Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Three teens who have hit rock bottom meet in a psychiatric hospital for their suicidal or self-destructive behavior. Speaking in the first person, all of them reveal the events and family situations that put them in this place. The voices are haunting, funny, sarcastic, and real.

Tony, Connor, and Vanessa connect with each other at a time when their lives seem devoid of hope -- will that connection help them heal, or just drag them down?

Students always responded to these books, but I, frankly, avoided them, believing that they were too raw or that they exploited serious issues for sheer dramatic impact. After reading the mesmerizing Identical, I saw the light.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A book that describes extreme psychic pain, the book provides the assurance that connecting with others over painful experiences can help the healing process.

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc./Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008.

ISBN:1416903577.  $9.99.

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.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Most days, 13-year-old Lakshmi spent time helping her mother carry water, grow vegetables, patch their leaky roof and try to keep their heads up despite crushing poverty. It doesn't help that her step-father takes any money they make and gambles it away. And then, after a particularly bad losing streak, he sells her.

She thinks that she's going to the city to work for her maid, like her best friend did not long ago. After a four-day journey from Nepal and into India, terrified but tough Lakshmi finds herself in a house of prostitution.

This is the story of her heart-rending journey, from simple country girl to brothel captive.

With rich descriptions (she calls the brothel keeper, better fed than any person Lakshmi had ever seen, "the mango woman" for her round face) by a naif plunged into a completely foreign world, the book captures the fear of a child sold into sexual slavery.

Students have recommended this one to me and I've always wanted to read it. Contrasts the natural beauty of Lakshmi's home and the harsh, strange world of brothel life with sensitivity.

Bibliothereapeutic value: Although Lakshmi is pitted against cruel strangers and a world that completely devalues women and girls, she maintains her pride and self-respect. This is a ripped-from-the-headlines tale that fully personalizes the serious, real-life problem of human trafficking.

McCormick, Patricia. Sold. New York, Hyperion, 2006.

ISBN: 0786851716. $15.99.

Touch by Francine Prose

Maisie has told the story about what happened in the back of the bus so many times, she's not even sure what the truth is anymore. She knows that there is going to be a hearing, and she knows that she will have to accuse her former best friends, now known as "the defendants."

All that's clear is that Maisie is now alone, friendless. She hates her step-mother, her real mother had abandoned her and remarried a hostile jerk, and she seems to be living at the therapist's office.

A sad, affecting tale about the awkward passage from childhood to pubescence -- about what happens when budding sexuality complicates everything.

I've read Francine Prose's adult novels about similar topics (she seems particularly interested in the morally murky waters of sexual harassment and molestation). My friend, who writes about YA novels brought this one over to my house and the jacket flap drew me in.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A book about how "the truth" can be slippery when put under a microscope by peers, parents and other authority figures. An interesting look at victimization.

Prose, Francine. Touch. New York: HarperTeen, 2009.

ISBN: 0061375179. $16.99.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Janie Johnson is just a regular girl who dreams of an exotic life filled with adventure -- and, boy, does she get it. One day, as Janie and her friends are eating lunch in the school cafeteria, the kids all joke about the missing children ads on their milk carton. Janie picks up her friend's carton, drinks the milk, then realizes in a flash of memory that the girl on the carton is her.

Stunned, Janie begins to question everything around her. Who are these people who have said they were her parents? Are they crazy? Could these caring, nurturing people be dangerous? Haven't they already broken the law?

When she finds a cache of old papers with the name "Hannah" on them and the dress from the milk-carton photograph, she finally confronts her parents.

Their answers pacify her...until new, unsettling questions arise to poke holes in their story.

A twisting mystery that brings up some of the most unsettling feelings; What if the life that seemed so normal was merely a sham?

Intrigued by the title, I delved in and couldn't put this book down. Disturbing and gripping.

Bibliotherapeutic value: This is a novel about a child "owning" her story, about finding out the truth, even when the truth may be uncomfortable. In order to get what she wants. Janie has to confront people with buried memories that some would prefer stayed buried.

