When I was growing up, YA wasn’t really a thing, much less YA about mental illness Since then, we’ve come a long way, and now mental health YA books includes representation of just about every mental illness that young adults face. Today I’m writing about my own experiences with mental illness in young adult fiction, trying to bring representation to my conditions of schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, OCD, and anxiety. To celebrate May as National Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve compiled a list of my personal favorites in YA books about mental illness, what I consider to be the 20 best mental health books for teens. These mental health books for students, educators, parents, and allies of teens struggling with mental illness. Let’s jump in.
This article contains affiliate links.
The Best Mental Health Books for Teens
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Nivan
Since its publication in 2015, Jennifer Nivan’s All the Bright Places has become a modern classic of mental health YA books. This story about Violet, a girl dealing with grief and depression after the death of her sister, and Theodore Finch, a boy struggling with bipolar disorder, and the relationship that blossoms between the two is beautifully tragic. This book accurately portrays bipolar disorder, with heartbreaking accuracy, and is one of the must-read books on teenage anxiety and depression.
Don’t miss the film adaptation.
How to read it: Purchase All the Bright Places on Amazon
Calvin by Martine Leavitt
Calvin has always felt a deep connection to the Bill Watterson Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, which ended the day Calvin was born. Now Calvin is 17 and recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, even though he insists the giant tiger he sees is not a hallucination. When Calvin and his friend Susie go on an epic adventure crossing frozen Lake Erie to try talking Watterson into continuing the comic, Calvin’s reality is tested by actual reality. Leavitt’s novel is among the best mental health YA books.
How to read it: Purchase Calvin on Amazon
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Neal Shusterman’s Challenger Deep is a deep dive (pun intended) into living with schizophrenia. Caden’s narrative is split in two: in one, he’s challenged by his mental illness as it brings with it delusions and hallucinations; in another he is on a ship bound for the Challenger Deep, aka the deepest part of the ocean in the Marianas Trench, while he listens to orders from “the captain” and meets other boys like himself. Rich in metaphor and symbolism, Challenger Deep won the National Book Award, and it’s easy to see why it belongs among the best mental health books for students: this is compelling stuff.
How to read it: Purchase Challenger Deep on Amazon
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy edited by Kelly Jensen
I’ve collaborated with Kelly Jensen through Book Riot, and I read her engaging (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, the YA collection of nonfiction essays on mental health topics she edited, for my graduate MFA program. This stunning, and may I say vital, contribution to mental health books for teens includes writing by popular YA writers like Adam Silvera, Libba Bray, Victoria Schwab, and Heidi Heilig. Covering just about every mental health condition there is, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy is an essential nonfiction YA book about mental illness.
How to read it: Purchase (Don’t) Call Me Crazy on Amazon
Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick
Matthew Quick is one of my favorite YA writers and the brains behind The Silver Linings Playbook, which landed a spot on my “20 Best Books about Bipolar Disorder post here on Broke by Books. In Every Exquisite Thing, we see the love story between two misfits. There’s Nanette, a popular jock who doesn’t want to do what everyone wants her to do and becomes obsessed with the (fictional) book The Bubblegum Reaper and its (also fictional) reclusive author. And Alex, a mentally unstable and depressed poet and outcast who is also deeply involved in trying to find out what happens to the characters in The Bubblegum Reaper after the story ends. The two get together and, wham, it’s fireworks. I have a soft spot for this book because I was also obsessed with a work of literature (The Catcher in the Rye) by a certain famous reclusive writer (J. D. Salinger) when I was a teen, so I totally see myself in Nanette and her non-conformist streak. Fair warning: Quick pulls no punches and this one will likely leave you in tears.
How to read it: Purchase Every Exquisite Thing on Amazon
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
I totally relate to the heroine of Tamara Ireland Stone’s novel Every Last Word. Like Samantha (a.k.a. “Sam), I also have obsessive compulsive disorder, and man can it make life hell. Popular and pretty, Sam cultivates a perfect exterior, but inside her mind is buckling under the weight of her Purely-Obsessional OCD. Sam finds a new friend in Caroline, who introduces her to the Poet’s Corner, where social outcasts and kids who just don’t “fit in” bond over poetry, and a mystery loner boy who pens dreamy lyrics for his guitar. I definitely think this book depicts Pure-OCD well and will help educate people about the condition and help teens with mental health challenges cope with their illness.
