Mental Health Book List 9-12

Mental Health Awareness Month

The theme of this list is "Change is Hard"

Updated February 23, 2026
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Washington County Library (MN) WashCoLib
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Mental Health Book List 9-12

Mental Health Awareness Month

The theme of this list is "Change is Hard"

Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Alone
Freeman, Megan E.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel in verse from a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her...
Black star
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book The thrilling follow up to the #1 New York Times bestseller The Door of No Return stars Kofi's granddaughter, Charley, who's set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball...
Breathing underwater
Nash, Abbey Lee
Paper Book
With one word, Tess's world could be completely undone: Epilepsy. Tess lives for swimming: the feel of the pool's rough edge on her toes, the snap of cold water on her skin, and the push of her limbs ever forward. In the water, she's truly alive.  Until...
The girl in the walls
Kuyatt, Meg Eden
Paper Book
There's a ghost in the walls, and V must decide if it is an ally or an enemy. The wrong decision could destroy her and her family. From Schneider Honor Award winning author Meg Eden Kuyatt comes a chilling and insightful novel-in-verse. After a hard school year, V has...
Isabel in bloom
Respicio, Mae
Paper Book
A middle-school girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in "this sweet and heartfelt novel [that] explores how bumpy beginnings can offer chances for new growth" (The New York Times)
Kareem between
Safadi, Shifa Saltagi
Paper Book
This award-winning, heartfelt coming-of-age novel in verse tells the powerful story of a seventh-grade Syrian American boy and his struggles, big and small, as he navigates middle school. "The exact type of book I would've loved, and needed, as a kid." -Jasmine Warga, New...
King and the dragonflies
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
A 2021 Coretta Scott King Honor Book! Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature! Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry! In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him...
Lola
Valenti, Karla
Paper Book
A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who'd journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other. From the acclaimed author of Loteria comes a heartfelt story rooted in Mexican magical realism. A PURA BELPR AUTHOR WINNER ....
Louder than hunger
Schu, John
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book "Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it's needed most. This is one of those books." --Katherine Applegate, author of the Newbery Medal-winning,...
Octopus moon
Pyron, Bobbie
Paper Book
A deeply moving middle grade novel in verse about a girl struggling with depression when she starts fifth grade amidst a sea of changes. A 2025 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Pearl loves watching the majestic loggerhead turtles and octopuses...
Wishtree
Applegate, Katherine
Audiobook
Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . . Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"―people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other...
Zoomi & Zoe and the sibling situation
Haydu, Corey Ann
Paper Book
The Princess in Black meets Monsters, Inc. in this zany, heartwarming new series for early readers 4 to 8 years old! Sparkly, silly, and perfect for early readers, Corey Ann Haydu and Anne Appert's winning series tackles life's first big changes with whimsy and heart. ...
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https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/763.1126/list/7351

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