Cooney, Caroline. The Face on the Milk Carton. New York: Laurel Leaf Books, 1991.

ISBN: 0440220653. $6.99.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

TJ Jones' birth name is "The Tao," so it's no real surprise that he has serious anger management problems. Criminally neglected by a drug-addicted mom for two years, he finally found a home with his foster mother and father. But he lives in a place where being mixed-race (African-American, Japanese, and white) might pit you against the town's brutal jocks--who have a stranglehold on the school, the teachers, and the town itself.

To make things worse for him, natural-born athlete TJ has always refused to take part in any of school sports teams until his favorite teacher begs him to start a swim team. TJ agrees, only because he hatches a fun yet diabolical plan to get back at the jocks and the entire school.

Fueled by his dark humor and barely bottled-up rage, TJ is a winning and completely believable character, even if some of the situations might test anyone's ability to suspend disbelief.

Overall, this is a fast-paced read that's fueled by anger and pathos.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Crutcher takes a real look at racism and child abuse and how the affects can be crippling. TJ and another child he helps in therapy either direct their anger outward or twist it in, turning it into self-disgust.

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2009.

ISBN: 0061771317. $8.99.

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

A simple tale about a romance between two 17-year-olds who just happen to be girls. Liza and Annie, New York City girls, meet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Liza's there for the architecture, Annie's in a secluded upstairs gallery, singing. The two girls lead very different lives: Liza goes to a private school and leads a quiet and protected (almost anachronistic) life; Annie, the artier and more fragile one, is working class and goes to a rough public school.

But their attraction is instantaneous.

They become fast friends. And then it seems like they are more than friends. But what is this? Liza is completely blindsided as she realizes that she has romantic feelings for Annie. The other girl has felt this, in a milder form, before. An unforgettable story about awakening romance in a hostile environment.

Anyone who has ever been a teenager in love will be able to relate to this story. Written over twenty years ago, this book is a regular contender on many most-challenged lists.

Bibliotherapeutic value: The innocent tameness of tale and the girls' relationship -- with a plot structure that's simply girl meets girl -- makes the hit-list reputation of this book seem a little ridiculous. For any reader, it's a strong reminder of how slapping a label on something can suddenly make something explosive.

Garden, Nancy, Annie on My Mind. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1992.

ISBN: 0374404135. $8.

Too Soon for Jeff by Marilyn Reynolds

Jeff Browning has his life entirely planned out -- and then something completely unexpected changes everything. A high school senior and college-bound debate team champ, he's heading for college, for sure. 

And then, just as he's about to break up with his girlfriend, Christy, she tells him that she's pregnant. And she's going to keep the baby.

Responsible enough to live with the consequences of his actions, Jeff sees his entire life turned upside down as he, the reliable student and good son, becomes the kid who threw his life away.

When I was a classroom teacher, my ESL students loved this book -- it's easy enough to read for a second language learner. I finally picked it up and was completely hooked. The characters are so believable and the writing is so straight-forward and honest. A fantastic book for struggling readers!

Note: For a girl's perspective on this issue, check out Reynolds' Detour for Emmy.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Jeff has to live with his guilt and his pain. He deals with the consequences of his actions and everyone's disapproval. A great book about doing the right thing -- and how doing the right thing might upend all of your plans.

Reynolds, Marilyn. Too Soon for Jeff. Buena Park: Morning Glory Press, 1994.

ISBN: 0930934911. $9.95.

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Simon Glass is a complete geek: greasy, doughy and clumsy, a perfectly classic computer nerd. Then Rob, a relative newcomer who vaulted to the top of the high school's popularity perch within weeks of his arrival, decides to make Simon a project. He's going to take him to the top, too.

It's pretty easy. For one, Simon is rich, so new clothes are not a problem. Two, Simon is a willing (if suspicious) co-conspirator.

Soon, Rob and his friends -- including the writerly rich-kid narrator Thaddeus R. Steward IV (aka Young) -- see their experiment with popularity and power go awry as Simon becomes the prototypical Frankenstein's monster.

A real page-turner, but full of well-trodden tropes about power, control, creation, and high school popularity.

