Award Winning YA Books About Mental Health

Here’s my list of Must Read and Award Winning YA Books About Mental Health from 2010s YA to the present. I’ve separated the list by the mental health challenges that the book’s characters are living with: YA Mental Health Books About Depression, YA Mental Health Books about OCD, YA Mental Health Books About Bipolar Disorder, YA Mental Health Books About Self Harming Behaviors, YA Mental Health Books About Schizophrenia, YA Mental Health Books About Substance Abuse and more! Updated with new titles in 2026!

50 Must Read YA Books About Mental Health

First off, PLEASE take care when reading.

• For those struggling with mental health challenges, some of these books might be inspiring, but others could be difficult to read.
• Our ideas about Mental Health and Wellness have also changed a lot over the years and even a lot in the last 10-15 years. We have a much more nuanced understanding of most mental illnesses and mental health challenges.

How have YA Books About Mental Health Changed?

• More diverse characters
• Fewer stigmas and stereotypes surrounding mental health challenges
• More open discussions about mental health challenges, including among authors themselves in this 2018 anthology
• Issues like teen substance abuse portrayed thoughtfully rather than just as “kids being kids”
• Fewer questionable “love will cure me” mental health romances
• More portrayals of teens in treatment (therapy and/or medication)
• Incorporation of fantasy, spec fiction and horror in portrayals of mental illnesses

I’ve divided these books by the Mental Health Issue the main character is living (and sometimes thriving!) with. I’m also including the book’s date, any notes I have, and the awards the books have won.

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small percentage of qualifying purchases

YA Mental Health Books About Anxiety

• GAD, Panic Disorder and Social Anxiety can be difficult to deal with. Check out these books about characters with anxiety and find helpful resources at the bottom of the list!

How to Lose yourself completely by peter bognanni (2026)

• After the death of his older brother, a teen is sent to wilderness camp to help deal with his anxiety.
• L.A. Times Book Award-winning author

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Somewhere in Nowhere by steven Gellman (2026)

• A teen boy with a lot of life stressors
• He is suffering physical ramification of his stress
• LGBTQ and Jewish representation

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If I Could Go Back by Briana Johnson (2025)

• Black Female main character
• Character raised by her grandparents and wants to find her mom
• Family issues and the unique anxiety profile of Black females

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Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington (2023)

• Black main character
• LGBTQ themes
• 4.3 Goodreads rating
• Schneider Family Book Award for Teens 

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This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregario (2020)

• Schneider Family Book Award for Teens 
• Written by a doctor
• Check out my author spotlight on I.W. Gregario

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Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (2017)

• Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee for High School
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 

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Starfish Akemi Dawn Bowman (2017)

• Half-Japanese main character
• William C. Morris Award Finalist
• New York Public Library Best Book for Teens 
• Junior Library Guild Selection

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Highly ilLogical Behavior by John Whaley Turner (2016)

• LGBTQ themes
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee
• Lambda Literary Award Nominee for Children’s/Young Adult
• Lincoln Award Nominee (2018)

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Resources for help with Anxiety:

• The AADA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America)
• The National Institute for Mental Health

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YA Mental Health Books About OCD

• OCD is a complex disorder that can manifest in both thoughts and behaviors. Check out my list of books about characters with OCD and find OCD resources at the bottom of the list!

A Drop in the Ocean by Leá Toranto (2025)

• Main character doing inpatient treatment for OCD
• Friendship in treatment themes, like The Fault in Our Stars
• Also eating disorder rep
• Based on the Chinese-Jewish author’s own experiences

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Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert (2023)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2023)
• Check out my review of Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

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The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora (2023)

• LGBTQ themes
• Fantasy elements

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The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alfa (2019)

• Historical fiction
• Set in 1960s Malaysia
• Asian main character

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All Our Broken Pieces by L.C. Crichton (2019)

• 4.33 Goodreads rating

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (2017)

• Lincoln Award Nominee 
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction
• Alabama Author Award for Young Adult

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Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (2015)

• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee 
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 
• Check out my review of Finding Audrey

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Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (2015)

• 4.23 Goodreads rating
• South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adul
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 
• Check out my review of Every Last Word
• Buy on Amazon

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The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (2015)

• Magical realism elements
• Carnegie Medal Nominee 
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee

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Resources for Help with OCD

• The National Institute of Mental Health
• The International OCD Foundation

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YA Mental Health Books About The Repercussions of Someone Taking Their Own Life

Being a “suicide survivor” can be very difficult, incorporating grief, guilt, and disbelief. My resources for anyone going through the loss of a loved one to self-harm are below.

