Must-Read YA Novels Exploring Mental Health

Elizabeth Acevedo is the bestselling YA author of The Poet X, among many others. Her newest is Anger is Only a Shadow, out tomorrow from Quill Tree Books. Below, she recommends three of her favorite YA books about mental health. (Photo credit: Denzel Golatt.) I’ve been really interested in how YA novels consider the mental health of the protagonist, and the ways that these characters are able to find and implement different tools for emotional regulation. As we know, and as the CDC confirms, there has been an increase in the number of teenagers reporting that they experience high levels of sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety. Novels that affirm teens’ experiences without resorting to didacticism are crucial for helping young people feel seen, and also for offering different modes of coping. Here are some of my favorite YA books of the last five years that deal with mental health. Everything We Never Had by Randy RibayThis is a novel that follows four generations of Filipino boys as they traverse manhood, love, justice, and community. Each character has a different way of processing his feelings, and the youngest protagonist, Enzo, deals with severe anxiety, for which he sees a thera...