after jennifer niven’s top 10 teen books to save your life and mark blue monday (whether it exists or not, spring still seems far away) we thought it was about time we had a list of books for teens. pick you up when you feel down. here the authors and guardian members of the children’s book site reveal the books that saved their lives…
patrick ness, author of more than thiswould make a strange choice for the book that saved my life: the game of the west by ellen raskin, not for any great emotional reason but because it was the first book I read that felt 100% mine, written for me, at that age, not for anyone else. the idea of books as my own set of secret worlds has saved my life more than once since
You are reading: Books for teenage girls with depression
nicola morgan, author of the teens guide to stress and brain guilti can jump puddles by alan marshall was a book i read over and over again because it made me put my thoughts into perspective own trivial concerns. is an autobiography and focuses on the author’s struggle with the effects of childhood polio.
bookrebel, site memberto be honest, there hasn’t been a single book that “saved my life”, but there have been books that made me seek the help I need or made me see something different or, more importantly, help me to accept myself. i have depression and social anxiety and books are my outlet but sometimes they’re also my way of accepting and embracing her and i think holly bourne’s manifesto on how to be interesting is one of the last ones so it made me not have me it literally saved my life, but it helped save me from myself and I’m grateful for that.
annabel pitcher – author of my sister lives on the mantelpiece and ketchup clouds i would choose are you there god? it’s me, margaret by judy bloom because it helped me deal with the identity conflict I felt as a teenager. Although I am not from a mixed religious heritage, I am from a devout Christian background, and I spent a lot of time questioning my faith and God. Margaret’s struggle to understand who she was and whether to express her opinions about her if they were different from those of her classmates was very familiar to me. her pain was my pain, and the questions she asked were the ones I wanted to answer. It’s a book I went back to again and again, because I loved solving everything together with her and going through puberty with her. we grew up together.
emybot,site member, a book I would recommend to anyone feeling down, and one I’ve often read when I’m down is the perks of being a dropout ; it’s my favorite book and while it’s not particularly happy, it’s not all sad either. it puts things into perspective and shows not only how quickly things can fall apart, but how quickly they will come back together. I love it and recommend it to any reader!
james dawson, author of say her name, this book is gay and current queen of teenif only geri halliwell taught me that if you want something and work hard enough, you can achieve anything. I read it when I was about eighteen, I think.
lucylovesbooks<3, site membersaving daisy by phil earle has really saved my life. at some of the low points it was a great reminder that things get better and that I should never give up.
site member nicthe perks of being an outcast by steven chbosky and my fat wacky diary (and the sequel, my fat wacky diary) by rae earl. there is a fine line between something that makes you feel understood and something that triggers. both books balance delicately on the line.
marcus sedgwick, author of sky ghosts that would have to be thomas mann’s magic mountain, because i’ve never read anything that understands people so well, and how they’re all struggling with life in its own way.
britishbiblioholic, site memberI must say that the skulduggery pleasure series was truly the book that changed lives, mine and my friends. I used to be very introverted and thought negatively of myself a lot, thinking that I had no friends, that people hated me, etc. But when I read that series and made the big decision to go out and meet people at events, it just changed completely and I’m so much happier now. maybe that’s not exactly what you’re looking for (at least from me), but for my friends, the series also kept them going, gave them hope when the going got tough, and also served as something to hold on to.
liz kessler, author of read me like a bookif i’m going through a tough time, there’s one book that will always help me put my situation in context: the diving bell and the butterfly, by jean Dominique Bauby. this book was written by a man who literally dictated it one letter at a time, blinking. Bauby had suffered a massive stroke and his left eyelid was the only part of his body that he could move. When I think about or reread this book, I can’t help but think that if someone in his position could produce a work as beautiful as this, nothing is as bad as it seems.
safah, member of the sitestronger than the words of laura fraser. it’s hard to know where to start about how much this book affected me. although I am much more confident now, when I was younger I was terrible at being social and talking out loud always terrified me; even now, writing gives me much more freedom than my voice. the main character rafaela definitely dealt with this as well and it was amazing to read a novel that i could relate to so much and so even just reading a book laura is my favorite author. Rafaela almost feels like a secret friend to me and I love reading Laura’s beautiful words just to feel understood again, it’s truly the most precious story I’ve ever read. (and one sent to me by the keeper, thanks so much for that!)
