Three recently published young adult novels tell stories of teenagers in crisis and their struggle with mental illness: "Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock" by Matthew Quick, "Reality Boy" by A.S. King and "Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets" by Evan Roskos.
These books tell powerful stories. The protagonists grapple with depression, anger and anxiety. They tell their stories in first person, in vivid language and with sometimes raw emotion. Despite their potentially bleak situations, these engaging stories of emotional and mental turmoil are really stories of hope.
In "Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock," the main character is smart and observant, a connoisseur of classic Hollywood movies, with a quick wit and academic brilliance when a subject captures his imagination. But he's a young man swamped by depression and carrying a destructive secret. Sometimes Leonard is frightened by the extreme nature of his emotional shifts: explosive one day and unconcerned the next.