4 YA Novels that Accurately Portray Mental Health
Kiara Brown
Mental health is still, to this day, a taboo subject and a concept that is very hard to accurately depict in both movies and books. Authors and directors have released books and movies that attempt to portray characters that deal with issues regarding mental health yet many miss the mark in terms of accurate representation. Many either romanticise mental illness, play off mental illness as a quirky trait or depict characters who struggle with mental illness as violent and aggressive. According to a study in Journal of Health Communications, the inaccurate depiction of characters who struggle with mental illness in media can help add to the stigma surrounding the concept and make it less likely for those who struggle with mental illness to seek help. Accurate portrayals of characters who deal with mental illness are needed in everyday media, including young adult novels, as 20% of teens struggle with their mental health. Below are 4 YA novels that accurately portray and discuss mental health.
Am I Normal Yet?
In this novel, the author, Holly Bourne directly tackles the concept of mental illness, mainly in regards to OCD and anxiety. Throughout this novel we follow the life of 16 year old Evie who enrolls at a new college where she attempts to meet new people, go out to parties, create relationships whilst suppressing her severe OCD in order to be “normal”.
Bourne is able to effectively weave together British humour and powerful, raw descriptions of OCD and anxiety which makes this a very poignant read. The insight of Evie’s mind and her thoughts gives the reader a brutally honest look on the mind of those who deal with OCD and anxiety. Bourne also touches upon how OCD is played off as a quirky trait and how different real OCD is to the stereotypical definition that is used frequently both in media and in everyday life. Bourne does an excellent job of creating a well developed protagonist, Evie, that not only portrays an accurate depiction of severe OCD and anxiety but does this with a mixture of both humour and hard-hitting, raw realism on the concept of mental illness.
It’s kind of a Funny Story
Written by Ned Vizzini, this is a novel that deals with many concepts relating to the topic of mental illness. This novels deals with concepts such as abuse and eating disorders but mainly speaks on behalf of anxiety, suicide and depression. Throughout this novel we follow the life of 15 year old Craig Gilner whose depression manifests from both the intense pressures of getting into an elite high school and of fitting in. Craig’s clinical depression results in a suicide attempt which lands him into a mental hospital where he meets people unlike anybody else he has ever met before.
Vizzini is able to create a touching yet humorous story on the ups and downs of life and finding happiness in the most unlikely places. He does this efficiently by creating a variety of well-developed characters who play a large role in the protagonist’s road to self discovery. Due to the novel being based off of Vizzini’s own experience in a adult psychiatric hospital, the details embedded in his writing help to create a realistic and honest view on mental illness and the people who experience it.
Fangirl
This novel, written by Rainbow Rowell, speaks of mental illness, especially in terms of social anxiety and also features some depictions of bipolar disorder. This novel follows the life of Cath Avery who is a freshman in the University of Nebraska who prefers to be holed up in her room writing fanfiction, unlike her identical sister Wren who is described to be the “awesome one” as she likes to go out and meet new people. Cath’s world begins to open up slowly as her roommate Reagan and her friend Levi start to befriend her and she begins to feel the ups and downs of family, romantic and friendly relationships.
Rowell creates a lighthearted, simple read that tackles sensitive issues such as mental illness, broken families, and insecurities in the best possible way. She does this by creating lovable, quirky characters that help to drive the story. Although mental illness is not the biggest part of the novel, anyone who struggles with social anxiety will immediately find Cath a very relatable character. The book’s simplicity and realism of how relationships develop over time makes this novel an easy read for many.
Fans of the Impossible Life
In this novel, author Kate Scelsa, tackles multiple mental illnesses such as depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, eating disorders and social anxiety. But she also deals with a broad spectrum of issues dealing with personal health in general. These issues include dealing with one’s self image, sexuality, homophobia, bullying, self discovery and relationships. Scelsa does this by using three diverse characters: Mira, Sebby and Jeremy. All with distinctly different personalities. They go through life whilst attempting to cope with their damaged selves, having each other to lean against along the way.
Scelsa’s writing style in this novel differs from many others as it switches from 1st person POV to 3rd person POV to 2nd person POV constantly, depending on the character the chapter follows. This change of POV allows the reader to understand each character with more depth, in regards to the issues that the character faces. Scelsa has created a novel which tackles a broad range of issues, including mental health issues, and does this with such vulnerability and raw realism that it allows the reader to really feel for the characters. Scelsa does a great job of creating a novel that accurately portrays and deals with mental health issues, such as depression, that are regularly romanticised, sugar coated or written in a cliche manner. The broad spectrum of realistically depicted issues that these well-developed, diverse characters tackle is written with so much vulnerability and raw heart allows this novel to be so good.