just one more page, member of the sitemy first allegiance will always be sarah j maas’s throne of glass – i read it a few years ago but only since i bought it in paperback which has become in my talisman it has passed through the hands of others, through the suitcases of others; he came and went with me during rehearsals for the play and during exams. I’ve read it so many times I know it inside and out. opening its pages is like sitting down to have a cup of tea and chat with celaena. it’s my home away from home where I know I won’t be judged, and even when I don’t have it with me I can whisper the words that saved its protagonist: I will not be afraid. And through all of this, I can see that there is an author behind this book who first wrote it when she was just a teenager like me, and it gives me hope that maybe it can inspire people just like she has. inspired me.
ellam25, a member of the siteI immediately wanted to present the book that has helped me on so many occasions when I have felt lonely or depressed. The book that has basically saved my life multiple times is Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why. Just reading excerpts from this book makes me realize that there are people around me who help and encourage me even without realizing it, on a day when I feel lonely or depressed.
See Also: Jennifer Probst – Book Series In Order
alan gibbons, author of hatethe book that saved my life was john steinbeck’s grapes of wrath. he showed that justice could be written in a beautiful, lyrical, mythical style.
thebookaddictedgirl, teen bloggerI think there were three books that saved my life. the first was harry potter, because it made my life magical. I was seven years old when I read the first book, it was already a pretty magical time, but as I got older, I kept reading the series and living in this magical world and my imagination just… blossomed. harry, ron, hermione and hogwarts helped me a lot: fights with friends, moving to high school, going to the wheelchair, being sick, growing up, being lonely, gcses… this series is my comfort reading, the books who I always turn to when I feel sad, lonely, happy or excited. I have reread the books so many times that they are now like my best friends. and best friends are always there for you, there to save your life. harry potter gave me my imagination, it gave me my power of dreaming and sparked many of my ideas. and so it keeps saving me.
The second is a series that I don’t really like now, but that was very important to me at the time: twilight. this was the first truly romantic book i read and it started my addiction to you. I also started reading twilight about when I was left in a wheelchair and the sheer escapism that the series provided really helped. You can say a lot about Twilight (a lot of it negative), but for a pre-teen girl it’s truly addictive. i watched twilight a long time ago but i still think it was the series that got me through a tough time and also got me hooked on paranormal books.
The last book that saved me was before I died. this book… devastated me, destroyed me. This was the original Heartbreaker, before Hazel and Augustus were written on paper and in our hearts. tessa’s fight with cancer and her pain and her hope really connected with me. I’ve never been dying, but I know how it feels to be too sick to move, I know what it’s like to feel like you’re missing out on everything. before he died he reminded me how precious life is and how lucky I am. yes, it broke my heart so much that i cried for days, but it also made me smile, laugh and love. And really, is there a better life-saving book than that?
jboo1698, site memberthe book that saved my life is probably the fault in our stars by john green. I quote him and that specific book a lot, but if it wasn’t for me going out into my local waters over a year ago and just being captivated by the fiction of that book, I really wouldn’t be here talking about it right now. so, it allowed me to return to one of the best things I’ve ever done, that’s why it’s the book that saved my life.
step into dystopia, site memberthe way of cormac mccarthy is one of those books that makes you see the other side of life. The story follows a father and son who survive in a post-apocalyptic America, with the danger of death around every corner. Although the story is very dark, it captures the bond of the family with the relationship between a father and a son. gives a message that really stays with you: you have to carry the fire. it’s one of those concepts that sticks with you when you’re feeling desperate, that if you can see the light in the darkness around you, then you’ll be fine, everything will be fine. if you can carry that message within you, you will be able to fight any demon that crosses your path and see the hope within you.
