Something More by
Fifteen-year-old Jessie has never felt like she never fit in anywhere, so attending a new school for high school gives her an opportunity to start fresh, but when she is diagnosed with autism just weeks before school starts, Jessie decides to hide her diagnosis. Determined to have a regular high school experience, she sets goals like kissing her crush and performing in the school musical. But things get complicated when two boys show interest in her and she finds it harder and harder to keep her autism a secret.
In Limbo by
A graphic novel-style memoir following the author through her troubled youth as a South Korean immigrant in the United States, where her imperfect English, her teachers unable to pronounce her Korean name, and her face and especially eyes, all made her feel just wrong. Her mental health spirals down to a suicide attempt, which she survives. After that, she learns the art of self-care and develops resilience, finding a deeper knowledge of her ancestry and of herself.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by
An obsessive, list-making high school senior named Quinn loses her journal with deeply personal lists and is being blackmailed by an anonymous Instagram poster to complete a list of fears or the whole journal will be made public. Quinn's crush Carter offers to help her complete the tasks and find the journal, and helps her gain the courage to be honest and take risks.
The New David Espinoza by
After a video of him getting slapped by a bully goes viral, David Espinoza decides to join a bodybuilding gym and bulk up over the summer. Frustrated at his slow progress, David is encouraged by other gym-goers to try steroids. Soon, David digs deeper into the seedy side of bodybuilding, and his addiction to steroids begins threatening his relationships. When he finally acknowledges his addiction, David reflects on the damaging effects of muscle dysmorphia and toxic masculinity.
Let's Call It a Doomsday by
There are many ways the world could end. A fire. A catastrophic flood. A super eruption that spews lakes of lava. Ellis Kimball has made note of all possible scenarios, and she is prepared for each one.
What she doesn’t expect is meeting Hannah Marks in her therapist’s waiting room. Hannah calls their meeting fate. After all, Ellis is scared about the end of the world; Hannah knows when it’s going to happen.
Despite Ellis’s anxiety—about what others think of her, about what she’s doing wrong, about the safety of her loved ones—the two girls become friends. But time is ticking down, and as Ellis tries to help Hannah decipher the details of her doomsday premonition, their search for answers only raises more questions.
When does it happen? Who will believe them? And how do you prepare for the end of the world when it feels like your life is just getting started?
Me (Moth) by
Two years after the death of her family in a car accident, sole survivor Moth still feels adrift and lost, even though she's mostly comfortably cared for by her aunt. When she meets junior classmate Sani, whose ancestors are Navajo, she finds a kindred spirit who understands what it feels like to be disconnected from family.
The Lightness of Hands by
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Dante suffers from bipolar II disorder. It was manageable when her father was a famous stage magician and they had insurance, but after an epic fail on live TV his career was ruined, and now they must live in a beat-up RV and can no longer afford Ellie's medication. When Ellie gets a call from a pair of famous magicians offering her Dad the chance to redeem himself on their live TV special, she lies to her Dad to convince him to move out to Los Angeles, hoping to persuade him to take a chance once again at a life worth living.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by
British high school student Celine Bangura is determined to win one of three scholarships being offered by her hero, human rights lawyer Katharine Breakspeare, through the Breakspeare Enrichment survival course program. She doesn't realize that her former best friend Bradly Graeme, now a popular soccer star at the school, also has applied and he'll be competing alongside her in the various mental and physical survival competitions. They soon realize that if either of them is to have a shot against the other ruthless competitors, they'll have to call a truce and team up. As the walls around their hearts begin to crumble, the pair reforge their friendship that blossoms into a romance, and help each other deal with family and personal issues.
American Road Trip by
Some hard hits take Teodoro "T" Avila down the summer before his senior year, not least of which being his beloved older brother Manny returning from tour in Iraq with severe PTSD. Desperate to save Manny from himself and to heal his family, T's fiery sister, Xochitl, tricks her brothers into going on a road trip with one another.
Love Times Infinity by
Book-loving seventeen-year-old Michie Cooper is focused on getting into Brown University and studying English literature. Her college essays are triggering her anxiety, however, causing her to remember feelings of shame that she's the product of sexual assault and that she's been estranged from her mother since the age of seven.
An Emotion of Great Delight by
In 2003, Muslim American teen Shadi is crumbling from sadness and stress, very little of which is related to the hatred she's feeling from peers at school due to the recent 9/11 attacks. Shadi's brother was killed in a car accident and the resulting stress on her family likely led to her father's heart attack and her mother's deep depression. Feeling alone and floundering, Shadi's only lifeline is her former friend's brother Ali, who becomes a source of support--and maybe something more--during this time of family and political turmoil.
Geese Are Never Swans by
Gus, a competitive swimmer, has a goal to make it to the Olympics, but doing so will require him to face a horrific event that happened years ago. His older brother Danny, also a competitive swimmer, committed suicide when he did not make the national team. Gus, who convinces his older brother's coach to train him, must reconcile the anger he feels having always been in Danny's shadow with the goals he has for himself and ultimately his feelings over Danny's death.
