Amanda MacGregor

Middle grade and YA authors including  Joy McCullough, Reem Faruqi,  and others discuss the power of verse to address emotional topics and craft innovative narratives.

While writing stories involving mental illness, the author of My Life in the Fish Tank strives to "still create fun, complex characters and entertaining plots that keep readers turning the pages." 

With empathy and wit, the creator of the graphic novel Living with Viola portrays anxiety as a malicious person who won't leave the main character alone. 

The author of My Ex-Imaginary Friend says that bookending funny chapters with ones including hard conversations "helped to show that even when things are tough, there is hope and humor on the other side."  

The author of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom discusses having obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child, the feelings of shame that came with it, and those who would try to keep stories about mental health from kids. 

The author of Thanks a Lot, Universe discusses why he wrote the book and how his protagonist came to a point where he could say, "It's OK to talk about this."

Not OK? That's OK. A reading list with diverse characters and authentic representation of mental health.

While there is no substitute for comprehensive mental health care treatment, many young readers may discover comfort, validation, and the strength to ask for help in the pages of these books. 

The author of The Project discusses false assumptions about cult members, the truths of surviving trauma, and how this “crossover” book really is YA.