Tag Archive | mental health

Teens starting anew – strong stories to read with your ears (audiobooks)

May30

With a support network, difficult times can be easier – but what if you’re trying to reboot your life when those closest to you want to pull you back down?

This week’s pair of free audiobooks from AudioSYNC bring us the stories of teens who’ve hit rock-bottom and are trying to clamber back up from terrible relationships and hard circumstances.

Download by clicking on the title and following the easy instructions. If you save your AudioSYNC books during their free week, you can keep them as long as you want!

CD cover of The First Time She Drowned, by Kerry Kletter | Read by Jorjeana Marie Published by Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The First Time She Drowned – by Kerry Kletter

Read by Jorjeana Marie. Published by Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library

Thrown into a mental hospital at 16 by her mother, Cassie is now a legal adult, ready to go to college and push aside her mother’s toxic ‘love’.

But memories try to pull her down, allow her mother to ooze into her life – can she survive it all again?

CD cover of Wild Bird, by Wendelin Van Draanen | Read by Alex McKenna Published by Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Wild Bird, by Wendelin Van Draanen

Read by Alex McKenna. Published by Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library

Wilderness therapy camp is 14-year-old Wren’s last chance to find her way clear from the drugs and questionable relationships she dove into when her family moved to a small town.

Eight weeks in the desert – to clear her mind, to find her way back into her family, to find ways to be happy with herself….

How can you support someone trying to move forward in life from dire problems?
**kmm

Depression cured by baking 100 Days of Cake!? by Shari Goldhagen (book review)

May20

book cover of 100 Days of Cake by Shari Goldhagen published by Atheneum BfYR | recommended on BooksYALove.comLow-key job at pet store,
Golden Girls reruns for comfort,
should make anyone happy enough, except…

Mom’s offbeat depression remedy (“just bake the perfect cake!”), therapist’s soothing talk (and he is just so cute!), trying not to disappoint friend Elle and new co-worker Alex (but sometimes even putting on her sandals is too much effort) – Molly isn’t exactly reveling in her summer before senior year as depression digs its claws into her.

Find the May 2017 paperback or 2016 hardcover at your local library or independent bookstore to see how Molly copes with change, her bake-happy mom, and trying to throw off the crushing load of depression during all 100 Days of Cake.

When is it okay to pass on advice that might be more placebo than not?
**kmm

Book info: 100 Days of Cake / Shari Goldberg. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016 (hardcover), 2017 (paperback).  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The waves of depression keep getting deeper for Molly during summer before senior year, as the Florida teen wishes that therapy really would help her, longs for her so-cute therapist, and wants everything to stop changing so she has time to get better.

Her successful hairdresser mom is certain that the 100 Cakes Challenge will perk up Molly, her best friend Elle is easing away, and FishTopia’s owner wants to sell out.

Without their job together, what will happen to her sorta-relationship with Alex?
How can she think about the SAT and college choices when she’s too tired, all the time?
Why can’t she just spend all day talking about music with dreamy Dr. B?

Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake (very gooey), Wedding Cake with Fondant (extra-lumpy), Asian Bubble Tea Cake (would her late dad like that one?) – one hundred cakes, one hundred summer days, one million chances to try again…

E for Elsie & Eddie in The Art of Not Breathing, by Sarah Alexander (book review)

Apr6

book cover of The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander published by HMH BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.comHer twin drowned 5 years ago,
her memory blanked out, her parents can’t cope.
Dive down, deeper, darker.

Free diving – no oxygen, no safety equipment – risky, exhilarating, and the only way that Elsie can get closer to uncovering what happened when she and Eddie were on the beach that terrible day…

In hardcover now and releasing in paperback on 11 April 2017, The Art of Not Breathing takes us where memory just cannot go.
**kmm

Book info: The Art of Not Breathing / Sarah Alexander. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2016 (hardcover), 2017 (paperback). [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The rough North Sea taunts Elsie, as the 16 year old struggles to remember what happened five years ago on this shore, where her twin Eddie vanished, her parents splintered to bits, and all the town gave up on her family.

Skipping school and retreating to the abandoned boathouse, the Scottish teen is startled to meet mysterious Tay and his pals there, free divers who dare the sea by diving deeper and deeper without oxygen or safety gear.

Of course, Elsie convinces the guys to teach her to free dive, certain that her memories about her mentally challenged twin’s disappearance will be unlocked by the depths.

But, what secret is Tay hiding?
Will Elsie ever remember what happened to Eddie?
Can anything put her family back together again?

Ozzie’s world is shrinking At the Edge of the Universe (fiction) by Shaun David Hutchinson

Feb9

book cover of At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson published by Simon Pulse | recommended on BooksYALove.com First Tommy is gone,
then the memory of him is gone from every mind,
except one…

Why can’t anyone remember Tommy? His best friend since 2nd grade, boyfriend since 8th grade, love of his life – by his side on July 3rd, gone on July 4th, and no one remembers him but Ozzie!

Just published this week, you can find Ozzie’s story – with each chapter title showing a smaller and smaller diameter of the universe from science websites – at your local library or independent bookstore now.

What do you do when a friend leaves?
**kmm

Book info: At the Edge of the Universe / Shaun David Hutchinson. Simon Pulse, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: If Ozzie can just find where his boyfriend Tommy has gone, then the high school senior can stop his family from disintegrating, celebrate gender-fluid best friend Lua’s musical success, and prove to everyone that Tommy does exist!

And discover why lab partner Calvin started cutting himself after quitting the wrestling team.

And stop the universe from shrinking, shrinking, with his little Florida town at the center.

More than meets the eye – audiobook encounters

May26

Appearances mask the inner being all too well in this week’s free AudioSYNC novels.

Click the book title to go straight to the AudioSYNC download page for it, but hurry! This pair of free complete audiobooks will only available for download from Thursday through Wednesday (May 26 – June 2, 2016).

Once you’ve downloaded an AudioSYNC audiobook,  you can listen to it any time, as long as you have it on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone | Read by Amy Rubinate Published by Ideal Audiobooks | recommended on BooksYALove.comEvery Last Word
by Tamara Ireland Stone
Read by Amy Rubinate
Published by Ideal Audiobooks

Carefully hiding her OCD from her clique, Samantha is introduced to her school’s secret Poet’s Corner by quirky Caroline and discovers a new side of herself, a cute guitar player, and a major threat to her sanity.

I just LOVED this book, recommending it here last August!

Egg and Spoon CD cover of Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire | Read by Michael Page Published by Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Gregory Maguire
Read by Michael Page
Published by Brilliance Audio

How does a wealthy family’s train journey to visit the Tsar intersect with a poor Russian family’s road to starvation, via the chicken-legged house of witch Baba Yaga?

People are not always (or often) the same on the inside as on the outside – listen and learn?
**kmm

Gena/Finn, by Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson (book review) – friends in fandom

May21

book cover of Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson published by Chronicle Books | recommended on BooksYALove.comA television show that they adore,
Creative juices flowing in words and art,
Completing the story arc, like their friendship completes them…

I heard authors Hannah (Not Otherwise Specified, which I love) and Kat last month at TxLA as they discussed fandoms, friendship, and writing this book together totally through chat and email – so good.

Ask for this April 2016 release at your local library or independent bookstore. And for more on real-life fandoms and cons (“Up Below” is a fictional TV show), look for Sam Maggs’ Fangirls’ Guide to the Galaxy  which I recommended here.

And it’s National Readathon Day, too!! Share what you’re reading today with hashtag #Readathon2016.

Fandom or obsession? Discuss.
**kmm

Book info: Gena/Finn / Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson. Chronicle Books, 2016.   [Hannah’s site]  [Kat’s site] [publisher site]  [authors’ video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Brought together online by the fanfic and fanart that they create for a beloved TV show, two young women bond immediately and experience friendship’s highs and lows as other relationships falter.

Fanfic stories by Evie (short for Gena’s online name) that fill in the gaps in their favorite TV cop show inspire Finn (for Stephanie) to start drawing again. Sharing her art with Evie leads to numerous email and chat exchanges as recent college grad Finn and high school senior Evie find so much in common.

Big questions link into the backstory for their mutual admiration:

Should Finn really have followed boyfriend Charlie to California after college?
Is getting into an Ivy League school truly in Gena’s best interests?
Why won’t Gena stay in the room with cast members of “Up Below” when this fancon is the reason she and Finn traveled from opposite coasts to meet in person?

Told entirely in texts, chat windows, emails, fanfic, fanart, and journal entries, this coming of age story celebrates the passion of fandoms, the strength of women’s friendships, and the unlikelihood of completely outrunning one’s past.

 

B for Both of Me, by Friesen (book review) – they meet, yet only 1/2 of him remembers her

Apr2

book cover of Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen published by Blink |booksYALove.comCounting stars,
traveling light and often,
avoiding entanglements, until…

Scam artist teen always on the move meets an artistic young man with two personalities and a near-psychic knowledge of what she’s running from – how can Clara resist trying to tap into what Elias “sees”?

But Clara never planned on falling for Elias or struggling to understand his dissociative identity disorder or making a road trip toward answers that could imperil them both.

Completely different worlds from the dystopia that Friesen brought us previously in Aquifer  (my notes here), the Salem that calm Elias wanders through in his mind, the minutely ordered existence that angry Elias tries to catalog, and the everyday world that Clara longs to leave behind.

Is there ever just one personality inside you?
**kmm

Book info: Both of Me / Jonathan Friesen. Blink, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Dual-personality Elias somehow knows more about her past than Clara wishes to recall, but their journey to verify the answers stretches both young people’s affection and endurance – and Elias’ hold on reality.

(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Writing Clementine, by Kate Gordon (book review) – journaling secrets, reader optional

Aug29

book cover of Writing Clementine by Kate Gordon, published by Allen & Unwin | BooksYALove.comWhen there’s nothing to write about
and you still have to write,
sometimes big truths appear…

Year 9 is tough on Clementine, with her best friends and family members growing away from her, until fascinating Fred arrives, dressed like a dandy from a bye-gone era, asking her to join his steampunk world and truly become the self she writes about in her philosophy class journal.