I have another list, 6 Heartbreaking Books About Teen Suicide

This is Me Trying by Raquel Marie (2024)

• LGBTQ themes
• Taylor Swift title reference
• Also references OCD, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, grief, and morbid ideation

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The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan (2018)

• NYT Bestseller
• Half Taiwanese main character; set in Taipei
• Magical realism and fantasy elements
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Young Adult Literature
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee
• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee 
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction and for Debut Author
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Nominee for Young Adult Honor
• Walter Dean Myers Award Nominee 

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I Was Here by Gayle Forman (2015)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction

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The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand (2015)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction

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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (2007)

• A huge hit when it came out in 2007, the book’s 2017 Netflix series stirred up a lot of controversy about the show’s graphic treatment of things like sexual assault, bullying, and suicide.
• Asher had his own controversy, facing multiple anonymous #MeToo accusations, which he claimed were consensual.
• Georgia Peach Book Award Nominee for Honor book
• California Book Award for Young Adult 
• South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book
• Lincoln Award 

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Hold Still by Nina Lacour (2009)

• 4.0 Goodreads rating
• William C. Morris YA Debut Award Nominee (2010)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2011)
• Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2012)

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resources about self-harm and for those who lost a loved one to self-harm

• The Jed Foundation
• NAMI Resources for Grief and Loss
• SAVE Suicide Loss Support

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YA Mental Health Books About Clinical Depression

Now we understand that clinical depression isn’t just something you can “snap out of,” but a mood disorder that can be part of other mental health issues as well.

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St Jude (2023)

• 4.21 Goodreads rating
• Speculative Fiction Elements
• Queer Main Character
• College Setting

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Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown (2020)

• 4.33 Goodreads rating
• Magical realism elements
• William C. Morris YA Debut Award Nominee 
• Black female main character

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The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling Wai Chim (2019)

• Chinese-Australian main character
• Australian Independent Booksellers Indie Book Award Nominee for Young Adult
• Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature Nominee 
• See this review from my friend Happy Indulgence, who discusses mental health issues in Asian families

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Home Home Lisa Allen-Agostini (2018)

• Main character of color (Trinidadian-Canadian)

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Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (2018)

• Iranian main character
• LGBTQ themes
• William C. Morris YA Debut Award
• Lambda Literary Award Nominee for Children’s/Young Adult Amelia 
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Young Adult Literature
• Middle East Book Award for Youth Literature

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Resources if you or a loved one are struggling with depression:

• National Institute of Health
• Depression and Bipolar Alliance Support Groups

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YA Mental Health Books About Bipolar Disorder

The term Bipolar Disorder was coined in 1980 to better reflect the range of mood disorders that can fall under the umbrella of “bipolar.” Check out these YA books that feature main or major characters living with bipolar disorder.

Everything’s Not Lost by Frederick JOseph (2026)

• New York Time Bestselling Author
•  Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly Starred reviewed YA novel

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat (2024)

• 4.02 Goodreads rating
• Horror elements

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Chaos Theory by Nic Stone (2023)

• 4.18 Goodreads rating
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee
• Lincoln Award Nominee

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The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb (2022)

• 4.12 Goodreads rating 

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The Lightness of Hands by Jeff Garvis (2020)

• Award-winning YA author

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Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab (2020)

• My Review of Breath Like Water

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The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati (2016)

• 4.18 Goodreads rating
• My Review of The Weight of Zero

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When We Collided by Emery Lord (2016)

• My Review of When We Collided
• Schneider Family Book Award 
• Lincoln Award Nominee
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 
• Gateway Readers Award Nominee 

