Top 10: Books dealing with mental illness (guest post by Kim Baccellia)
My early years growing up in Sacramento were filled with lots of confusion and fear. At the time, I knew something wasn’t quite right with my father but the one time I did confine in a friend? I was labeled ‘bad’ and a bad example. Only later did I found out that most of the young women in my church were told to avoid me. As if you could catch what was happening in my home.
I felt so alone. My church wouldn’t help my family. Other people would avoid us as if we had the plague.
I wanted to know all I could about this mental illness as I believe knowledge is power. What I found is there is still a stigma attached to it. I’m happy that just recently there has been some YAs that have addressed this and other mental health issues. I thought I’d share some of my favorites. I believe these books NEED to be out there and I’m a huge advocate for them.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
(Please visit our previous TLT post 13 Reasons Why I Love Thirteen Reasons Why)
Rinn’s haunting descent into madness is chilling. I love how it’s not over the top but rather subtle. You can’t tell if it’s the disorder talking or the ghost.
The ending is shocking and caught me off guard. Love that!
A must read for paranormal fans that shows bipolar disorder in a realistic
(TLT review of The Unquiet)
Inside Out by Terry Trueman (Schizophrenia)
What titles are on your list of good reads that depict teens dealing with mental health issues in some way? Please share with us in the comments.
Filed under: Mental Health, Top 10s

About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 32 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
How to Do Just About Everything in 2025
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth
How to Draw a Secret | This Week’s Comics
Goodbye for now
When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?
ADVERTISEMENT
What You Must Think of Me: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager's Experience with Social Anxiety Disorder by Emily Ford is a five star nonfiction read.
People can be so cruel when they are ignorant. I'm happy you overcame such prejudice and have become the person you are today. Thanks for listing these amazing books.
Hold Still by Nina Lacour is one that has stuck with me for years now! Looking forward to reading a few of these. Just finished Crazy by Amy Reed, didn't love it as much but still a good representation of bipolar disorder.
Ooh, need to check out CRAZY.
Also INSIDE OUT. Plus I need to add another book that deals with ADHD/Asberger's in a very real way: HARMONIC FEEDBACK by Tara Kelly. A total must read.
I think scars looks like a very vital read. I'm sure it will be a great point of reference for people who need to understand the reasons why people resort to self-inflicting pain to deal with whatever stressful situation they're in.
Thank you for this post. I wish there were more like it.
Sleeping in Eden by Nichole baart is a good book about depression and suicide
Sleeping in Eden by Nichole Baart
Try reading identical by Ellen Hopkins, the character is dealing with multiple personality disorder.
Thank you for the rec. I’m a big Ellen Hopkins fan but I haven’t read this one.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is about a Abtoung man raking with depression, anxiety, family dysfunction, love and loss. Outstanding book!
Mosquitoland is a book that sounds a lot like Bleeding Violets.
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang is a young woman’s struggle with depression and suicide.
Pan’s Whisper by Sue Lawson… my favourite book ever, don’t know if you can get it outside of Australia, but it is incredible! It deals with a girl’s lost memories and the fall out from another character’s Bipolar episodes. Very sad, yet beautiful. It brings me to tears every time, yet is also very comforting to me to know that there are others with Bipolar (I myself was diagnosed with BPII age 16) who have messed up worse then me.
Hi I wanted to know some good books for teens about bipolar. Thank you