Reading Well have compiled a list of 35 recommended books on the topic of young people’s mental health. You can borrow these books from our libraries or from our eLibrary service.
General
- Stuff That Sucks: Accepting What You Can’t Change and Committing to What You Can by Ben Sedley
- Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson
- The Self-Esteem Team’s Guide to Sex, Drugs and WTFs?!! by The Self-Esteem Team
- Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by Nicola Morgan
- Quiet the Mind by Matthew Johnstone
- I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
- Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari
- House of Windows by Alexia Casale
- Every Day by David Levithan
ADHD
Anxiety, worry and panic
- My Anxious Mind: A Teen’s Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic by Michael Tompkins and Katherine Martinez
- The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens: CBT Skills to Overcome Fear, Worry and Panic by Jennifer Shannon
- The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens by Jennifer Shannon
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Autism and Asperger syndrome
- The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
- Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User’s Guide to Adolescence by Luke Jackson
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Body image and eating disorders
- Can I Tell You About Eating Disorders? by Bryan Lask and Lucy Watson
- Banish Your Body Image Thief:Â a cognitive behavioural therapy workbook on building positive body image for young people by Kate Collins-Donnelly
- Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield
Bullying
- Teen Life Confidential: Bullies, Cyberbullies and Frenemies by Michele Elliott
- Vicious: True Stories by Teens about Bullying edited by Hope Vanderberg
Confidence and self-esteem
- Banish Your Self-Esteem Thief: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Building Positive Self-Esteem for Young People by Kate Collins-Donnelly
- Teen Life Confidential: Self-Esteem and Being You by Anita Naik
- Face by Benjamin Zephaniah
Depression
- Am I Depressed and What Can I Do About it? by Shirley Reynolds and Monika Parkinson
- I Had a Black Dog by Matthew Johnstone
- Can I Tell You About Depression? by Christopher Dowrick and Susan Martin
Mood swings
OCD
- Touch and Go Joe by Joe Wells
- Breaking Free from OCD: A CBT Guide for Young People and their Families by Jo Derisley, Isobel Heyman, Sarah Robinson, Cynthia Turner
- The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten