Reading Well for Teens
Reading Well for Teens suggests recommended reading and digital resources to help you understand your feelings and boost your confidence. Teens and health and wellbeing experts have chosen the books to help you manage your emotions and cope with difficult times.
The booklist is targeted at teenagers (13-18) and includes a range of reading levels and formats to support less confident readers and encourage engagement.
Healthy Minds
Be Resilient: How to Build a Strong Teenage Brain for Tough Times
by Nicola Morgan
From building a support network to building optimism, find positive, practical advice for preparing for, coping with and bouncing back from the toughest of times. Authoritative and backed by the latest science, this is a reassuring companion for teenagers everywhere.
by Penny Alexander and Becky Goddard-Hill
This positive and insightful guide gives you the tools to build your confidence, eliminate negative feelings and boost happiness in all areas of you life. Being a teenager has its own unique challenges, but it's also the perfect time to shape your own mental wellbeing and happiness. There are tons of ideas to try from creating an anxiety toolkit, to planning a digital detox and meditating, plus you'll learn the science behind why they work.
by Margaret Rooke
If you want to achieve against the odds and create genuine impact, this book may be the encouragement you need. The interviews cover race, sexuality, violence, grief, neurodiversity, bullying and other issues central to life today.
by Linni Ingemundsen
Fifteen-year-old Sander wishes he was like everyone else. But Sander has a rare medical condition that affects one in a hundred thousand people. It means his growth is stunted, and it seems the biggest, strongest and loudest guys get all the attention. But Sander notices the little things other people miss, and he's about to make a big impact...
Managing Feelings
The Mental Heath and Wellbeing Workout for Teens
by Paula Nagel
This easy-to-understand guide arms teens with healthy thinking habits and coping strategies for staying on top of their mental health. Using tried and tested therapeutic techniques, readers are given the tools to build their own personalised mental health 'workout' to boost their emotional resilience and wellbeing.
by Bridie Gallagher, Sue Knowles and Hannah Bromley
This is a guide to the emotional and interpersonal issues you may encounter as a young adult, packed with advice and real-life stories of hope and resilience from people in similar situations.
by Bridie Gallagher, Sue Knowles and Phoebe McEwan
Helping young people with anxiety learn to recognise and manage their symptoms, this anxiety survival guide teaches young people aged 10+ how they can overcome their biggest worries. With practical chapters on sleep, exam stress, transitions, and seeking extra help, this is a go to guide for any tween, teen or young person living with anxiety.
by Steve Haines
In this guide, anxiety is explained in an easy-to-understand, engaging graphic format with tips and strategies to relieve its symptoms, and change the mind's habits for a more positive outlook.
by Holly Duhig
This informative and supportive series explores in detail some common mental health issues affecting the lives of children today. Working to tackle and destigmatise mental health issues these creative and factual titles explore depression. Readers can learn about causes, symptoms and practical coping strategies including mindfulness talking therapies and when to seek professional help.
by Rhian Ivory
The summer between school and sixth-form. When Hope doesn't get into drama college, and her friends do, all her plans fall apart. She's struggling with anger, grief for her father and a sense that her own body is against her. She meets Riley on the ferry and his texts give her someone to talk to. But this isn't a story about a boy fixing everything. It's about trying new things and having the courage to ask for help.
Neurodiversity
Wired Differently: 30 Neurodivergent People You Should Know
by Joe Wells
Showcasing these 30 incredible people, the extraordinary stories in this book show that the things they've achieved, created and inspired they did, not despite being different but because they are different. From politicians, activists and journalists to YouTubers, DJs and poets, this book highlights a wide range of exciting career paths for neurodivergent readers.
by Aoife Dooley
Frankie knows she's not like anyone else in her class: she's different, but she can't quite figure out why. Is it the new freckle on her nose, or the fact she's small for her age? Or that she has to go to the hospital sometimes? Everyone else seems to think she's weird too, and they make fun of her at school. Frankie's dad left when she was a baby - maybe he was different too? It would explain why she always feels like an alien. So she and her best-friend Sam, embark on a mission to track him down. A graphic novel offering a unique perspective on Autism, told with humour and heart. Brought to life with glorious colour artwork in a distinctive blue and orange palette."
