Tuesday 31 July 2018

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Mental Illness in YA Month Reading List: YA Novels Featuring Mental Illness Wishlist

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Mental Illness in YA Month is coming to an end, so I thought my penultimate post should highlight YA novels and teen non-fic featuring/about mental illness that are yet to come out that I'm highly anticipating! These are the books on my wishlist, in order of publication.

Colour Me In by Lydia Ruffles
Colour Me In by Lydia Ruffles
Published on 8th August 2018


Nineteen-year-old actor Arlo likes nothing more than howling across the skyline with best friend Luke from the roof of their apartment.

But when something irreparable happens and familiar black weeds start to crawl inside him, Arlo flees to the other side of the world, taking only a sketchbook full of maps.

With its steaming soup and neon lights, this new place is both comforting and isolating.

There, Arlo meets fellow traveller Mizuki. Something about her feels more like home than he's felt in a while. But what is Mizuki searching for?

HOW FAR CAN YOU OUTRUN YOURSELF . . .
BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR WAY BACK?
From Goodreads.

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Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne
Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne
Published on 9th August 2018


Welcome to Camp Reset, a summer camp with a difference. A place offering a shot at "normality" for Olive, a girl on the edge, and for the new friends she never expected to make – who each have their own reasons for being there. Luckily Olive has a plan to solve all their problems. But how do you fix the world when you can’t fix yourself? From Goodreads.

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For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
Published on 25th September 2018


A young woman with a dangerous power she barely understands. A smuggler with secrets of his own. A country torn between a merciless colonial army, a terrifying tyrant, and a feared rebel leader. The first book in a new trilogy from the acclaimed Heidi Heilig blends traditional storytelling with ephemera for a lush, page-turning tale of escape and rebellion. For a Muse of Fire will captivate fans of Sabaa Tahir, Leigh Bardugo, and Renée Ahdieh.

Jetta’s family is famed as the most talented troupe of shadow players in the land. With Jetta behind the scrim, their puppets seem to move without string or stick—a trade secret, they say. In truth, Jetta can see the souls of the recently departed and bind them to the puppets with her blood. But the old ways are forbidden ever since the colonial army conquered their country, so Jetta must never show, never tell. Her skill and fame are her family’s way to earn a spot aboard the royal ship to Aquitan, where shadow plays are the latest rage, and where rumor has it the Mad King has a spring that cures his ills. Because seeing spirits is not the only thing that plagues Jetta. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Heidi Heilig creates a vivid, rich world inspired by Asian cultures and French colonialism. Her characters are equally complex and nuanced, including the bipolar heroine. Told from Jetta’s first-person point-of-view, as well as chapters written as play scripts and ephemera such as telegrams and letters, For a Muse of Fire is an engrossing journey that weaves magic, simmering romance, and the deep bonds of family with the high stakes of epic adventure.
From Goodreads.

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When Elephants Fly by Nancy Richardson Fischer
When Elephants Fly by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Published on 4th September 18


There are some battles worth fighting even if it means losing yourself.

T. Lily Decker is a high school senior with a twelve-year plan: avoid stress, drugs, alcohol and boyfriends, and take regular psych quizzes administered by her best friend, Sawyer, to make sure she's not developing schizophrenia.Genetics are not on Lily's side.

When she was seven, her mother, who had paranoid schizophrenia, tried to kill her. And a secret has revealed that Lily's odds are even worse than she thought. Still, there's a chance to avoid triggering the mental health condition, if Lily can live a careful life from ages eighteen to thirty, when schizophrenia most commonly manifests.

But when a newspaper internship results in Lily witnessing a mother elephant try to kill her three-week-old calf, Swifty, Lily can't abandon the story or the calf. With Swifty in danger of dying from grief, Lily must choose whether to risk everything, including her sanity and a first love, on a desperate road trip to save the calf's life, perhaps finding her own version of freedom along the way.
From Goodreads.

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(Don’t) Call Me Crazy ed by Kelly Jensen
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy ed by Kelly Jensen
Published on 2nd October 2018


Algonquin Young Readers has acquired an anthology from Kelly Jensen titled (Don't) Call Me Crazy, which will explore, through essays, artwork, poetry, and other ephemera, the ways that mental illness impacts individuals, family and friends, with contributions from Victoria Schwab, Adam Silvera, Libba Bray, Esmé Wang, Yumi Sakugawa, Mike Jung, s.e. smith, Meredith Russo, and Stephanie Kuehn, among others. A publication date has not been announced. From Goodreads.

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The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Published on 23rd October 2018


Five years ago, Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell cowered from air strikes in a London bomb shelter. But that night took a turn when the sisters were transported to another realm called the Woodlands. In a forest kingdom populated by creatures out of myth and legend, they found temporary refuge.

When they finally returned to London, nothing had changed at all—nothing, except themselves.

Now, Ev spends her days sneaking into the woods outside her boarding school, wishing for the Woodlands. Overcome with longing, she is desperate to return no matter what it takes.

Philippa, on the other hand, is determined to find a place in this world. She shields herself behind a flawless exterior and countless friends, and moves to America to escape the memory of what was.

But when Evelyn goes missing, Philippa must confront the depth of her sister’s despair and the painful truths they’ve been running from. As the weeks unfold, Philippa wonders if Ev truly did find a way home, or if the weight of their worlds pulled her under.

