you gotta problem?
Hey - don't feel bad. We all do. Which means YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
These books take a look at all kinds of people with all kinds of problems - eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and more.
Some of them take a lighter look at the subject and others go straight to the raw core of the matter.
Which one is right for you?
Click on the red author name and book image to link to interviews, excerpts or book trailers about these books and authors.
These books take a look at all kinds of people with all kinds of problems - eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and more.
Some of them take a lighter look at the subject and others go straight to the raw core of the matter.
Which one is right for you?
Click on the red author name and book image to link to interviews, excerpts or book trailers about these books and authors.
skinby Adrenne Maria Vrettos
Donnie could always count on his older sister, Karen - even in the face of his parents' faltering marriage and his status of outcast at school. When Karen begins losing her grip on her eating disorder, Donnie feels he must step in to save not only her, but his parents as well. In the process, he loses himself. In the end, Donnie must decide if he is worth being noticed in his own world. |
life in the fat lane
by Cherie Bennett
Lara - beautiful, homecoming queen, has it all. Until one day she starts gaining weight and she cannot stop - in spite of her strict diet and exercise regimen. When she is diagnosed with a mysterious metabolic disorder, she wonders who will stand by her or if she'll be left alone. |
more than you can chewby Marnelle Tokio
This semi-autobiographical story tells about Marty, who can't control her parents' behavior, but can control her appetite - and what she will and won't eat. Close to death, she finally asks for the help she needs, but this is only the beginning of her road to recover - in spite of the powerful lure of anorexia. |
artichoke's heartby Suzanne Supplee
Rosemary is a great girl - and a terrific eyebrow waxer. But all anyone cares about, including Rosemary, is her weight. Rosemary resolves to shed her unwanted pounds, but her journey turns out to be about everything but fat. This is an honest and humorous look at her waist-shrinking year. |
The earth, my butt & other big round thingsby Carolyn Mackler
Family expectations - they can be brutal to live up to. Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and lives with her slim and brilliant family. It isn't until her brother gets in some trouble that Virginia realizes that the most important thing she can do is be true to herself! |
does this book make me look fat?edited by Marissa Walsh; written by
your favorite authors! A stellar line-up of authors weigh in on self-esteem, body image, diets, eating disorders, boys, fashion magazines, and why trying on jeans is no fun for anyone. There are 8 short stories and 6 personal essays in this great collection |
food, girls and other things I can't haveby Allen Zadoff
Andrew Zansky doesn't fit in - his clothes, his family, his school or his life. If he could only be thin enough, smart enough and popular enough, things would be perfect. Right? By the end of the book, Andrew starts living his life for real, not in his head, and is a bit more accepting of who he is. |
skinny: A novel
by Diana Spechler
After her father's death, twenty-six-year-old Gray Lachmann finds herself compulsively eating. Desperate to stop bingeing, she abandons her life in New York City for a job at a southern weight-loss camp. At camp, she is confronted by a captivating mystery: her teenage half-sister, Eden, whom Gray never knew existed. Now, while unraveling her father's lies, Gray must tackle her own self-deceptions and take control of her body and her life. |
wintergirlsby Laurie Halse Anderson
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit. |
Wintergirls Playlist
|
damageby A.M. Jenkins
"What you really want to do is give up trying. Lay your head down on the steering wheel and quit sneezing, quit breathing, quit trying.The problem is, you can't . Just quit, that is. When people want to quit, they have to choose. Make a decision. Take action." |
staying fat for sarah byrnesby Chris Crutcher
Moby and Sarah are misfits - he has existed on a diet of oreos and root beer floats and it shows, she has the scars from horrible burns on her face and hands. When Moby tries out for the swim team and begins to shed pounds, he worries what it will do to his friendship with Sarah. Find out how she reacts and the horrific truth about her past. |
cutby Patricia McCormick
Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside. Now she's at Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn't want to have anything to do with them. She doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. She won''t even speak. But Callie can only stay silent for so long... FAQs about Cut from Patricia McCormick |
THE BURN JOURNALSby Brent Runyon
The author, Brent Runyon, was 14 years old when he set himself on fire in attempted suicide. Burn Journal is a memoir of his adolescent years. In the year following his suicide attempt, Runyon began to question what he’d done, undertaking the complicated journey from near-death back to high school, and from suicide back to the emotional mainstream of life. Explore the website by clicking on the image of the book to hear an audio clip from Burn Journals. |
thirteen reasons whyby Jay Asher
13 cassette tapes left behind by Hannah tell the story leading up to her decision to end her life. And point the finger along the way. If Clay Jensen listens closely, he'll find out why he made the list. READ HANNAH'S BLOG HERE. |
GET WELL SOONby Julie Halpern
Anna Bloom is depressed—so depressed that her parents have committed her to a mental hospital with a bunch of other messed-up teens. Here she meets a roommate with a secret, a doctor who focuses way too much on her weight, and a cute, shy boy who just might like her. But wait! Being trapped in a loony bin isn’t supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it? Read these FAQs from Julie Halpern. |
SUICIDE NOTES: A NOVEL
by Michael Thomas Ford
Fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up on New Year's Day to find himself in the hospital. Make that the psychiatric ward. Clearly, this is all a huge mistake. Forget about the bandages on his wrists and the notes on his chart. Jeff's perfectly fine, perfectly normal, not like the other kids in the hospital with him. But a funny thing happens as his forty-five-day sentence drags on— - the crazies start to seem less crazy. CHECK THE SWAN CATALOG TO SEE IF THIS IS AVAILABLE AT A LIBRARY NEAR YOU! |
how i made it to eighteen: a mostly true storyby Tracy White
Part graphic novel, part copies of "documents" from doctors, this book is a semi-autobiographical account of the author told through the eyes of Stacy Black and her friends. Stacy checks herself into a mental hospital and hates it but realizes that she must face the reasons behind her depression if she doesn't want to self-destruct. Here's an interview with Tracy. CHECK THE SWAN CATALOG TO SEE IF THIS IS AVAILABLE AT A LIBRARY NEAR YOU! |
saving francescaby Melina Marchetta
Francesca is at the beginning of her school term at an all boys' school that has just started accepting girls. She misses her old friends, and, to make things worse, her mother has had a breakdown and can hardly move from her bed or deal with her depression. The one thing Francesca did not count on is the loyalty of her new friends, or falling in love, or finding that she does have the power to bring her family back together. CHECK THE SWAN CATALOG TO SEE IF THIS IS AVAILABLE AT A LIBRARY NEAR YOU! |
black box by Julie Schumacher
When her sixteen-year-old sister is hospitalized for depression and her parents want to keep it a secret, fourteen-year-old Elena tries to cope with her own anxiety and feelings of guilt that she is determined to conceal from outsiders. Elena will do anything to help her sister get better and get their lives back to normal—even when the responsibility becomes too much to bear. CHECK THE SWAN CATALOG TO SEE IF THIS IS AVAILABLE AT A LIBRARY NEAR YOU! |