Mental Health Awareness Month. 37 YA Books About Mental Health

To continue my journey of bringing awareness to mental health, I compiled a list of thirty-seven YA books about mental health. I haven't read all of these books, and I can't say if the mental health representation is well done or not, but I did a great deal of research (aka I spent hours reading Goodreads reviews) to be sure the themes mentioned are actually portrayed in the story. I tried to include a panoply of topics regarding mental health so that everyone can find her/his story. I'm so sorry if I left someone out. 💛 Ps. There might be some spoilers.

How it Feels to Float, Helena Fox. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface--normal okay regular fine.  
Mental health representation - depression.

The Place Between Breaths, An Na. But something inside of Grace has started to unravel. Could her discovery just be a cruel side effect of the disease that might be taking hold of her? And can she even tell the difference?  

Mental health representation - schizophrenia. 

They Both Die at the End, Adam Silvera. On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.  

Mental health representation - anxiety, grief and suicide.

Made You Up,  Francesca Zappia. Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion.  

Mental health representation - schizophrenia and paranoia.

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Erika L. Sánchez. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family.  

Mental health representation - depression and grief.

100 Days of Cake, Shari Goldhagen. There are only three things that can get seventeen-year-old Molly Byrne out of bed these days: her job at FishTopia, the promise of endless episodes of Golden Girls, and some delicious lo mien.  

Mental health representation - depression.

Paper Girl, Cindy R. Wilson. I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My review

Mental health representation - social anxiety and agoraphobia.

The Boy Who Steals House, C.G. Drews. Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. 

  Mental health representation - autism.

How to Make Friends with the Dark, Kathleen Glasgow. It’s the brightest day of summer and it’s dark outside. It’s dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart. 

 Mental health representation - depression, grief and suicidal thoughts.

Paperweight, Meg Haston. Seventeen-year-old Stevie is trapped. In her life. And now in an eating-disorder treatment center on the dusty outskirts of the New Mexico desert. 

Mental health representation - eating disorder and suicide.

The First Time She Drowned, Kerry Kletter. Cassie O’Malley has been trying to keep her head above water—literally and metaphorically—since birth.  

Mental health representation - depression and suicide.

Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson. Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. 

 Mental health representation - eating disorder (anorexia).

All Our Broken Pieces, L.D. Crichton. Lennon Davis doesn’t believe in much, but she does believe in the security of the number five

  Mental health representation - obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The State of Grace, Rachel Lucas. Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.  

Mental health representation - Asperger syndrome.

Finding Audrey, Sophie Kinsella. Audrey can't leave the house. she can't even take off her dark glasses inside the house. 

Mental health representation - social anxiety and agoraphobia.

Five Midnights, Ann Dávila Cardinal. And if they want to catch the killer, they'll have to step into the shadows to see what's lurking there—murderer, or monster?  

Mental health representation - addiction.

Eliza and Her Monsters, Francesca Zappia. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.  

Mental health representation - social anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

The Dark Vault, Victoria Schwab. Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking.  

Mental health representation - trauma, grief and depression.

Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. My review.

Mental health representation - trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Wintersong, S. Jae Jones. The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride....  

Mental health representation - bipolarity.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin. Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. 

 Mental health representation - post-traumatic stress disorder

For A Muse of Fire, Heidi Heilig. Her skill and fame are her family’s way to earn a spot aboard the royal ship to Aquitan, where shadow plays are the latest rage, and where rumor has it the Mad King has a spring that cures his ills. Because seeing spirits is not the only thing that plagues Jetta. 
 Mental health representation - bipolarity. 

Everything Here is Beautiful, Mira. T. Lee. When Lucia starts hearing voices, it is Miranda who must find a way to reach her sister.  
Mental health representation - schizophrenia. 

Impulse, Ellen Hopkins. Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act—suicide.

Mental health representation - suicide.

When We Collided, Emery Lord. We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…  
Mental health representation - bipolarity.

Highly Illogical Behaviour, John Core Whatley. Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Mental health representation - agoraphobia. 

The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins. Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? 

Mental health representation - depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A Quiet Kind of Thunder, Sara Barnard. Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. 
 Mental health representation - social anxiety and selective mutism. 

Reign of the Fallen, Sarah Glen Marsh. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack.  
Mental health representation - addiction and grief. 
 

Girl in Pieces, Kathleen Glasgow. Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.  
Mental health representation - depression and self-harm.

Under Rose-Tainted Skies, Louise Gornall. She knows that fearing everything from inland tsunamis to odd numbers is irrational, but her mind insists the world outside is too big, too dangerous. 
 Mental health representation - agoraphobia, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

Queens of the Geek, Jen Wilde. Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change.  

Mental health representation - Asperger syndrome and anxiety.

Starfish, Akemi Dawn Bowman. Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. Mental health representation - social anxiety and trauma.

The Weight of Our Sky, Hana Alkaf. A music-loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this heart-pounding literary debut.
Mental health representation - obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The Light Between Worlds, Laura Weymouth. As the weeks unfold, Philippa wonders if Ev truly did find a way home, or if the weight of their worlds pulled her under.  
Mental health representation - depression, self-harm and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hold Still, Nina LaCour. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend's suicide.  
Mental health representation - suicide.
 

Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Adib Khorram. He's about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming--especially when he's also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life.  
Mental health representation - depression.

Have you read any of these? What are your favourite books about mental health? Any recommendations?

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