The Shelves

Mental Illness Books

Books selected for readers looking for mental illness books.

31 booksApril 2, 2026

Part of 500+ tracked lists·1 crossover shelf·117% reader overlap with Sexual Abuse Books

1. Every Last Word
Tamara Ireland Stone
Fits this list for its focus on mental.
Shelf signal: Mental Illness for Teens
2. We Were Never Here
Jennifer Gilmore
Fits this list for its focus on illness.
Shelf signal: YA Illness & Disease Stories
3. Ever Since
Alena Bruzas
Included for strong teen alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
4. More Than We Can Tell
Brigid Kemmerer
Included for strong fiction alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Emotions & Feelings for Teens
5. Not About a Boy
Myah Hollis
Included for strong grief alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Mental Illness for Teens
6. Anatomy of a Misfit
Andrea Portes
Included for strong book club alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Depression for Teens
7. Suicide Notes
Michael Thomas Ford
Included for strong kids alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Teen Suicide
8. In Repair
Zach Barela, A. L. Graziadei
Included for strong about alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Mental Illness for Teens
9. My Heart and Other Black Holes
Jasmine Warga
Included for strong black alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Teen Suicide
10. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf
Hayley Krischer
Included for strong mental alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
11. How Girls Are Made
Mindy McGinnis
Included for strong young alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
12. Made You Up
Francesca Zappia
Strong fit for this mental illness list in the mental illness for teens lane.
Shelf signal: Mental Illness for Teens
13. Sisters in Sanity
Gayle Forman
Included for strong young alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
14. Radio Silence
Alice Oseman
Included for strong lgbt alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: TV & Radio for Teens
15. Everything I Thought I Knew
Shannon Takaoka
Included for strong family alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: YA Illness & Disease Stories
16. After the Ink Dries
Cassie Gustafson, Emma Vieceli
Included for strong contemporary alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
17. On a Scale of One to Ten
Ceylan Scott
Included for strong mental alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Teen Suicide
18. Challenger Deep
Neal Shusterman, Brendan Shusterman
Fits this list for its focus on illness and mental.
Shelf signal: Disabilities & Special Needs for Teens
19. This Is My Brain in Love
I. W. Gregorio
Fits this list for its focus on mental.
Shelf signal: Asian American YA
20. Inside Out
Terry Trueman
Fits this list for its focus on illness and mental.
Shelf signal: Teen Suicide
21. My Eyes Are Up Here
Kristen DiMercurio, Laura Zimmermann
Included for strong friendship alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Eating Disorders & Body Image for Teens
22. The Art of Breaking Things
Laura Sibson
Included for strong friendship alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
23. A Heart in a Body in the World
Deb Caletti
Included for strong award alignment with this mental illness list.
Shelf signal: Surviving Sexual Abuse
24. Impulse
Ellen Hopkins
Fits this list for its focus on mental.
Shelf signal: Teen Suicide