“You have to carry the fire.”“I don’t know how to do it.”“Yes, you do.”“Is the fire real? the fire?” “yes it is.” “where is it? I do not know where it is.” “if you know. it is within you. she was always there. I can see.”
site member ayeshahas to be nicola morgan’s teen guide to stress. This book was an amazing read because it really showed me that I am not the only one suffering from problems and that there are many other problems that many people are unaware of. this book helped me in many ways like when i was having some relationship problems with my boyfriend as well as my diet as i was recently diagnosed with celiac disease which basically meant i had to say goodbye to bread, cakes, cookies. .. anything that contained gluten. It was a very hard struggle, but this book helped me understand that I am not alone and also gave me some advice on how to get used to it. also covers exam stress, family issues, disorders, lgbt and many more issues that cause stress. the reason he “saved my life” is because he gave me hope and made me understand things much better.
book search, site memberthe book that saved my life? one that brings together 1. childhood 2. status and 3. injustice, to kill a mockingbird. i remember the first time i bought the book, a few years ago, when i was about 10 or 11 years old and walked into waterstones with my dad, ready to buy the new jacqueline wilson annual, when he told me i could buy that or that book before an author you’ve never heard of said it in a way that meant you really only have one option, which is to get the book you’ve never heard of. Reluctantly, I have it. killing a mockingbird saved me in a weird way i guess it saved me from years of waiting to become the person i was going to be stubborn and awkward it was a huge realization its not that i didnt believe in racism or didnt realize I realize how disgusting it is, but I rather didn’t think about it, it made me a bit more cynical.
Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay, I can’t think of a book that got me through a tough time as much as music, which really has always been what I’ve leaned on. difficult times. music speaks directly to my emotions, so maybe that’s why I find it so comforting and cathartic. the bluesy electroshock on the eels album got me through one of the most difficult periods of loss in my life. my husband bought a bootleg copy while we were traveling around china and we took turns listening to it and crying. (we bought a legit album when we got home).
hawwa, site memberI don’t think there is a particular book that has “saved” my life, the reason is that, in a sense, all books change or shape me in various ways. ways. unique to the story and the characters they introduce me to. Words wield power, as of course images, and no matter what the plot of a novel is, there is always a message to carry; Or at least, that’s what I’ve found. however, I have books that I go back to whenever I need comfort or familiarity, so I would say that these books ‘saved my life’, as they always manage to make me feel lighter and happier if I had felt stressed or worried before. about something. in my younger years [because i’m so old now!] i would say laura ingalls wilder’s little house on the prairie series, and now, in my teens: shannon hale’s goose girl series and ruby redfort’s series lauren child honestly, I will contradict myself and say that not because there is any special message that it takes away, but because of the characters. through copious rereading, I have come to love their personalities and all their quirks; It’s like being surrounded by old friends, and isn’t it the perfect cure for a day when you clearly got on the wrong side of the bed?
sally gardner, author of double shadow and tinder as a teenager i forever loved amber by kathleen winsor. the book was given to me by my stepfather who thought it might help ease the boredom of boarding school. I was fourteen years old and due to my dyslexia I had just learned to read properly. I hid the book under my mattress in the bedroom, as it would have been taken from me if found. I read it at night under my bedclothes by torchlight. it was a world to which he could escape. the past – charles ii, the plague, the fire of london – became tangible, alive. the love story dragged on and i spent many happy hours daydreaming about amber and i think it subconsciously inspired me to write i cilantro.
cat doyle, author of alice oseman’s vendettasolitaire: this is a gritty and starkly realistic portrait of a teenager who’s not okay and doesn’t quite know why. Although I read it in my early twenties, the book resonated strongly with me as I saw, in Tori Spring, so much of myself. Lonely shows us that life is far from perfect, that it’s okay to be sad sometimes, and that even during our darkest moments, someone will shine if we let them.
orlithebookworm, site membera book that definitely saved my life was clair-de-lune by cassandra golds. I don’t know if this book is still selling, and I haven’t seen it since around 2007 when I first read it at age eight, when mental health wasn’t talked about much yet. at school, I could only express myself through my pen, and when I saw people I didn’t know what to say, and I felt a big surge of anxiety every time they asked me to speak, which I thought made me weird, that I would live my life paralyzed by what I would later learn as social anxiety. clair-de-lune taught me how to speak, taught me that the thoughts in my head can be so vividly illustrated when I speak and tell them to people just as they appeared on paper. it’s a story of how a girl starts talking after never talking, and at the time she wasn’t even a big reader. but I firmly believe that it was not only the book that ignited my love of reading, but the book that taught me that sometimes, just sometimes, being myself was good enough. It really changed my life, and I think it’s that kind of feeling, that they’re someone else like you, that at such a vulnerable age can really change everything for you.
