Fiction
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Call Number: Fantasy F MCBWhen 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.
I Wish You All the Best by Call Number: Realist Fiction F DEAThrown out of their parents' home and moving in with their estranged sister after coming out as nonbinary, Ben De Backer struggles to endure an anxiety disorder and the last half of senior year while bonding with a charismatic new friend.
Home Home by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F ALLAfter being hospitalized for depression, fourteen-year-old Kayla is sent from her home in Trinidad to live with her aunt in Canada, yearning to feel at home but feeling more adrift than ever.
Little and Lion by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F COLSuzette returns home to Los Angeles from boarding school and grapples with her bisexual identity when she and her brother Lionel fall in love with the same girl, pushing Lionel's bipolar disorder to spin out of control and forcing Suzette to confront her own demons.
Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F GANTeens 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.
Girl in Pieces by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F GLAAs she struggles to recover and survive, seventeen-year-old homeless Charlotte "Charlie" Davis cuts herself to dull the pain of abandonment and abuse.
Turtles All the Way Down by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F GREAza Holmes is a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F KHOClinically-depressed Darius Kellner, a high school sophomore, travels to Iran to meet his grandparents, but it is their next-door neighbor, Sohrab, who changes his life.
When We Collided by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F LORCan seventeen-year-old Jonah save his family restaurant from ruin, his mother from her sadness, and his danger-seeking girlfriend Vivi from herself?
The Art of Starving by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F MILMatt avoids eating, thinking it gives him powers, while he tries to find out what bully Tariq did to drive away Matt's sister Maya.
This Impossible Light by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F MYEFifteen-year-old Ivy, feeling a lot of stress about her expanding body, her parents' divorce, and her best friend's distance, develops an eating disorder.
All the Bright Places by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F NIVTold in alternating voices, when Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, both teetering on the edge, it's the beginning of an unlikely relationship, a journey to discover the "natural wonders" of the state of Indiana, and two teens' desperate desire to heal and save one another.
Anger Is a Gift by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F OSHSix years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks. Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals in their own school. When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.
The Astonishing Color of After by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F PANAfter her mother's suicide, grief-stricken Leigh Sanders travels to Taiwan to stay with grandparents she never met, determined to find her mother who she believes turned into a bird.
Words on Bathroom Walls by Call Number: Realistic Fiction F WALAdam is a recently diagnosed schizophrenic and journals to his therapist about family, friends, and first loves as he undergoes a new drug trial for the mental illness that allows him to keep his secret for only so long.
The Cost of Knowing by Call Number: Realistic Fiction MORSixteen-year-old Alex Rufus's curse of seeing the future distracts him from being and doing his best, but when he sees his little brother Isaiah's imminent death, he races against time, death, and circumstances to save him. A poignant metaphor for how trauma affects us.
Who Put This Song On? by Call Number: Realistic Fiction PARSeventeen-year-old Morgan is a black teen triumphantly figuring out her identity when her conservative town deems depression as a lack of faith, and blackness as something to be politely ignored.
This Is My Brain in Love by Call Number: Romance F GREIn a last ditch effort to save her family's bankrupt Chinese restaurant Jocelyn Yu hire's Will Domenici, a biracial (Nigerian/white) budding journalist who lives with acute anxiety. Sparks fly, and what started out as a summer internship becomes a full-blown romance—one that Jocelyn's father, Mr. Wu, stipulates can continue only if the pair fulfills the terms of a contract that include raising the restaurant's revenue by 30% before the end of the summer. With her happiness at stake, Jocelyn begins to suffer from her own mental health issues—ones that she's not sure her relationship can survive.
Our Only Truth by Call Number: Romance F YUStella lives with depression, and her goals for junior year are pretty much limited to surviving her classes, staying out of her parents' constant fights and staving off unwanted feelings enough to hang out with her friends Lin and Katie. Until Kevin. A quiet, wry senior who understands Stella and the lows she's going through like no one else. With him, she feels less lonely, listened to--and hopeful for the first time since ever. But to keep that feeling, Stella lets her grades go and her friendships slide. And soon she sees just how deep Kevin's own scars go.
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Mental Health Graphic Novels
A Sloth's Guide to Mindfulness by Call Number: Graphic Novels GN 158.13 MAKFollow a serene and smiley sloth through a series of light meditations and daily reflections, . . . from simple breathing exercises and guided visualizations to the benefits of chewing . . . slowly and staying present . . .