This Australian title arrives in the US on Sept. 1st , so your local library or local independent bookstore should be able to easily get it through Independent Publishers Group.

Several in-school personas in Writing Clementine  don’t match up with their leisure-time pursuits – what’s the most unusual public-private contrast you’ve seen?

**kmm

Book info: Writing Clementine / Kate Gordon. Allen & Unwin, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Clementine feels left behind as family and friends change, so a new student’s invitation to role-play in a steampunk society lets the Tasmanian teen experience acceptance and romance that she never even dreamed about in her journal.

Her best friends demand that Clem grow up in a hurry, then they move on. Her brother’s been holed up in his room for a year, and she feels responsible. Her philosophy teacher requires daily journal writing, but won’t read or comment on it unless asked.

A new student moves to town, like a reviving breeze with his elegant clothes and intriguing smile. Fred is such a contrast to creepy Sam and the other boys at school!

When Fred introduces her to the Burnie Steampunk Society, Clem finds new friends as they pretend to live in Victorian times.

Can she ever accept that Fred likes her just as she is?
Why can’t she just fix what’s wrong for her beloved big brother?
What should she do about Sam’s unwanted attention?

Clementine faces choices, changes, and challenges during her first year of high school, as recounted in the pages of her philosophy class journal. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone (book review) – can poetry save your life?

Aug1

book cover of Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone published by Hyperion TeensDig and dig and dig to answer a question,
Swim to the right rhythm (always in lane 3),
Keep obsessions hidden from everyone, always…

Most folks toss around “OCD” for any neat-freak behavior, but Pure-O (Purely Obsessional) OCD isn’t that at all. Reading Sam’s tumblr gives glimpses into the teen’s life, worries, and soul-searching.

This strong book was published in June, so your local library or independent bookstore should have it for you now. Stone wrote it based a young woman that she knew, then fact-checked all behaviors and responses with mental health professionals to bring us a very true Sam.

Venture down the stairs, into the Poet’s Corner – will you bare your soul and share your thoughts with others?
**kmm

Book info: Every Last Word / Tamara Ireland Stone. Little Brown, 2015. [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

My book talk: Sam keeps her obsessional OCD and her at-school persona separate until she is befriended by Caroline and dares to share in the hidden Poet’s Corner.

Her best friends are the Crazy Eights, the popular, snarky girls at their high school –  Samantha can never let them know about her obsession with 3s or the dark thoughts that careen through her head.

She could never tell the Eights about her new-found friendship with smart and unstylish Caroline or share with her therapist her growing attraction to the guitar-playing guy in the Poet’s Corner – why not?

As the poets share their deep feelings and funny reactions to life, Sam discovers her own voice and realizes that she’s grown away from the Crazy Eights – but will she be able to cope with the bullying that her long-time friends will surely unleash if she leaves them?

If only life at school were as simple as swimming to beat her best time in the summer…
If only she could control her obsessional thoughts and be normal…
If only she could glue all her worries onto a wall and leave them, as her new friends do when they paper the walls of the Poet’s Corner with their writings…

Friendship, romance, poetry, becoming your own self – Every Last Word  that Sam writes in her color-coded notebooks comes from her heart.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Girl Defective, by Simmone Howell (book review) – summer of music, mystery & weird

May15

book cover of Girl Defective by Simmone Howell published by Atheneum Books for Young ReadersScary-sad missing girl mystery.
Little brother thinks he’s a super-detective.
New guy at their vinyl shop has a secret.

Sky isn’t sure what’s worse – Dad ignoring the eviction notice, seeing friend Nancy drift away, or her dreams of drowned Mia.

Watching Gully all summer will be dreadful, since the 10 year old wears his pig-snout mask always and logs every scrap of conversation like a secret agent – can’t Sky just work at the family record shop and go to concerts like everyone else?

Snag a free excerpt of the book here, then ask for Girl Defective  at your local library or independent bookstore.

Did family expectations every make you defer a dream job?
**kmm

Book info: Girl Defective / Simmone Howell. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: This summer, Sky just wants to run her family’s vintage vinyl shop and fall in love, but dire secrets percolate up in their scruffy Australian neighborhood, and her social-skills-lacking little brother Gully keeps calling the police with clues.

After Mom left them to “follow her art” and Dad crawled into his homebrew bottle, it’s been up to Skylark to take care of 10-year-old autist Gully (who melts down when everything isn’t just-so) and keep the doors of their vintage vinyl record shop open for collectors.

Stylish pal Nancy tries to get Sky out for concerts before a developer razes local venues (“progress” – ha!),  a missing person case is deemed suicide (who’s making those memorial murals?), and Dad hires new guy Luke to work in the shop (very cute, in a hidden-sadness way) – quite enough happening in St. Kilda before the eviction notice arrives.

What will become of the vinyl shop?
Did Gully really find clues about Mia’s death?
Could Luke really be interested in Sky?

Music, dreams, lies, love, death, and clues – not quite the summer holiday that Sky had envisioned! (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)