How to read it: Purchase Every Last Word on Amazon
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Not every mental health YA novel needs to be about teens with mental illness. No book demonstrates that better than Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, in which twins Cath and Wren help care for their bipolar father. This tender story shows how parents can also suffer from mental illnesses and how that impacts their children. Cath and Wren are used to their father’s moods, but they keep an expert eye on him in case those ups and lows start swinging really high and falling really low. This book definitely has positive mental health representation.
How to read it: Purchase Fangirl on Amazon
The Fire Never Goes Out by N.D. Stevenson
N.D. Stevenson’s graphic memoir The Fire Never Goes Out also made my pick for the best graphic novels about mental illness. This raw and real memoir, told in Stevenson’s intense yet whimsical artwork, tells the story of how Stevenson dealt with bipolar disorder for years without treatment or a diagnosis. The Fire Never Goes Out is gritty and unflinching, emotional and visceral, making it one of the very best YA books about mental illness.
How to read it: Purchase The Fire Never Goes Out on Amazon
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Kathleen Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces belongs on any list of the best YA books about depression, focusing specifically on self harm. Glasgow covers a host of mental illness topics, including suicide, depression, and abuse, while telling us the riveting story of Charlotte, who finds herself hospitalized for her self harm behavior. Told in a fragmented style, with many chapters a few paragraphs at a time, the narration in Girl in Pieces mimics the splintered mental health of its heroine. Still, this is ultimately an uplifting book that belongs on the the top of any list of the best YA about mental illness.
How to read it: Purchase Girl in Pieces on Amazon
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
John Corey Whaley’s Highly Illogical Behavior is one of my favorite YA books about mental health. Quirky and endearing, this mental health book for teens focuses on sixteen-year-old Solomon, an agoraphobic who hasn’t set foot outside his house in three years. Lisa is an overachiever who sets her sights on studying psychology in college. To win over the admissions committee, she envisions she will contribute original research to the study of agoraphobia by befriending Solomon and attempting to “cure” him. Meanwhile, Lisa’s boyfriend Clark finds he is falling for Solomon just as Solomon works through his feelings about possibly being queer. I love how Whaley allows his characters to make mistakes and learn from them. Whaley’s characters are flawed and real. Educational books on mental illness like this can help others understand a condition like Solomon’s agoraphobia.
How to read it: Purchase Highly Illogical Behavior on Amazon
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins is known for writing hard-hitting mental health YA books. Based on my experience reading Hopkins, you should start with Impulse. This novel focuses on three teens on an adolescent psych ward whose lives intertwine. In Impulse, you’ll get a taste of Hopkins’ excellent poetry since this novel is told in verse. Even though this book is massive (666 pages!), I tore through it, and I was left wanting more. Fortunately, there’s a follow up, Perfect.
How to read it: Purchase Impulse on Amazon
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
I remember reading a book about anxiety by the late Ned Vizzini in high school and finally feeling seen. It would be a crime not to include on this list his classic It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Even though this novel came out in 2006, it’s just as fresh and relatable today for teens who struggle with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, like those had by our protagonist, Craig, who’s barely keeping afloat in his high-pressure ultra-competitive high school. Eventually, Craig is hospitalized at a mental hospital where he meets a whole host of quirky characters. This is an #ownvoices read since Vizzini had similar challenges to Craig and also spent time in a mental health facility. Any roundup of the best YA books about depression has to include It’s Kind of a Funny Story.
How to read it: Purchase It’s Kind of a Funny Story on Amazon
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Any list of the best mental health books for teens should include Brandy Colbert’s heartfelt Little & Lion. After a tough year of boarding school in New England wraps up, Suzette heads home to Los Angeles where she’s thrown back in the paths of old friends and old crushes and has to deal with her brother Lionel’s bipolar disorder and looming mental health crisis. This story about helping someone you love who has a psychological disorder makes an important contribution to mental health YA books.
