncategorized

Two Contemporary Reviews: WILDLIFE by Fiona Wood and DON’T TOUCH by Rachel M. Wilson

September 22, 2014 |

These two books don’t have a common thread to them, except that they both explore themes of friendship, of being the new kid at school, and they’re both books that hit shelves this month. I highly recommend both, as they’re strong, solid additions to the contemporary realistic YA shelves.

Fiona Wood’s novel isn’t her debut, but it’s her first US publication — it’s the second book in a very loose duology, and the first book, Six Impossible Things, will hit shelves next spring here. Rachel M. Wilson’s Don’t Touch is her debut novel.

In Wildlife by Fiona Wood, Sib begins the wilderness term with her classmates, she’s best friends still with Holly, and on the brink of a relationship with Ben, who she kissed at a party. Sib’s gotten a lot of attention lately, thanks to her face being plastered on a billboard. It was a modeling gig she did for a little cash, on the suggestion of her aunt. This stint with “fame” changed how her classmates — and Holly — interact with her, even if it doesn’t change Sib in the least.

Lou is the new girl, tossed into this wilderness term without any immersion with these peers prior. She’s grieving, deeply grieving, and she’s private about what she’s going through. She’s not ready to open up, and even when pushed to the brink, she won’t. 

Until she does with Michael.

It’s through her relationship and opening up with Michael that Lou begins to forge a relationship with Sib and helps Sib realize that people like Holly are energy saps. . . not best friend material. That people like Holly are the reason that Sib may become hurtful herself. 

Wildlife is an excellent book about friendships and peer relationships, as well as about sexuality. Wood uses the words to describe what goes on in sexual experiences, through the voices of Sib and Lou, and it never comes off clinical nor does it come off as being too technical for how a teen girl might think. Even though Sib may not be happy with the choices she makes, she empowers herself with the ability to make those choices. In particular, I was impressed with a scene wherein one of the characters says explicitly that sex did not hurt because she’d educated herself with how her body works and feels. This moment was refreshing to read because it’s such a rarity in YA — usually, we have girls who are scared, worried, and fearful of what their bodies can and do do. This is the kind of scene that many teen girls need to read because it offers a refreshing and realistic alternative to the all-too-common narratives of fear and shame associated with sex, especially debut sexual encounters. 

More, I loved the friendship aspects of Wildlife. Wood offers girls who see friendship in very different ways, and it’s through these diverging perspectives that there’s an opportunity for one girl to see how her “friend” was far from that toward her. The perspective of female friendship as toxic and female friendship as supportive, caring, and loving butting against one another offer up something we don’t see enough of in YA. Because it’s told through two points of view, we get to see these relationships from the inside and from the outside. 

This is a story about coming into yourself and acting and reacting for yourself, rather than putting on a face or a performance for those around you. This is easily one of the best YA titles published this year in contemporary YA, and it’ll appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Siobhan Vivian, and perhaps even more so to fans of Melina Marchetta and Sara Zarr. It’s literary, with depth, heart, and tremendous respect for the complexities of being a teen girl dealing with teen girl challenges.  

Rachel M. Wilson’s debut Don’t Touch may be one of the best explorations of OCD I’ve read in YA. 

Caddie has always wanted to attend Birmingham’s high school for artists, but she’s never pursued it for a number of family-related reasons. But when her mom gives her the go-ahead and she is accepted, things around her begin to fall apart. Her dad and mom separate, and Caddie begins to think that her actions — in trying out and getting into the school, in touching or not touching other people — would change the situation. When those thoughts begin racing, her mind begins to make deals with herself as a means of coping with the stress and change in her situation. And her mind begins to deceive her, convincing her that were she to touch anyone skin-to-skin, things would just get worse. 

On the first day at the academy, Caddie reunited with an old best friend, who convinces her to try out for the school play. They’re doing Hamlet, and Caddie’s always wanted to play Ophelia. Both girls try out for the part, and it’s Caddie who scores it. The problem, of course, is that when she’s paired opposite Peter, playing Hamlet, those scenes where the characters may have to touch send her into a state of panic. She can’t touch him and she can’t let herself touch him. 

It becomes more complex when Peter and Caddie begin to fall for one another romantically. 

Don’t Touch renders a side of OCD that’s realistic to the illness, rather than what we’re shown too frequently in the media. This isn’t about overt rituals, though those periodically emerge. This is about what happens internally and the anxiety that irrational thoughts can cause an individual and how that individual has to rationalize those irrational thoughts in a way that allows them to function. Caddie knows her “don’t touch” mentality is wrong and that nothing bad will happen if she touches another person. The problem is, her brain doesn’t know this and won’t shut up unless she listens. Caddie is resistant to telling either Peter or her best friend Mandy about it. She’s terrified that by sharing what’s going on and naming the illness, she’ll lose those connections; anxiety fuels further anxiety which fuels even further anxiety. So rather than tell them, she withdraws when the anxiety becomes overwhelming. That withdrawal concerns both of them, as they think it’s a reaction to them or things they’ve said or done — and in Peter’s case, touching her in a way that shows his sincere affections for her. It’s a back-and-forth tug that leaves all parties uncomfortable in a way that’s painful and honest. 

There comes a turnaround point in the story, and that may have been where I found Wilson’s writing a character with OCD to be the most solid. Caddie does not recover immediately, and in fact, she’s not fully recovered in the end. But she learns methods of coping with her illness, and through those tools, she’s better able to talk about what’s going on with those who love and care about her. She has to face her fears and anxieties and know that doing so may not rid her of the anxiety, but it’s a big part of better compartmentalizing it. Through this, she’s able to really solidify those relationships that are good to her and good for her. That includes the sweet, budding relationship with Peter.

Don’t Touch is the kind of YA novel you can hand to YA readers anywhere along the teen spectrum. This is a longer book, but it never reads long or feels overdone. This would work for those 12-13 year olds ready to wade in, and readers who love stories about theater and art kids will find much to enjoy here, as Wilson brings Shakespeare and acting alive. Readers who love Laurie Halse Anderson’s Impossible Knife of Memory will want to pick up this book. 

Both Wildlife and Don’t Touch are available now. Wildlife was sent from a friend, and Don’t Touch was sent for review from the publisher. 

Filed Under: contemporary ya fiction, review, Reviews, Uncategorized, Young Adult

Suicide and Depression in YA: A Discussion and Book List

August 28, 2014 |

“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.

Filed Under: book lists, contemporary ya fiction, depression, Discussion and Resource Guides, In The Library, readers advisory, suicide, Uncategorized, Young Adult

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