Bibliotherapeutic value: There is a discussion of bullying and power tripping. Also, it's a lesson in looking beneath the surface. Cathartic, but not terribly deep.

Giles, Gail. Shattering Glass. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

ISBN: 0689858000. $7.99.

I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

In this haunting book, Adam Farmer is riding his bike to see his father. He has some things to give him. He is willing to deal with biting dogs, bullies, and sheer exhaustion to make this trip, which clearly has some deep and terrible meaning to him.

As the story unfolds -- mostly through a series of cryptic flashback interviews -- we learn that Adam Farmer is not his real name, and that there is something mysterious about his family and the reason why they moved to this town. His best friend, Amy Hertz, had begun to ask questions that hint that there's something unusual going on. And why does his mother take calls from someone once a month, like clockwork? And who is that man who comes calling and makes his father nervous?

Though dated by its Nixon-era paranoia, this is still a fantastic read. The end is a terrifying shock. This is by far one of the saddest books I've ever read.


The Perks of Being a Wallflower, one of my favorite YA books, definitely took a thing or two from this classic.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A reminder that "reality" is not always what you think. A piercing, sympathetic look into an unusual mind.

Cormier, Robert. I Am the Cheese. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006. (First printing: 1975.)

ISBN: 0375840497. $8.99.

The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees

Frankie is just an average kid, but there's nothing average about his brother, Steve. The school's soccer star, effortless student, and girl magnet, Steve has nothing to prove to anyone -- except the town's cholos, a gang of tattooed locos who play by a whole separate set of rules. Steve's about to go to college on a scholarship. Will he risk everything he's done in high school to win a different kind of respect?

Pushed by the school's rich kid/jock/bully, Frankie is beginning to think that his brother is onto something.

This book was chosen as part of my school's book club. The students love it (especially the boys).

Bibliotherapeutic value: Examines the concept of machismo and respect. Frankie gets props for taking on the town bully, but he's signed onto a game of one-upsmanship that, once it starts rolling, is hard to control.

Voorhees, Coert. The Brothers Torres. New York: Hyperion, 2009.

ISBN: 1423103068. $8.99.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Taylor Markham should be used to being abandoned. When she was just a kid, her drug-addled mother left her at a 7-11. Now she's a senior at a boarding school and the woman, Hannah, who has taken care of her has disappeared.

Just elected the leader of the Underground Community, Taylor has to take the helm in the annual summer war game between the Cadets, who camp nearby, and the Townies.

Unsure she can lead, worried about Hannah's whereabouts, still haunted by the memory of her mother, Taylor is a whirlwind of anger and confusion. And then there's that manuscript Hannah left behind, with the story about a decades-old car crash which practically wiped out two families.

Somehow, to handle all of the pressure and solve these mysteries, Hannah knows she has to find her mother. But how?

This book was chosen by two of my book clubs, one at my school and one adult YA group. It's baffling at first, but it is mysterious, gripping, and emotional...and it's one of my very favorite YA books ever. (Adults seem to have more patience with the confusing beginning than teens do -- if they can hang in there, it's well worth it.)

Bibliotherapeutic value: I can't talk about it without spoiling the ending, but this book discusses some seriously traumatic episodes. Taylor is a tough, confused victim, but she's not curling up -- she's all action. As wounded as she is, Taylor is the model of a self-directed, take-charge girl. If she could only connect with someone else. In order to do that, she needs to expose some secrets and dredge up some ugly old ghosts. A powerful story about moving forward by stepping back into the past.

Marchetta, Melina. Jellicoe Road. New York: HarperTeen, 2008.

ISBN: 0061431834. $17.99.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Probably the best book about war written specifically for teens, Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels follows Perry, a Harlem kid who enlists and is promptly sent into the thick of battle in Vietnam. Crestfallen because his dream of going to college wasn't realized, he fled New York, but -- as he's flown into the middle of a blistering, confusing war zone -- he quickly realizes that he had no idea what he was getting into.