How to read it: Purchase Little & Lion on Amazon
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
This YA contemporary romance with disability representation pairs up Amy, who deals with symptoms of her cerebral palsy, like using a walker and talking with a voice box, and Matthew, who has obsessive compulsive disorder. Amy hires Matthew to assist her in her senior year of high school, but soon the two fall for each other. Say What You Will is a swoonworthy romance with mental health themes that will hit you in the feels.
How to read it: Purchase Say What You Will on Amazon
Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King
A.S. King’s Still Life with Tornado is one of the best YA novels about mental illness ever. In fact, I’d put it up there with the best books about mental health period. This unforgettable story explores the aftereffects of trauma and PTSD in Sarah and Sarah’s mother’s lives. With an artsy theme, Still Life with Tornado sees King’s trademark surrealism used to explore the emotions and experiences of its heroine and her mother. I promise you won’t want to miss it.
How to read it: Purchase Still Life with Tornado on Amazon
Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
This verse novel is told from the point of view of Cookie, whose older sister is hospitalized during a mental breakdown. Cookie herself is starting to doubt her own sanity and feels a growing depression starting to emerge in her life. Through her poems, Cookie vents about what it’s like to be the sibling of someone who is facing psychological distress, including the rumors swirling at school, the complicated dynamics with her parents, and the frightening experience of being the loved one of someone with a major mental illness. At 145 pages, this quick book, which is autobiographical, according to Sones, is a must-read for those looking for YA novels about mental illness.
How to read it: Purchase Stop Pretending on Amazon
Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
Michael Thomas Ford’s Suicide Notes was originally published in 2008, which feels like ages ago as far as Young Adult goes. Still, I read it more than 10 years after its publication date and found it to be just as potent as if it had been published yesterday, which, in my opinion, means it’s one of the best mental health books for teens. The premise here is pretty simple: fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up and finds himself in the hospital after a suicide attempt. Jeff has all kinds of defense mechanisms he throws at the psychiatrist, staff, and his fellow inpatient residents. It’s moving to see Jeff change from someone who would do anything to not have to talk about his feelings into someone who is comfortable learning about his pain, recognizing his symptoms, and actively trying to pull himself out of his depression. I’ve been hospitalized three times for my mental illness, including once during college, and Suicide Notes definitely captures what it’s like to be young and going through the experience of inpatient.
How to read it: Purchase Suicide Notes on Amazon
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Easily one of the best mental health books for teens, John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down immerses readers in the obsessive-compulsive mind of Aza Holmes. Like the book cover hints, this story depicts the tightening screws of a corkscrew as you fall down a thought spiral. As I’ve said, I have OCD, and I find Green’s novel totally accurate in its representation of this illness and the accompanying anxiety that it produces. I adore Green’s The Fault in Our Stars (and have written about that book here on the blog), but I think Turtles All the Way Down just might be his masterpiece.
How to read it Purchase Turtles All the Way Down on Amazon
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Grief, depression, and anxiety intertwine to overwhelm Marin, the heroine of Nina LaCour’s Printz-winning We Are Okay. At first, we don’t know what has driven freshman student Marin to stay behind in her dorm in New England rather than head home to California. LaCour is an expert at drawing out reader’s emotions while keeping some of the mystery behind why Marin is behaving the way she has. Ultimately, this is a quietly powerful novel about friendship, trauma, and queer love.
How to read it Purchase We Are Okay on Amazon
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Last but not least in our list of the best mental health books for teens is Wintergirls. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls tells the tragic story of Lia and Cassie, two friends who are in competition with each other to see who can weigh less. When Cassie dies, Lia faces guilt and grief alike. I have struggled with an eating disorder all my life, and reading Wintergirls felt both familiar and hopeful. Anderson’s novel is considered one of the top educational books on mental illness because it sheds light on disordered eating, and you won’t want to skip it.