Body Image
by Charlotte Markey
Through this easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated guide, Dr Markey teaches girls how to nurture both mental and physical health to improve their own body image, shows the positive impact they can have on others, and enables them to go out into the world feeling fearless.
by Charlotte Markey, Daniel Hart and Douglas Zacher
Easy-to-read, evidence-based guide to developing a positive body image for boys aged 12+. It covers all the facts on puberty, diet, exercise, self-care, mental health, social media, and everything in-between. Boys will find answers to the questions most on their mind, the truth behind many diet and exercise myths, and real-life stories from other boys.
by National and Specialist ODC, BDD and Related Disorders Service, Maudsley Hospital
The first book for teens that explains the causes and impact of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The book is interspersed with accounts and artwork from young people with BDD, along with perspectives of their families. BDD is a debilitating mental health disorder, and this book gives advice on treatment including CBT and education, and shows where to get help.
Jemima Small Versus the Universe
by Tamsin Winter
A sympathetic and honest portrayal of a very intelligent young girl's struggle with how she is seen by others and how some people treat her and judge her because of her being overweight, and it's written from the first-person point of view so we really see how she feels, how she is affected by people's words and the actions of those around her.
by Samuel Pollen
14-year-old Max only has one person he can really talk to. Her name is Ana - also known as anorexia, his eating disorder. Max writes to Ana every day. She feeds on his fears, encouraging him to lose more and more weight. In the midst of a family crisis, Max's eating disorder quickly deteriorates. Ana pulls him further and further away from his family and friends, until he feels totally alone. Can anyone help him find a way out? Drawing on debut author Samuel Pollen's own experiences, this is an unforgettable, uplifting story of one boy's battle with anorexia.
Understanding Bereavement and Loss
by Julie Stokes
The death of a parent, sibling or friend is one of the most traumatic experiences for a child or young person and it can be hard to know how to talk to them about it. In this honest, comforting and strength-building guide Julie Stokes, a clinical psychologist and founder of childhood bereavement charity Winston's Wish, provides readers with the tools they need to navigate this tough and turbulent time.
by Patrick Ness
Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive.
by Sita Brahmachari
Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes, a small green space in a sprawling grey city. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their future - until Kai's family suffers a huge loss. Trying to cope with his own grief, as well as watching it tear his family apart, Kai is drawn into a new and more dangerous crowd, until his dreams for the future are a distant memory. Excluded from school and retreating from his loved ones, it seems as though his path is set, his story foretold. Orla, Zak and new classmate Om are determined to help him find his way back.
Learning About Life
by Kwame Alexander
A novel written in verse, flowing freely and smoothly, reading perfectly naturally. Poet and author Kwame Alexander skilfully tells the story of Nick Hall, a clever, articulate, football loving youngster. Everything is rosy for Nick, until his mum leaves, and then one by one other things start to go wrong in his life. He has to learn to live through some painful experiences, including parental divorce, bullying at school, unreasonable expectations from his dad, and unrequited love.
by Bali Rai
Aman's dad is gone, leaving her feeling lost and alone. She struggles to talk about it, but it's a fact and he isn't coming back. When a lovely man called Gurnam moves in to her street and saves Aman from some local bullies, he and Aman quickly become friends, perhaps even like family. But Gurnam has his own sadness. One that's far bigger than Aman can understand, and it's tearing his life apart. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers ages 13+.
Social Anxiety Relief for Teens
by Bridget Flynn Walker
Social anxiety is a serious-yet often overlooked form of anxiety commonly experienced by teens. If left untreated, it can lead to a significantly increased risk of developing depression and even addiction in adulthood. In Social Anxiety Relief for Teens, Bridget Flynn Walker presents a five-step cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program to help teens gain confidence and stop living in fear of social situations.
by Holly Bathie
Packed with entertaining illustrations alongside practical information, the Social Media Survival Guide answers questions about all aspects of social media - the good AND the bad - making it a must-have tool for young people (and parents) to help navigate the online world safely and confidently and learn the best approaches to taking care of themselves.