In Vietnam, Perry (who spent the flight over innocently flirting with a nurse) realizes that the war is not petering out like he believed. His first night in camp is a horrifying wake up call. What follows is traumatic and eloquent, a war story that throws all of the problems of American culture -- homophobia, machismo, racism, poverty, class warfare -- into high relief.

One of the saddest, most brilliant, most real YA books that I've ever read.

Bibliotherapeutic value: In order to make this book feel so real, Myers had to include profanity and violence. The book, through its depiction of a unit filled with disparate and sundry characters, underscores the value of every human life. A sympathetic portrait of many different types of people and a clear-eyed look at how status quo American culture dehumanizes its "enemies" as much as war does.

Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels. New York: Scholastic Books, 1988. (First published in 1984.)

ISBN: 0545055768. $6.99.

Forever by Judy Blume

Still one of the most frequently challenged books over thirty years after it was first published, Forever tracks the course of Katherine and Michael's high school relationship. The two explore sexuality together, both the idea and logistics of it. Their romance, at first, seems to survive both their constant dialogue about the deed and the fact that Katherine is a virgin and Michael is not.

Forever taught me that books can be powerful and, to some, dangerous. In the sixth grade, I brought it to school and showed it to a girl who had just moved to California from Cairo. Her parents weren't pleased, and neither was the school. The next day, I was promptly herded to the principal's office.

Now this book sits on a shelf in my library. I have to chuckle every time I see it.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Although many teens will find themselves searching for the "good parts" and many critics are horrified by the book's frank discussion of mechanics and birth control, this book is a very responsible look at teen sex and romance. It's also an exploration of what makes a full and complete romantic relationship.

Blume, Judy. Forever. New York: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2002. (First printing 1975.)

ISBN: 0689849737. $18.99.

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Meredith sits on the curb outside her condo, waiting for her father to get home. This isn’t just any reunion -- her father has been in jail for three years for sexually molesting her. To make matters more twisted and painful, Meredith’s mother can’t wait for him to get there so that they can rekindle their marriage, even though, aside from molesting her daughter, he also molested several young boys on his middle school baseball team.

 

Though the premise is almost ridiculously unbelievable, it’s a testament to the fierce beauty of Laura Wiess’ writing – her impeccable attention to the smallest detail -- that she pulls off this tale, making this nightmare scenario feel downright terrifying. 

Meredith’s story is one of ultimate betrayal. Her father is completely unrepentant and ready to take up where he left off with his daughter. The mother is both sinister and clueless, and horrifying in her own right. This is a powerful book about fear, evil, and redemption.

Bibliotherapeutic value: Even though Meredith has some attentive adults around her, she finds that only she can help herself. A poignant story about moving out of victimhood.

  

Wiess, Laura Battyanyi. Such a Pretty Girl.  New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2007.

ISBN: 14165-21836. $7.99.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Collector's Edition) by Sherman Alexie

Arnold Spirit, Jr., was born with water on the brain, bad eyesight, and suffocating poverty. On his Native American reservation in Washington, he sees people trapped in their lives -- hungry, drunk, and stuck, and, when a teacher on the reservation tell him that his only hope is to go to a white school over twenty miles away from the reservation, he decides that doing this, the unthinkable, is his only hope.

Facing racism at school and perpetual tragedies at home, Junior’s path is an uphill battle – one that he often has to walk alone, 22 miles to his school.

Full of the kinds of risky and controversial behaviors that teens see every day, Arnold has to deal with the trouble all around him, from alcoholism to life-crushing recklessness, child abuse to gambling addictions. Hilarious all the way through, Junior faces life’s dangers with a searing sarcasm and true grit.

Bibliotherapeutic value: All around him, the narrator sees his friends and family trapped in a cycle of poverty and alcoholism. This is a book about facing life’s most difficult challenges head on.

Note: Details below are for the collector’s edition because this one’s a keeper!

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Collector’s Edition). New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009.

ISBN: 0316068209. $19.99.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

It’s Melinda Sordino’s first day of high school, and, from across the room, her best friend mouths to her, “I hate you.” Everyone seems to know who she is, and everyone seems to hate her, too.