leigh bardugo, author of ruin & rising (the grisha trilogy) the book that saved my life was the novel, rita hayworth and the shawshank redemption by stephen king. Shawshank taught me to adapt but not give in, to keep the best and fiercest parts of me intact even when I found my own brand of camouflage.
mg harris, gemini force one: black horizon i think it’s more likely that the blake’s 7 tv show “saved” me from a few miserable years. no book, actually, there were so many. But if I had to choose, it would probably be Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. that was something I went back to many times between the ages of 13 and 20 and always found solace there. the poetic language, the nostalgia, the mystery, the sense of a summer at the end of childhood, so beautifully captured.
See Also: Top 20 Seduction & Pickup Artist Books In 2022 – Game Global
tess sharpe, author of far from youspeak by laurie halse anderson saved me. she showed me that she wasn’t alone when she really needed to know that.
sarah moore fitzgerald, author of apple pie of hope the catcher in the rye by jd salinger is a book i read when i was 16 years old. I will never forget how I felt when I first met Holden Caulfield and all of his confessed weaknesses. For me, this book is the original novel, exploring the inner life of a teenager in crisis, and a source of comfort and humor for generations of readers.
lauren st john, author of the glory and the one doller horse trilogy a story that had a tremendous impact on me as a teenager was the other side of the mountain eg. Vallens, the true story of American alpine skiing star Jill Kinmont, who, at age 18, suffered a near-fatal accident in pre-Olympic competition in the 1950s, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. the same week she had been the cover girl of Sports Illustrated. her courage, humor, and determination to live a life of purpose, helping others, in the face of the utter devastation of everything I had worked and dreamed for, was tremendously inspiring to me and helped me put my own dark times to rest. perspective. .
sf said, author of varjak paw and phoenixa wizard of earthsea by ursula le guin. I read this book at a time in my life when I felt very lost and had no idea what I wanted to do. I’m so glad le guin and ged were there to help me get through it and find my place in the world.
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shadowkissedhannah, site membera book that really helped me when i was twelve and still getting used to high school and dealing with my ocd was vanessa curtis’s zelah green duology. my school only had the second book so sadly i haven’t been able to read the first one yet but the second book zelah green: one more little problem’ really helped me come to terms with the fact that ocd is a condition many deal with people. in the long run, and to deal with that you need to learn to accept that it is a part of you, a part that you have to accept and deal with on a daily basis. Vanessa curtis honestly helped me more than any scary online nhs test or quiz, and reading from zelah’s perspective felt almost like mine, as she shared many of the same fears and struggles as me. i have never felt so much like a character as zelah, and vanessa’s fidelity to life in writing about zelah’s life and her demons (and how she tries to overcome them) was really a shining beacon of hope for me when i thought i was just.
abundantly_dramatict, site memberthe book that saved my life i had to stay away from you by tess sharpe. The main character of the book, Sophie, faces so many obstacles throughout the novel and we discover the many difficult obstacles that she jumped in her past. the main character of strong sharpe had inspired me. Although it is all fictional, Sophie’s ability to overcome her core problem, support her best friend through conflicting emotions, and witness a traumatic tragedy was a symbol of hope. she never gave up and always believed in herself, even when everyone she knew of her turned against her and everything seemed pointless without that person, she woke up every day and managed to stay on track. For much longer than I’d like to admit, it was hard for me to want to wake up. it was hard not to want to burst into tears, lose control and just say ‘i’m done’ but sophie never did that and after a long time not being able to pick up a book i picked up tess sharpe’s book and slowly she came out of my shell. books in general are a kind of magic, but this one had enough magic to give me back some of my strength. We may not all be able to directly relate to Sophie Winters’ problems and the things she saw, but I think we could all use a little encouragement after an inadvertent hiatus from the wizarding world.