Holding up the Universe by
Libby Strout was once named "America's Fattest Teen." After her mother died, Libby ate through her grief in the privacy of her own home, but after bariatric surgery and years of homeschooling, Libby is ready to tackle high school. Meanwhile, swaggering Jack Masselin, who can take apart and rebuild almost anything, hides a disability that doesn't allow him to recognize faces. When Jack and Libby are put together in the same community service group, the two grow close and learn how to be honest and to accept themselves.
The Last True Poets of the Sea by
The Larkin family isn't just lucky—they persevere. At least that's what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great grandmother didn't drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer. But wrecks seem to run in the family: Tall, funny, musical Violet can't stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life. Shipped back to Lyric while Sam is in treatment, Violet is haunted by her family's missing piece—the lost shipwreck she and Sam dreamed of discovering when they were children. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century. She finds a fellow wreck hunter in Liv Stone, an amateur local historian whose sparkling intelligence and guarded gray eyes make Violet ache in an exhilarating new way. Whether or not they find the Lyric, the journey Violet takes—and the bridges she builds along the way—may be the start of something like survival. Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is an astonishing debut about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck.
Six Goodbyes We Never Said by
Teens Naima Rodriguez, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and Dew Brickman, who has social anxiety, bond over their mutual loss of both parents.
If I Tell You the Truth by
After a sexual assault that leaves her pregnant, young Kiran leaves Punjab to start life over in Canada. There, her daughter Sahaara is born and grows up, but faces her own difficulties when authorities discover her mother has overstayed her visa and become undocumented. Seeking justice, Sahaara learns the truth about Kiran's past and determines to challenge a dangerous man's power.
This Is Why They Hate Us by
The summer before his junior year of high school, Enrique "Quique" Luna has vowed to get over his crush on Saleem Kanazi, especially since Saleem will be gone for the first half of the summer to meet a woman his Palestinian American family hopes to set him up with.
Turtles All the Way Down by
It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
We Are All So Good at Smiling by
When hospitalized for her clinical depression, Whimsy connects with a boy named Faerry, who also suffers from the traumatic loss of a sibling, and together they work to unearth buried memories and battle the fantastical physical embodiment of their depression.
Grief Girl by
Recounts the author's experiences after the deaths of her parents in an automobile accident when she was fourteen years old. Discusses her progression through the stages of grief and the changes to her relationships with her siblings and family friends.
Brave Face by
Shaun David Hutchinson discusses coming of age in the early 1990s, when a lack of positive queer representation cast his own sexuality as a negative trait that left him depressed and angry. He shares passages from his own diary at the time when he reveals the self-harm and abuse he suffered, and the constant messages from a society who told him to "repent" or he would never find love. He goes on to explain how he eventually found happiness and acceptance in the gay community.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.
A Heart in a Body in the World by
Eighteen-year-old Annabelle begins running from Seattle to Washington D.C. trying to outrun her devastating past. As she passes through the mountains and valleys, she becomes a reluctant activist as her "publicity team"--Grandpa Ed, her brother, and two friends--help people connect Annabelle’s run to her recent tragedy involving gun violence and sexism; and they cheer for her state to state. But Annabelle doesn't know if she can outrun her demons.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by
Chronicles the life of Jennette McCurdy, and details her struggles as a former child actress including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her abusive and overbearing mother. Explores how her mother controlled every aspect of her life after she was cast in the TV shows, "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat," and discusses McCurdy's path to recovery after she stepped away from acting and began therapy.
Little and Lion by
Sixteen-year-old Suzette has returned to Los Angeles for the summer after being away at boarding school. Happy to be back with her racially blended family--Suzette and her mother are black, while her father and brother Lionel are white--Suzette is anxious to spend time with her old friends and help her brother who has been struggling with bipolar disorder. When Lionel confides that he's going off his medication, Suzette is afraid that telling anyone will destroy their relationship. To make matters worse, Suzette finds herself falling for the same girl Lionel has feelings for.
The Memory of Light by
When Victoria Cruz wakes up in the psychiatric ward of a Texas hospital after her failed suicide attempt, she still has no desire to live, but as the weeks pass, and she meets Dr. Desai and three of the other patients, she begins to reflect on the reasons why she feels like a loser compared with the rest of her family, and to see a path ahead where she can make a life of her own.
All the Bright Places by
Theodore Finch, a boy who thinks too much about death, and Violet Markey, a girl whose only thoughts are escaping high school and the painful memory of her sister's death, meet six stories above the ground on the ledge of the school bell tower. Who saves who from jumping is a mystery, but the boy and girl become unlikely friends and more-than-friends, even as their worlds grow further apart.
The Meaning of Birds by
Jessica, an "out" lesbian and one of the only "out" teenagers in her school, finds that the grief and anger building inside her ever since her father's death is changed and redirected by Vivi when she crashes into her life, opening her up to love and encouraging her to pursue her talent as an artist. Then, in the middle of their senior year, Vivi suddenly dies, sending Jess back into anger and depression. However, in her work-study program she meets another new and unexpected friend who helps her learn to make room for her heart to heal and use her anger, passion, and creativity to make a new path forward to healing and a future.
