I think books are parachutes in disguise. Once you read them, you can tiptoe out onto the ledge, open your mouth, and leap into the scariest, deepest, I-can’t-even-see-the-bottom kinds of conversations.
And the reason you can take that plunge is because it’s easier to talk about tough topics from the safety of a fictional character. You can do it without fear, without flinching, without ever having to reveal that character might actually be you. This is how young adult books save lives. They open mouths, hearts and minds and let readers share the stories they’ve been aching to tell – stories about mental illness, suicide, self-harm, bullying, addiction, abuse, and more.
And it’s in the telling, that the healing begins. When I was writing Kiss of Broken Glass, a story dealing with self-harm based loosely on my daughter’s experiences, I shared the early drafts of the manuscript with her. Before sharing the manuscript, I’d asked my daughter many times to talk about her struggles, to explain what drew her into cutting, and to help me understand. But she refused to open up, wouldn’t share a single glimpse, and instead kept silent. That is, until she read the manuscript. Then suddenly, she was a waterfall of words, telling me everything she thought might be going on inside the fictional character’s head. As I sat there listening, swallowing back the lump in my throat, I knew I was hearing my daughter’s own experiences – all her pain, anxiety, triggers, and triumphs – spoken honestly and heart wrenchingly for the very first time.
A book did that.
Books are doing that every day.
Here are ten powerful, authentic, and fearless titles that are doing that right now:
- Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Lia and Cassie are best friends, frozen in fragile bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the thinnest. But then Cassie suffers the ultimate loss-her life-and Lia is left behind, haunted by her friend’s memory and racked with guilt for not being able to help save her. Lia’s struggle, her painful path to recovery, and her desperate attempts to hold on to hope make Wintergirls a powerful read about the brutal grip of anorexia.
2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why. Thirteen Reasons Why continues to inspire anti-bullying discussions in schools and this year author Jay Asher is hitting the road to talk to teens about this important issue, making a stop in each of the 50 states.
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Charlie stands on the fringes of life but learns what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age story, but, it is also a story about family secrets and abuse and about how Charlie must confront his past to claim his infinite future.
4. These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar
Five years after an unspeakable tragedy that changed him forever, Gordie Allen has made a new home with his half-brother Kevin. Their arrangement works since Kevin is the only person who can protect Gordie at school and keep him focused on getting his life back on track. But just when it seems like things are becoming normal, Gordie’s biological father comes back into the picture, demanding a place in his life. Now there’s nothing to stop Gordie from falling into a tailspin that could cost him everything. These Gentle Wounds is a heartbreaking novel that lets readers inside the mind of someone who is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt.
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green
Pudge Halter’s whole life has been one big non-event, so he heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is the gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. And after, nothing is ever the same. Looking for Alaska highlights the sadness, guilt, anger and ultimately the renewal of teens who face the unthinkable question of whether there was anything they could have done to prevent their friend’s death.
6. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Kristina Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. Then, Kristina meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul—her life. Crank is based loosely on the author’s daughter and her struggle with an addiction to crystal meth. It paints a dark and relentless picture of drug addiction and tremendous price Kristina pays for her relationship with the monster.
7. The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
Rumor has it Alice Franklin is a slut. It’s written all over the “slut stall” in the girls’ bathroom: “Alice had sex in exchange for math test answers” and “Alice got an abortion last semester.” In alternating points of view, four high school students tell all they “know” about Alice--and in doing so reveal their own secrets and motivations, painting a raw look at teen life. The Truth about Alice examines slut-shaming, bullying, and the reality that the truth is often not what is seems.
8. Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips
Laura is a typical 15-year-old growing up in the 1960s, navigating her way through classes, friendships, and even a new romance. But she’s carrying around a secret: her mother is suffering from a mental illness that nobody will talk about. Crazy is an eloquent and compelling novel-in-verse that tackles complex themes and emphasizes the importance of an open, honest dialogue about mental health.
9. Forgive me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
On Leonard Peacock’s 18th birthday he plans to kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather’s P-38 pistol. But first, he must deliver four present to the handful of people who have made his worthless life better. This novel takes readers into the tormented mind of someone struggling with the aftermath of trauma and betrayal and ultimately reveals the power of forgiveness.
10. Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
When an older sister has a mental breakdown and has to be hospitalised, a younger sister is left behind to cope with a family torn apart by grief and friends who turn their backs on her. But worst of all is the loss of her big sister, her confidante, and her best friend, who has gone some place no one can reach. Stop Pretending is an intimate look at how mental illness affects the whole family, how it can turn sisters into strangers, and how time, patience and love can weave them together again.
Join us on Twitter for a live chat on Monday 19 January 7-8pm
We have authors including Madeleine Kuderick @kuderickwrites, Jennifer Niven @jenniferniven, Matt Haig @matthaig1, Nicola Morgan @nicolamorgan, James Dawson @_jamesdawson, Gayle Forman @gayleforman and Sita Brahmachari @SitaBrahmachari together with mental health experts Rethink Mental Illness @Rethink_ and Young Minds @youngmindsuk ready to talk about teen books and mental health. Please come and join us using #Gdnbluemonday on Monday 19 January from 7-8pm on @GdnChildrensBks.
We are also compiling a teen blog of the books that have saved your life. Please email us yours to childrens.books@theguardian.com. See Jennifer Niven’s top 10 books to save your life and Gayle Forman’s We need to talk about depression.
