Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler YP FIC KESSLER

 “The day Melissa Miller killed her cat, she met the Angel of Death.  Except he was no angel-and he wasn’t there for the cat.”

Melissa “Missy” Miller cuts herself to drown out the other pain.  The pain of loneliness, sadness, and humiliation are way worse than the pain of her blade.  But when she cuts too deep and meets Death he has a job for her: War.  She takes her blade and uses it for a sword, able to take her rage and ignite in others.  Will she be able to keep from turning the sword on herself?

This is the sequel to Kessler’s Hunger, which takes an anorexic and makes her into Famine.  That was a very good book, but I liked Rage even better.  It takes a realistic look at self harm and depression and twists things by adding a supernatural element.  This works because Kessler keeps us invested in Missy’s pain and believe her transformation into War.  This is an unflinching and tough read.  Missy goes through enormous pain and the scenes of cutting are detailed and possibly triggering for someone that actually has issues with self harm.  However, for people interested in knowing more about cutting and want something very different this is a unique and satisfying winner.  For more books about self-harm try Scars by C.A. Rainfield (YP FIC RAINFIEL) or Cut by Patricia McCormick (YP FIC MCCORMIC).  

For non-fiction you can check out:

Inside a cutter's mind : understanding and helping those who self-injure 616.8582 CLARK

Cutting : understanding and overcoming self-mutilation616.8582 LEVENKRO

Helping teens who cut : understanding and ending self-injury 618.928582 HOLLANDE

Or go to : http://ulifeline.org/main/page/224/Cutting?gclid=COahk5CzxasCFUXs7QodOwFe8w

1 800 273-TALK (8255)

How I Made it to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White YP FIC WHITE

This is the 95% true story of how one girl sort of completely broke down and put all the pieces back together. Stacey Black (clever pseudonym!) decided to put herself into a mental hospital after she thought that punching her arm through a window several times was a good idea. She soon realizes that she is even more unhappy and unhealthy then she thought and realizes she isn’t going to be able to leave soon. Stacey makes some friends, questions everything about herself, resists opening up about anything to anyone, and hides everything until she just gives up. This is a comic about how to come back from going crazy.

Told as a graphic novel with very simple art, this pulls no punches in looking at the effects of mental illness on young people and those that surround them. And I mean SUPER simple art. However, I think the simplicity added a sense of realism for me. Everything was drawn so simply that I added the details with my mind. It intersperses chapters with interviews about Stacey with her friends and status updates from her psychiatrists. This works really well because you get to see how mental illness affects everyone around a person and how easy it is for it to go ignored. This is one of the most completely realistic looks at mental illness and treatment I have ever read. It can be tough to read at times because it seems like Stacey may never break through, but it has a wonderfully hopeful ending. If you enjoy realistic stories of troubled youth and the constant presence of hope then give this one a shot. If you do end up liking it you can keep up with Tracey White’s continuing comics at www.traced.com

Hold Still by Nina LaCour YP FIC LACOUR

Hold Still covers a year in the life of Caitlin a high school girl that just lost her best friend to suicide. Things get even worse for Caitlin when she finds her friend’s journal in her room. Burdened by the weight of guilt and the feeling that she never knew her own best friend Caitlin tries to struggle through her Junior year along the way meeting new friends and even finding a possible romance, but will her guilt ruin everything she is trying to build?

 

This is without a doubt one of the best novels I have ever read about grief. Caitlin is a very realistic and likeable young girl that never seems inauthentic. This book deals with issues of depression, sex, suicide, grief, self mutilation, and many other issues teens face in a honest manner that never seems preachy. This book would be excellent for any reader that has dealt with grief or just wants a great story with strong characters. Best of all, even though the issues the book addresses are dark the book itself is very hopeful and uplifting.  It's astounding that this is a first novel and if it is a sign of things to come then readers have a LOT to look forward to from LaCour.