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All the Bright Places (2015)

• 4.13 Goodreads Rating
• My Review of All The Bright Places
• A 2020 Netflix movie with Elle Fanning as Violet and Justice Smith as Finch
• South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult 
• Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults 
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee 
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee 
• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee
• Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction

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Resources to learn more about or how to manage bipolar disorder

• The International Bipolar Foundation
• National Institute of Mental Health

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YA Mental Health Books about Self Harm

Self-harm includes behaviors that can be associated with borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, anxiety or PTSD. Some of these books feature characters in treatment or recovery after self-harm or attempting to take their own life.

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (2016)

• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee
• Lincoln Award Nominee 
• Great Lakes Great Books Award
• Read my Review of Girl in Pieces

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The Memory of Light by Francisco X Stork (2016)

• Read my Review of The Memory of Light
• Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee 
• Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

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My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmin Warga (2015)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author
• Goodreads Choice Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 
• Check out my Review of My Heart and Other Black Holes

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It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini (2007)

• 4.08 Goodreads rating
• Was made into a 2010 film, available on Netflix as of May 2024

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more information about self-harming behavior

• SAMHSA information about self-harm
• NAMI resources on self-harm

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YA Mental Health Books about PTSD

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes (2016)

• 4.11 Goodreads rating

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The Impossible Knife of Memory by laurie halse anderson (2014)

• National Book Award Nominee for Young People’s Literature
• Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee
• California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Young Adult
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 

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Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (2012)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction
• Check out my Review of Something Like Normal

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Resources for people suffering from PTSD

• NIMH resources on PTSD
• Veterans Administration Resources

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YA Mental Health Books about Schizophrenia

I’m surprised that there aren’t more YA Mental Health Books About Schizophrenia, since it often surfaces during the young adult years. Here are some excellent books. If you know of more, please let me know in comments.

Challenger Blue by Neal Shusterman (2015)

• 4.5 Goodreads Rating
• National Book Award for Young People’s Literature 
• California Book Award for Young Adult (Gold) 
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee
• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee  
• Lincoln Award Nominee 

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Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (2015)

• 4.04 Goodreads rating
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 

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Resources for Learning More About Schizophrenia

• NIMH resources
• World Health Organization
• Schizophrenia and Psychosis in Teens by ChildMind

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YA Mental Health Books About Substance Abuse Disorder

Teens are eager to test boundaries and experiment. For some teens, this is just a phase, but for others it can kick off a dangerous spiral of abuse and addiction.

Substance Abuse Disorder can involve genetic predisposition, life and peer pressures, and abusing drugs and alcohol to cope with other life issues and mental health challenges. Here are a few books that tackle the topic.

Shards of Silence by Brian Lee Young (2026)

• Author is a member of the Navajo Nation
• American Indian Youth Literature Award-Winning Author

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Heroine by Mindy McGinnis (2019)

• Lincoln Award Nominee
• Gateway Readers Award 

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Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore Stultz (2016)

• I thought Thicker Than Water was excellent; check out my review here!

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Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (2015)

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction

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The Boy Most Likely to by Huntley Fitzpatrick

• Check out my review of The Boy Most Likely To here
• RITA and Goodreads Choice Nominated Author

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Recovery Road by Blake Nelson (2011)

• Award-winning author
• A show on Freeform

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resources for teens with substance abuse issues

• (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse and Mental Heath Services Administration
• AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

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YA Mental Health Books About Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious physical illnesses that can appear in adolescence. Disordered eating behaviors often co-exist with other mental health challenges, like depression or anxiety.

Paperweight by Meg Haston

• A girl is sent to an outpatient eating disorder clinic.

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Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel (2012)

• The writing style wasn’t for everyone; check out my Review of Stone Girl

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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (2009)

• Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel 
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award 
• Iowa High School Book Award Nominee
• Lincoln Award Nominee
• CYBILS Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction 

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resources for those struggling with eating disorders

• National Eating Disorders Association
• NIMH

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I’d love to know what YA Mental Health books you’ve loved, so tell me in the comments!