Books on Mental Health for Parents and Children to Read Together: Spring 2025
Are you looking for books with mental health themes, for you and your child/children (aged 8+) to read and discuss together? Here’s the update to our article from last July, with six new suggestions for family reading. We offer these book recommendations to help promote discussions between parents and children, in recognition that an estimated 13 to 20 percent* of mental health problems begin by the early adolescent years of 11 to 14. (See our Summer 2024 issue for 14 more recommended books.)
Contemporary Topics
The following fiction books are for children aged 8 and older, with most written for children aged 10 and above. Our contributors recommend them as suitable for children and parents/caregivers to read and discuss together. And, as for Menderist’s earlier article, the books have been published in the past couple of years; received largely positive reviews; and focus on common, modern issues affecting pre-adolescent children.
Two children’s book specialists contributed to the update. First is Abbie Werner James, a Licensed Behavior Specialist working in youth services at a public library, who reads and writes fiction for middle grade children. And the second contributor is Spencer Miller, Digital Media Coordinator for The Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
Is There A Boy Like Me? by Kern Carter (for ages 10-14) is a middle grade novel that explores the pressures young men face to fit in: both in-person and online. A review by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation notes Is There A Boy Like Me is “a powerful novel that challenges the limitations and pressures placed on boys today”. And 49thshelf, a review site produced by the Association of Canadian Publishers, explains the book’s plot this way: “London feels stuck. His school friends think he’s this confident kid who likes video games and will kick your butt if you get on his bad side. His high-achieving parents think he’s a genius coder and are pushing him to pursue that as a future career. None of this is true. London feels anxiety in crowds, and what he really wants to do is be by himself and read books. Not knowing what else to do, London starts an anonymous online comic called “Is There A Boy Like Me.”
Recommended by S. Miller
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman (for ages 10-14) covers a range of topics including parent mental health issues, friendship, self-worth, and the complexity of underlying reasons for behaviors. It includes a storyline in the present day and a storyline from World War II. The 2024 book received a starred writeup from Kirkus Reviews, and positive reviews from other sites including New York Times and the School Library Journal. The synopsis from Publisher’s Weekly notes: “This tale of intergenerational friendship, forged through a shared understanding of loss, is told with spellbinding grace and wrought with exquisite structuring that quietly highlights the heartrending parallels between Josey’s WWII remembrances and Alex’s current struggles.” And Kirkus Reviews explains that the book’s narrative “moves between the speaker’s tragic life during the Holocaust and contemporary 12-year-old Alex’s tale of loss and its aftermath.”
Recommended by A.W. James
Dealing with Anxiety, PTSD
Game Face by Shari Green (for ages 10-13) is a 2023 novel about a young hockey player with overwhelming anxiety. Jonah is in grade 8 and is still dealing with the death of his mother some years before. When stressed, he often responds by exploding in anger or by becoming silent. In time, Jonah comes to realize he needs help both to deal with his emotions and to learn effective coping strategies. Kirkus Reviews describes this verse novel as “an unvarnished problem-focused novel with occasional doses of quick ice hockey action.”
Recommended by S. Miller
AWOL by Marla Lesage (for ages 8-12) is a graphic novel, published in 2022, that explores the realities of PTSD from a kid’s perspective. Kirkus Reviews describes the story this way: “Eleven-year-old Leah has already moved five times, but this year, she gets to stay put. Instead her best friend, Sam, is leaving for Edmonton, and Leah’s summer and upcoming birthday look bleak. Her father has come back on leave, but the family knows to tread carefully when he’s around. His moods are unpredictable: sometimes he seems fine, sometimes he’s withdrawn, and sometimes his temper is explosive.” The review site notes “this graphic novel explores some tough realities for Army families” and credits its “thoughtful slice of life realness.”
Recommended by S. Miller
“This graphic novel explores some tough realities for Army families”
– Kirkus Reviews
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (for ages 9-13) is an incredible story about the process of leaving a cult. Topics in this 2024 book include building friendships and how to evaluate messaging from others. Topics for families to discuss after reading the book could include communication, and how to determine whether a person or information is trustworthy. The American Library Association chose The Wrong Way Home as a 2025 Newbery Honor Book.
Recommended by A.W. James
Boy’s Struggle with an Eating Disorder
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu (for ages 10-18) is a story about a boy working through body image issues. Author John Schu draws on his own experiences for this novel in verse: it’s a meaningful read about a young male’s struggle with an eating disorder. Published in 2024, Louder Than Hunger was chosen as a 2025 Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book, Middle Grade Category, by the American Library Association.
Recommended by A.W. James