Infamous for being the girl who ruined the best party of the summer, Melinda quickly retreats into her own world. All she wants is to be left alone, but she is keeping a terrible secret, a secret that, if told, would destroy the insular little cocoon that Melinda has wrapped around herself.

Dark and sarcastic, Melinda’s take on high school is smart and piercing. She watches from the outside – an angry ghost. But the truth of what happened that night needs to be told, eventually.

Bbliotherapeutic value: Writer Anderson emphasizes that victims must expose the victimizer to break the cycle of rape and abuse. An affecting tale of violence and healing.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 2009.

ISBN: 0142414735. $11.99.

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer

To the five Herbert girls, life is messy and unpredictable. Dad’s been laid-off; Mom’s a sensitive, overweight wreck; Fancy, the special needs one, just won’t stop talking; Stevie’s mean; Beauty just can’t wait to escape the family and the town. To the stranger, they are perfect, a joyful flock of girlish energy. He watches. He waits. He won’t act – or will he?

A story of teen/tween angst – or family turmoil and romantic longing – turns into a quite different story of abduction, of decisions that could make the difference between life and death.

This book was selected as our school’s book club book for May 2010; I was intrigued by the cover image of swirling hair on a white background and became hooked when I read the predator’s haunting take on the girls as he passes them to work every day.

Bibliotherapeutic value: A story about how true mental illness can reside in a completely normal-looking person, it shows surface normalcy can be deceiving (that someone perfectly innocent and boring-looking to a teen might be a real threat). It’s also a tale about strength and self-preservation – and about recovering from trauma.

Mazer, Norma Fox. The Missing Girl. New York: HarperTeen, 2008.

ISBN: 0066237769. $16.99.

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

What are the rules? How to survive living with Mom.

A story set up in the form of a letter, older brother Matthew writes to tell his baby sister, Emmy, what to do and what not to do to remain under the radar of their mother, Nikki, a bipolar and, at times, psychotic narcissist who terrorizes her three kids. One day, Matt meets Murdoch, a tough yet kindly protector of children who seems like the perfect savior.

Desperate to help his two sisters and himself, Matt obsesses over Murdoch as his family’s only salvation. But what if Murdoch is no match for Nikki, a mom who makes Mommie Dearest look downright nurturing?

Told with straightforward, real-feeling drama by Werlin, this is a fantastic story about the lengths someone might go to save himself and those he loves.

Teens at my school had discovered Werlin’s Impossible, when – at a loss of what to recommend for a rabid reader – I pulled this one off of the shelf. She came back the next day, held the book out, and said, “Oh, my God. Ms. Scribner. This book” -- high praise from a jaded bookworm.

Bibliotherepeutic value: While the situation is terrifying, Matt’s well-thought-out survival tactics are encouraging. A story about staying strong, being smart, and asking for help.

Werlin, Nancy. The Rules of Survival. New York: Speak, 2008.

ISBN: 0142410713. $7.99.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bonded by a pact that could destroy them, Lia and Cassie were best friends. Both suffering from eating disorders, they encouraged and helped each other in their self-destructive behavior. Then, one night, Cassie calls Lia repeatedly – and then dies in a hotel room. Her death leaves Cassie with tremendous guilt. She tries to piece together what happened to Cassie, which can only lead her to examine their long, tangled friendship. Will Lia be able to salvage her own life – or will she travel Cassie’s horrible path?

Anderson plumbs the mind of someone suffering from eating disorders so well that, as queasy Lia’s behavior makes you, it’s easy to understand. Residing in Lia’s mind is no fun, but it’s difficult to detach from this hypnotic, chilling read.

The Vroman’s YA book expert brought this book to school and, because of the depressing subject matter, none of the students wanted to read it. Neither did I. But it’s a book that fully fleshes out the experience of living with a severe eating disorder. Though it’s hard not to feel the complete disgust that Lia feels when being around food, it’s also a fair warning to see the innocent roots of this illness – the comparing, competing, and girlish dieting that can lead to real tragedy.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York: Viking Juvenile, 2009.

ISBN: 067001110X. $17.99.