Tween Booklists

Sixth-grader Emilia Torres struggles with ADHD, her controlling abuela, her mother's work commitments, her father's distance after returning from deployment, evolving friendships, and a conflict over school redistricting.

When twelve-year-old Zinnia Manning's older brother Gabriel is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it turns her family's world upside-down, especially since they are keeping the information private.

Hester Greene loves making movies. With her camera in hand, she can focus, make decisions, and have the control she lacks in life, where her executive function disorder (think extreme ADHD plus anxiety) sabotages her every move. But middle school is not a movie, and if her last-ditch attempt to save her language-arts grade--and her chance to pass eighth grade, period--doesn't work, Hess could lose her friends, her year, even her camera.

Hoping to win a cash prize in a pizza eating contest after racking up a tab on his mother's credit card, David must juggle his competitive eating training with the responsibility of looking after his autistic younger brother.

Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal. But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track. Except it doesn't. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned.

Tally is starting sixth grade at Kingswood Academy and she really wants to fit in, which means somehow hiding her autism, hypersensitivity to touch, and true self, and trying to act "normal" like her former best friend, Layla, who is distancing herself from Tally and her fourteen-year-old sister, Nell, who is always angry with Tally for being different; but as she records her thoughts and anxieties in her coping diary, Tally begins to wonder--what is "normal" anyway?

Astronomy-loving Calliope June has Tourette syndrome, so she sometimes makes faces or noises that she doesn't mean to make. When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. Only Calliope's neighbor, who is also the popular student body president, sees her as she truly is--an interesting person and a good friend. But is he brave enough to take their friendship public?

New friends and a mystery help Aven, thirteen, adjust to middle school and life at a dying western theme park in a new state, where her being born armless presents many challenges.

When twelve-year-old Rachel learns that her scoliosis has worsened and she will need to wear a back brace to keep her spine straight, she is devastated; afraid that she will not be able to play soccer, and terrified that she will not be able to hide her condition from her friends and classmates--but her mother is determined to spare her the spinal fusion surgery that she herself had as a teenager.

After being diagnosed with a rare eye cancer, twelve-year-old Ross discovers how music, art, and true friends can push him through treatment and survive middle school.

After moving across the country, thirteen-year-old Natalie auditions for her new school's play and overcomes her fears and insecurities about performing in a wheelchair.

Twelve-year-old Ellie, who has cerebral palsy, finds her life transformed when she moves with her mother to small-town Oklahoma to help care for her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's Disease.

In India, a girl who excels at Bharatanatyam dance refuses to give up after losing a leg in an accident.

Anxiety is a feeling of worry or uneasiness. Anxiety is common, but ongoing or frequent worry may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Understanding Anxiety explores what anxiety feels like, how it can affect people's lives, and how it can be treated.

People who have obsessive-compulsive disorder have unwanted thoughts called obsessions. They do certain actions, called compulsions, to get rid of these thoughts. Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder explores what this disorder is like, how it can affect people's lives, and how it can be treated.

Bipolar disorder causes intense mood swings. Sometimes people with bipolar disorder feel energetic and excited. At other times, they feel tired and depressed. Understanding Bipolar Disorder explores what this disorder is like, how it can affect people's lives, and how it can be treated.

When Jordan Reeves was born without the bottom half of her left arm, the doctors reassured her parents that she was "born just right." And she has been proving that doctor right ever since! With candor, humor, and heart, Jordan's mother, Jen Lee Reeves, helps Jordan tell her story about growing up in an able-bodied world and family, where she was treated like all of her siblings and classmates--and where she never felt limited. Whether it was changing people's minds about her capabilities, trying all kinds of sports, or mentoring other kids, Jordan has channeled any negativity into a positive, and is determined to create more innovations for people just like her.

People with disabilities (PWDs) have the same aspirations for their lives as you do for yours. The difference is that PWDs don't have the same access to education, employment, housing, transportation and healthcare in order to achieve their goals. In The Disability Experience you'll meet people with different kinds of disabilities, and you'll begin to understand the ways PWDs have been ignored, reviled and marginalized throughout history. The book also celebrates the triumphs and achievements of PWDs and shares the powerful stories of those who have fought for change.

Featuring real-life stories of people who have found hope and meaning in the midst of life's struggles, Heads Up: Changing Minds on Mental Health is the go-to guide for teenagers who want to know about mental health, mental illness, trauma and recovery. For too long, mental health problems have been kept in the shadows, leaving people to suffer in silence, or worse, to be feared, bullied or pushed to the margins of society where survival is difficult.