Black Box by Julie Schumacher

Elena's older sister, Dora, seems to snap one day, suddenly changing from a dramatic, emotional girl into a teen who sees no point in living.

Always the stable one, Elena is determined to save her sibling after she gets out of a mental hospital, but -- now skipping classes and engaging in other risky behaviors -- Dora doesn't much resemble the sister that she's always known.

Can the school bad boy help Elena rescue the sister she loves from crushing depression?

This came into my library as a Junior Library Guild pick, and the books they choose are generally solid reads. The cover is haunting, and students have really responded positively to this slim book. Good for struggling readers.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A honest and straight-forward look at depression, it can help tweens and teens understand this at times mystifying mental illness. It nicely captures the helplessness that is felt by those witnessing its tenacious grip.

Schumacher, Julie. Black Box. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers,

ISBN: 0385735421. $15.99.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The story begins with a horrible murder, but one person in the house survives, a toddler who manages to stumble outside and wander to the graveyard down the street. There, the ghosts discover, adopt and name him; "Nobody" or Bod is the only truly alive person in this haunted place.

But the killer is still out there, and he's still on the prowl.

A fanciful, fantastic book filled with a little bit of fear and lot of humor; the ghosts are far more friendly and kind than the humans.

While most YA books disassociate themselves from the past, this one treats past and present as one. Gaiman is a master at weaving in layers of history, creating a rich world in which fun and dread inhabit the same playground.


Bibliotherapeutic value: Although Bod's story begins with mass murder and his life is run through with danger, he also finds friendship and nurturing at the hands of others (though those others are often supernatural!). Bod, often too trusting, has to discover who will protect him and who won't. About navigating danger in the world.

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

ISBN: 0060530928. $17.99.

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Because she cuts herself, Callie finds herself at "Sick Minds" (aka Sea Pines), a rehabilitation facility. She's surrounded by young girls who engage in risky behaviors -- from drug use to anorexia -- but no one even knows why Callie's there. Wandering from activity to activity like a sleepwalker, Callie refuses to speak at all -- thus earning her the nickname "S.T." for Silent Treatment. Will Callie ever connect with the other girls and her psychologist to express why she landed there in the first place?

A delicate, careful novel about the forces that motivate kids to hurt themselves. McCormick, who studied kids who cut for three years for this book, delivers a thoroughly believable world. The main draw is the desire to know the mystery behind Callie's hard-to-comprehend behavior and the charming yet flawed girls around her. A very real-feeling book with a lot of heart and hope.

This tiny book always seemed pretty off-putting to me, from the topic to the raw cover design, but teens in my library kept begging for it. Now know why.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Valuable for both kids who engage in risky behaviors and the ones who don't understand them, this is a book that sheds light on a very difficult topic with care and grace. Encourages talking and connecting with others for healing.

McCormick, Patricia. Cut.  Pennsylvania: Front Street, 2000.

ISBN: 1-886910-61-8. $16.95.