Find out more about Far From You in the Guardian Teen Book Club.
lifeissweetinbooks, site membera book that totally saved me during the time of stress and the period where i needed something to keep me going is clockwork angel by cassandra clare. the reason for this is that the books draw me into the world of shadowhunters and when i read it i feel like i’m actually there and not just sitting there reading the book. the characters are also 100% adorable and I can see myself being great friends with the characters. and of course herondale. one of the most perfect fictitious boyfriends. The plot of the book intrigues me. tessa and they’ll love to read too – what’s not better than your favorite characters love to read?
the dormouse, member of the site
a book that ‘saved my life’ is ballet slippers by noel streatfield because in addition to being a beautiful story to get lost in (“a fairy tale with feet half on the ground”, as the author used to say ), the three girls worry about smaller things that matter anyway, like looking stupid, wearing the wrong clothes, and making money go further. I don’t think I’ve read any other book that has characters as relatable as the three heroines just because they’re so real. ballet shoes are for anyone in need of help and fellow dreamers.
some-infinities-katie, site memberwhen I was younger (7-10 years old), the clarice bean series always brought a smile to my face, and my best friend and I could talk of it for hours. but in the summer of 2013 i discovered the hunger games. this is a series that I have reread at least three times. it saved my life because it was the book that introduced me to the dystopian genre and gave me a different reality to escape from. Since then, I have come across more books that save lives. for starters, there’s the fault of our stars, a book that made me laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously! as you may know, my username comes from a quote from this book; ‘some infinities are bigger than other infinities’. this is also one of those books that makes you realize how lucky you are. And of course, dating always makes me smile. sticking to the contemporary, there’s eleanor and park. It really is a beautiful story, one that I have reread twice. he saved my life because of the message he brings; You never have to fit in in the world of writing, vivian versus the apocalypse saved my life. It shows that you don’t have to conform to the trends of a particular genre to write a great book. (thanks, keeper of children’s books, for sending me that!) another book the keeper sent me that has really made a difference in all the bright places. It really seemed special to me, one of those books that you want to keep for yourself. it is so beautiful. my god, this list is longer than I planned. but I think all the books here have shaped me in one way or another. my final choice is to never let go of kazuo ishiguro. I’m rereading it right now and picking up some beautiful and horrible details that I didn’t notice a year ago. This is the first “adult” book I have ever read and loved. I first read it when I was twelve years old, and even then I had an idea of the enormity of what Ishiguro accomplished in a book. it saved my life because i feel connected to kathy.hy is a book i have on my ipod so i read it often as an opportunity to escape to an alternate reality. it also sparked an interest in the book’s controversial subject matter (which I won’t mention for fear of spoiling the surprise).
laura137, site memberthe book that really saved my life is throne of glass by sarah j maas. It came at a time when I needed something or someone like a new character to really hold on and gain strength. celaena does this completely for me and continues even now. when my grandma has a particularly bad day with her alzheimer’s or other problems at home or at college, i always know i can take 15 minutes to get inside celaena’s head and it’s so relaxing and empowering. the things celaena has been through and how she continues to recover and still has hope and happiness left to keep smiling and enjoying life inspires me and reminds me that even when I feel really down, life will get better.
amythe wizards of caprona by diana wynne jones – I read it the summer after my father committed suicide. I was eleven years old, about to start a new school, and for a while I just hid in it. the characters were real to me, and their hope and bravery were a great comfort. I’m not sure it saved my life, but it showed me a different kind of life, full of family and magical adventures. And I think I realized then that I could try to achieve at least some of that in my own life, no matter what was going on around me at the time.
suchetawould be ayn rand’s anthem. I read it when I was 22 years old. a 1980s boy from a bengali nuclear family where collectivist is the way to be, this book helped me articulate the second crucial argument of my rebellion thesis that liberated me spiritually. It gave me comfort and courage in my lonely search for clarity.
teen book club:
See Also: Loren Estleman, author
- read the first chapter of all the bright places by jennifer niven
- and if you haven’t read it yet, here are jennifer niven’s top 10 teen books that will save your life
- and also check out gayleform’s article on why we need to talk about depression
- don’t miss nicola morgan’s top 10 tips for beating the january blues