Content warnings are available via the author's website: https://www.lauraeweymouth.com/books
From Goodreads.

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Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson
Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson
Published on 3rd January 2019


Stevie is the girl no-one notices - she doesn't go to parties and she doesn't have friends over. Besides, even if anyone tried to call on her they'd discover that no. 56 isn't her house at all - it's her decoy house, where she tells people to pick her up and drop her off so she can hide who she really is and where she really lives. And she certainly doesn't have a best friend because having friends means opening up, telling the truth and there is one secret she can never risk revealing again. But when Tanvi turns up, Stevie starts to put other things before her secret first - like her love of singing, her crush on good looking and popular Luke, her budding friendship with the adorable Tanvi - and it's only a matter of time before everything comes out and everything changes! Sometimes it's better to be lonely because having friends in your life can mean revealing more secrets than you would ever want to. From Goodreads.

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The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
Published on 5th February 2019


A music loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this heart-pounding literary debut.

Melati Ahmad looks like your typical movie-going, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother’s death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied.

But there are things that Melati can't protect her mother from. On the evening of May 13th, 1969, racial tensions in her home city of Kuala Lumpur boil over. The Chinese and Malays are at war, and Mel and her mother become separated by a city in flames.

With a 24-hour curfew in place and all lines of communication down, it will take the help of a Chinese boy named Vincent and all of the courage and grit in Melati’s arsenal to overcome the violence on the streets, her own prejudices, and her djinn’s surging power to make it back to the one person she can’t risk losing.

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**Content warnings: Racism, graphic violence, on-page death, OCD and anxiety triggers.**
From Goodreads.

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The Year I Didn't Eat by Samuel Pollen
The Year I Didn't Eat by Samuel Pollen
Published on 12th February 2019


This heartfelt, captivating novel chronicles a year in the life of 14-year-old Max as he struggles with anorexia.

Dear Ana,

Some days are normal. Some days, everything is OK, and I eat three square meals, pretty much, even if those squares are ridiculously small squares.

Some days, I can almost pretend there's nothing wrong.

Fourteen-year-old Max doesn't like to eat, and the only one he can confess his true feelings to is Ana---also known as his eating disorder, anorexia. In a journal that his therapist makes him keep, he tells Ana his unfiltered thoughts and fears while also keeping track of his food intake. But Ana's presence has leapt off the page and into his head, as she feeds upon all of his fears and amplifies them.

When Max's older brother Robin gives him a geocache box, it becomes a safe place where Max stores his journal, but someone finds it and starts writing to him, signing it with "E." Is it a joke? Could it be the new girl at school, Evie, who has taken an interest in Max? Although Max is unsure of the secret writer's identity, he takes comfort in the words that appear in his journal as they continually confide in one another about their problems.

As Max's eating disorder intensifies, his family unit fractures. His parents and brother are stressed and strained as they attempt to deal with the elephant in the room. When Robin leaves home, Max is left with two parents who are on the verge of splitting up. Max thought he could handle his anorexia, but as time goes on, he feels himself losing any semblance of control.

Will anorexia continue to rule Max's life, or will he be able to find a way to live around his eating disorder?

The Year I Didn't Eat is an unforgettable novel that is haunting, moving, and inspiring.
From Goodreads.

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The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews
Published on 4th April 2019


Can two broken boys find their perfect home?

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. Now Sam's trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he's caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
From Goodreads.

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Summer of No Regrets by Kate Mallinder
Published in May 2019


The novel, which will be released in May 2019, is about Cam, Hetal, Nell and Sasha who decide to have a summer of #NoRegrets after Hetal’s gran talks about regretting not seeing her now terminally ill friend for 50 years.

Editor Rebecca Lloyd said: "Summer of No Regrets is a perfect, heart warming read for teenage girls, with a mix of humour, sensitivity and real-life issues. Its socially and ethnically diverse group of girls have wonderfully authentic and supportive relationships – it is a life-enhancing celebration of friendship."
From The Bookseller.

Not yet on Goodreads. No cover available.

A Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton
A Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton
Published on 11th July 2019


How can I hold myself together, when everything around me is falling apart?

Neena's always been a good girl - great grades, parent-approved friends and absolutely no boyfriends. But ever since her brother Akash died, she's been slowly falling apart - and uncovering a new version of herself who is freer, but altogether more dangerous.

As her wild behaviour spirals more and more out of control, Neena's grip on her sanity begins to weaken too. And when her parents announce not one but two life-changing bombshells, she finally reaches breaking point.

But as Neena is about to discover, when your life falls apart, only love can piece you back together.
From Goodreads.

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All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman
All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman
Published in July 2019


All The Things We Never Said tells the story of three intensely troubled girls, Mehreen, Olivia and Cara, who meet and form an unlikely friendship when they join a suicide website. From Goodreads.

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I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
Published in 2019


When Ben DeBacker tries to come out to their parents as non-binary, their life comes to a screeching halt as they’re thrown out of their home. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they find a new home with their estranged sister Hannah, and a new school.

But attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic fellow student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, feelings begin to change, and what starts as a disaster looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life, and find first love.
From Goodreads.

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You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
Published in 2019


A genre-bending story following antihero Magpie Lewis as she copes with the aftermath of family betrayal and sexual assault by disappearing into an alternate world of her own creation that's more sinister than it first appears. From Goodreads.

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Are there any I've missed off my wishlist? Please let me know in the comments!

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