Anxiety Is Really Strange by Call Number: Graphic Novels GN 616.85 HAIIn graphic novel format look at anxiety, focusing on what is the difference between fear and excitement, how does the mind and body make emotions, and tips and strategies to relieve its symptoms.
When Anxiety Attacks by Call Number: Graphic Novels GN 616.85 KOSTerian Koscik shares her experiences of living with anxiety, and how going to a therapist taught her one of the most important things she could ever learn: there really is no "right" way to feel
Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Call Number: Graphic Novels GN F GULFollows the experiences of depressed teen Mona Starr, who learns how to manage profound feelings of unworthiness through therapy, art, writing and the support of a few good friends.
Guts by Call Number: Graphic Novels GN 741.59 TELDeveloping a chronic upset stomach that she initially dismisses as a bug, young Raina discovers that her symptoms are related to her anxieties about school, food and changing friendships, in a story based on the Eisner Award-winning author's personal experience.
Non-Fiction
Project Semicolon by Call Number: 362.28 BLEA first book by the founder of the Project Semicolon suicide-awareness and storytelling organization collects nonfiction essays about the experiences of survivors of mental illness augmented by personal photos of the tattoos that symbolize their commitment to staying alive.
Hello, Cruel World by Call Number: 616.85 BORTransgender author Kate Bornstein provides guidance for suicidal teenagers, relating personal emotional struggles; discussing bullies, identity, and freedom; and describing 101 activities you can use to cope and keep yourself alive.
(Don't) Call Me Crazy by Call Number: 616.89 DONAn anthology of essays and illustrations by young adult authors that illuminate mental health topics in a straightforward way.
Life Inside My Mind by Call Number: 616.89 LIFThirty-one YA authors share their own struggles with mental illness, ranging from such topics as neurodiversity and addiction to OCD and PTSD.
Beyond the Blues: A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression by Call Number: 618.92 SCHIf you're feeling depressed, don't be afraid to reach out for help.This workbook offers things you can do, both on your own and with a counselor, to start feeling more like yourself again.
Obsessed by Call Number: 921 BRIA brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder--and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side--in this powerful and inspiring memoir.
Elena Vanishing by Call Number: 921 DUNThe story of Elena Dunkle, a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia.
Crazy Is My Superpower by Call Number: 921 MENWWE superstar AJ Mendez Brooks reflects on escaping her childhood of poverty, addiction, and mental illness to the world of professional wrestling and what it took to gain control of her life.
Crying in the Bathroom by Call Number: Biography 921 SANGrowing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in Chicago in the nineties, Erika Sánchez was a self-described pariah, misfit, and disappointment--a foul-mouthed, melancholic rabble-rouser who painted her nails black but also loved comedy, often laughing so hard with her friends that she had to leave her school classroom. Twenty-five years later, she's now an award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist. Sánchez writes about everything from white feminism to debilitating depression, revealing a rich interior life.
Coping Skills for Teens Workbook by Call Number: Self Help 155.5 HALThere are 60 helpful coping strategies included in the book, divided into Janine's unique, proprietary system that brings order to chaos by identifying different coping styles a teen would relate to most.
Mindfulness Workbook for Teens by Call Number: Self Help 158.1 BIXThe Mindfulness Workbook for Teens is full of exercises, strategies, and meditations to help you practice mindfulness so you can cultivate peace and achieve balance in your life no matter what's going on. Learn practical methods for mindful test-taking, moving through strong emotions, navigating relationships with parents and peers, and much more.
The Anxiety Toolkit for Teens by Call Number: Self Help 616.85 ANXOffers tools, practices, and strategies to help you understand and manage anxiety, stress, and more.
Need Help?
Some warning signs may help you determine if a loved one is at risk for suicide. If you or someone you know exhibits any of these, please seek help.
- Talking about wanting to die or kill themselves
- Looking for a way to kill themselves
- Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
- Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
- Talking about being a burden to others
- Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
- Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly
- Sleeping too little or too much
- Withdrawing or isolating themselves
- Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
- Extreme mood swings
- Crisis Text LineAnonymously text with a trained counselor anytime by texting 741741.
- Suicide Prevention LifelineTalk to someone now by calling 1-800-273-8255 or chat online.
- School Counselors & PsychologistVisit Student Services to meet with a counselor or psychologist.
- Stop A Suicide TodaySuicide can be stopped. Learn how here.