Mental Health for Young Teens

Fiction and non-fiction titles for middle schoolers about mental health.

Updated May 11, 2024
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It's OK not to be OK : a guide to well-being
Rae, Tina
Paper Book
A book that aims to increase awareness, encourage dialogue, reduce stigma, and develop understanding of common mental health issues. It's OK Not to Be OK acknowledges and explores common mental health disorders such as depression, eating disorders, and...
Crafting calm : art and activities for mindful kids
Borgert-Spaniol, Megan
Paper Book
Mindfulness is a powerful practice to help kids find calm in the midst of everyday stress--but how to make it accessible and fun? In Crafting Calm: Art and Activities for Mindful Kids, kids engage in and practice mindfulness through fun and easy exercises, quizzes, crafts, and...
The friendship book
Moss, Wendy
Paper Book
The Friendship Book is the resource kids need to figure out friendship. Kids will figure out what they want out of their friendships, how to be a good friend, resolve conflicts, and much more in this upbeat book meant to help forge lasting relationships. Full of...
What can I say? : a kid's guide to super-useful social skills to help you get along and express yourself
Newman, Catherine
Paper Book
Middle school is an essential time to learn and practice social skills, including how to get along with others, talk about hard things, be an ally, and a good friend. In What Can I Say?,Catherine Newman, author of the bestseller How to Be a Person, provides supportive guidance and instruction to...
Perfectly imperfect stories : meet 28 inspiring people and discover their mental health stories
Potion, Leo
Paper Book
Meet 29 icons, from pop stars to sporting heroes, and discover how they overcame a range of mental health issues, from anorexia to depression, to live inspiring lives. At a time when kids' mental health is under more pressure than ever, this book celebrates the message that it's ok not to be ok.
Rebel Girls All Things Friendship : a Guide to Celebrating Old Friends, Making New Ones, and Navigating Sticky Social Situations
Paper Book
Celebrate old friends, make new ones, and learn how to navigate sticky friendship situations with this fun and helpful guidebook. Good friends make you laugh until your stomach hurts, support you during tough times, and brighten even the gloomiest of days. But like all relationships,...
Louder than hunger
Schu, John
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! "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, The One and Only Ivan
Iveliz explains it all
Arango, Andrea Beatriz
Paper Book
NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER * In this timely and moving novel in verse, a preteen girl navigates seventh grade while facing mental health challenges. A hopeful, poetic story about learning to advocate for the help and understanding you deserve. "Powerful." --Lisa Fipps,...
Where to start : a survival guide to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges
Correll, Gemma
Paper Book
A comforting and useful resource for anyone who's struggling emotionally and looking for help―from the nation's leading community-based nonprofit that addresses the needs of those living with mental illness It can be extremely hard to figure out what's going on in our own...
In the Key of Us
Lockington, Mariama J.
Paper Book
STONEWALL HONOR BOOK ● From the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me and the Schneider Family Book Award Winner Forever Is Now, comes a coming-of-age story surrounding the losses that threaten to break us and the friendships that make us...
Shannon in the Spotlight
Miller, Kalena
Paper Book
After Shannon accidentally lands a lead role in the summer musical, she realizes she has bigger things to worry about than stage fright in this contemporary middle-school novel about strained friendships, the positive power of theater, and the realities of being a tween with OCD. ...
The girl who lost her shadow
Ilett, Emily
Paper Book
On the morning of Gail's birthday, she watches her shadow slip under the kitchen door. She's not surprised it decided to leave. Her dad has gone for good. Her big sister Kay, once Gail's best friend, has disappeared into sadness - and now her shadow has left too. Determined to make things...
The road to after
Lowell, Rebekah
Paper Book
This poignant debut novel in verse is a portrait of healing, as a young girl rediscovers life and the soothing power of nature after being freed from her abusive father. For most of her life, Lacey has been a prisoner without even realizing it. Her dad rarely let her, her...
Fifty-four things wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers
Carter, Caela
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes a moving own-voices story that shines a light on how one girl's learning differences are neither right nor wrong...just perfectly individual. For fans of Alyson Gerber,...
Under pressure : the science of stress
Kyi, Tanya Lloyd
Paper Book
Adolescents are no strangers to stress. This book explores the science behind that sweaty, heart-racing, under-pressure feeling they sometimes get as they struggle to navigate their changing world. It covers the fight-or-flight reaction to sudden danger, how people cope with chronic stress, how...
Dear student
Swartz, Elly
Paper Book
When Autumn becomes the secret voice of the advice column in her middle school newspaper she is faced with a dilemma--can she give fair advice to everyone, including her friends, while keeping her identity a secret? Starting Middle School is rough for Autumn after her one and...
Sunny
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
Sunny tries to shine despite his troubled past in this third novel in the critically acclaimed Track series from National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds. Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they...
Some kind of happiness
Legrand, Claire
Paper Book
Reality and fantasy collide in this heartfelt and mysterious novel for fans of Counting by 7s and Bridge to Terabithia, about a girl who must save a magical make-believe world in order to save herself. Things Finley Hart doesn't want to talk about: -Her...
Living with Viola
Fung, Rosena
Paper Book
"unforgettable . . . will shake middle grade readers to the core"--School Library Journal, starred review "Beautifully illustrated, relatable, and genuine." --Molly Brooks, creator of Sanity & Tallulah "Everyone needs to buy this book now. ...
Growing pangs
Ormsbee, Kathryn
Paper Book
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A PARENTS MAGAZINE BEST BOOK Inspired by a true story! Eleven-year old homeschooled Katie has always felt different . . . and now she can't stop worrying.  Introducing an irresistibly relatable graphic novel about friendship,...
Guts
Telgemeier, Raina,
Paper Book
A true story from Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts!Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it's probably just a bug. Raina...
Ultraviolet
Salazar, Aida
Paper Book
Sometimes life explodes in technicolor. In the spirit of Judy Blume, award-winning author Aida Salazar tells it like it is about puberty, hormones, and first love in this hilarious, heartwarming, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Kwame...
Puzzled : a memoir of growing up with OCD
Cooke, Pan
Paper Book
Growing up with undiagnosed OCD sure isn't easy, and here Pan Cooke shares his own experiences with that condition in a graphic-novel memoir that is as funny as it is powerfully candid and openhearted. Pan Cooke is ten years old when anxious thoughts begin to take over his brain...

2024


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