Librarian Laura's Review of Dewey Belong Together I read Ann Whynot's debut novel as a standalone, because I haven't read the entire Green Valley Library series in order just yet. It was so well written and there were so many sweet moments between Max and Jonathan that I won't soon forget. Though its a romantic… Continue reading Dewey Belong Together by Ann Whynot
Tag: Mental Illness
What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
Originally published in School Library Journal, December 2019. Gr 9 & Up - Mike Parker's girlfriend of 6 months goes to the principal with a secret - Mike hit her, causing California's North Bay Academy to take sides on who they believe. A junior and track star, everyone loves golden boy Mike, but the incident… Continue reading What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
The Voice in My Head by Dana L. Davis
Originally published in School Library Journal, May 2019. Gr. 9 & Up: Davis’s second YA novel set in Seattle, follows 18 year old black twins Indigo and Violet and their chaotic family on an unlikely road trip. While attempting suicide, Indigo hears a voice say that her terminally ill twin Violet will live if she… Continue reading The Voice in My Head by Dana L. Davis
Waiting for Fitz by Spencer Hyde
Originally published in School Library Journal, March 2019. Gr 9 & Up - Midway through her senior year, 17-year-old Addie Foster is sent for inpatient psychiatric therapy at Seattle Regional Hospital for OCD. Quick-witted and literary-minded, she dreams of being a playwright. Making some unlikely, but unique friends from the first day of group therapy,… Continue reading Waiting for Fitz by Spencer Hyde
Till it Stops Beating by Hannah R. Goodman
Librarian Laura's Review Till it Stops Beating, a young adult realistic fiction from author Hannah R. Goodman tackles some very heavy themes including mental illness, alcoholism, sickness (cancer), and loss. The language and scenes are very mature, so I would not recommend it for readers under the age of 16. It is, however, a great book… Continue reading Till it Stops Beating by Hannah R. Goodman
Welcome to the Slipstream by Natalka Burian
Originally published in School Library Journal, May 2017. Grade 9 & up: Van, 17, was forced to grow up quickly in the slipstream of her mentally ill, brilliant mother. Her father died of a drug overdose when she was an infant. Van, her mother Sophie, and Ida, a surrogate grandmother, have lived as vagrants, following… Continue reading Welcome to the Slipstream by Natalka Burian
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
After waiting 5Â years for John Green to publish another young adult book, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the long wait was totally worth it! Turtles All the Way Down is the story of Aza Holmes, a 16 year old high school student, and her daily struggle with obsessive compulsive disorder. The author… Continue reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
Without Merit is due for publication on October 3, 2017. Merit, a 17 year old senior in high school, has quite the interesting life. Merit's family of seven is quite possibly the most oddly dysfunctional family I've ever had the pleasure of reading about in a book. Merit and her twin sister, Honor, do not… Continue reading Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Behind Her Eyes, published by Macmillan, will be released on January 31, 2017. This story is full of unreliable narrators (who drink...a lot) and the story switches back and forth between them with each chapter. David Martin is young, handsome, and a highly successful psychiatrist. His wife, Adele, is strikingly beautiful with a tragedy-laden past,… Continue reading Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
This is a heartbreaking, raw story of mental illness and how it can systematically unravel the bonds between a family. I wasn't sure what to expect from the story, but it was so much more than a young adult coming-of-age story. Of course, there is some young romance and dating involved, but poor Cassie was forced… Continue reading The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
Librarian Laura 