Books for Teen Me!
I know publishing still has a ways to go, but I do see more books which would have offered some comfort to teen me. I was a teen in the 1980s, and I don't recall seeing too many books that featured "sad girls" or fat girls or lonely girls. I especially recall all the mental health books having MCs with explanations for their depression. I was just sad. I was a sad little kid. I was sent to "talk" to someone for the first time when I was in grade school, and I wasn't like the other kids who went to "talk" to someone. I wasn't sick, a child of divorce, or a victim of abuse. I just felt inexplicably sad. All the time. I like that there are books now that feature characters with depression, who are more like me. It's also great to see bigger girls in the spotlight who aren't victims and loneliness is addressed more as well.
Without further ado, here are ten books I have read in the not so distant past, which spotlight characters who are depressed or lonely or overweight or introverted or anxious -- all the things I was and still sort of am.
- Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu
- A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
- It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
- My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
- The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
- This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio
- The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
- I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
What recent book would you recommend to your teen self?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a classic. I may reread it. Thank you.
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