(2) YA This ambitious novel in verse uses magical realism and fairy-tale elements to explore clinical depression and highlight the various stages of grief. Whimsy is back at the hospital again, where she has been forced to go numerous times since she was diagnosed with clinical depression. She recognizes the sadness and grief she feels, and she knows numerous coping mechanisms to manage her feelings, but she still struggles daily with her (gradually revealed) trauma. Although she is used to the hospital routine, this visit is different because she meets Faerry, a boy who knows sorrow that mirrors her own. Their bond is strengthened after their release from the facility, and together they decide to help each other cope with the pain that affects them both. When Faerry enters the Haunting Forest, a sinister plot of land that feeds on pain, Whimsy follows. If they cannot make it through, sorrow might swallow them whole, leaving nothing but death in its wake. McBride's (Me (Moth), rev. 1/22) lush free-verse poetry creates a vibrant world teetering between the real and the magical, but the images and atmosphere act as background to serious issues of trauma and suicidality. Although the subject matter is heavy, the book serves as a reminder that, as sorrow and loss come for everyone, no one is alone. Back matter addresses mental health and expands on the story's elements from fairy tales and folklore.

Reviewer: S. R. Toliver | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) YA Dani is a sixteen-year-old debutante whose "life revolved around Black cotillion and Black society and Black choir," until she started to rebel by drinking and using drugs. Camila is a Latina teen dancer who secretly self-harms, believing that "it's not through sacrifice one finds salvation. It's through suffering." After online photos of an intoxicated Dani embarrass her parents and Camila attempts suicide following the news that her family can't afford dance school, both girls are admitted to Peach Tree Hills Treatment Facility, where they become roommates. Assigned to clean out a storage shed, they find a set of letters from a past resident that initiates a personal journey for each of them toward wellness and imbues the recovery narrative with a hint of mystery. In alternating chapters, each girl shares the story of her treatment: brooding Camila looks inward; brash Dani is argmentative. While the detailed dialogues between Dani and her psychiatrist (who is also Black) can occasionally feel didactic, they also underscore the importance of culturally ­relevant therapy in supporting patients of color. (Kuehn, When I Am Through with You, rev. 9/17, is a clinical psychologist herself.) Fans of Emily X.R. Pan (The Astonishing Color of After, rev. 5/18; An Arrow to the Moon, rev. 5/22) and Amy Reed (The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World) will be drawn into Camila's and Dani's healing processes.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Alice's storytelling dad is in a psychiatric hospital, having lost the ability to distinguish story from reality. Wild animals start appearing in town, seeking Alice to save the threatened Story Web she discovered when she was little. Blakemore skillfully uses shifting points of view in this complex and captivating tale. A realistic, honest consideration of the impact of mental illness commingles effectively with the fantastical elements.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Klee, an aspiring artist who loved visiting art museums with his dad, is devastated after his father's suicide and a subsequent move to the suburbs. Narrated in the wake of a mental break that lands Klee in an adolescent psychiatric facility, this thoughtful novel de-stigmatizes mental illness with its sensitive portrait of a memorable young man.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(4) YA When Jack begins having visions of a dangerous world where he is king, his best friend August comes to believe in them, too. The story of the boys' disturbingly intense codependency, quest to save Jack's kingdom, and eventual arrest and institutionalization unfolds in nonlinear micro-chapters interspersed with various mixed-media elements. The effect is appropriately disorienting (is Jack's world an alternate reality, or a hallucination?) but occasionally difficult to parse.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) YA Elizabeth, who has anorexia, is being treated at a residential center for girls with eating disorders. With lots of therapy, support from the other patients, and comfort from some mysterious care packages, Elizabeth begins to change her relationship with food and her weight. This debut is a compassionate portrayal of anorexia's physical, psychological, and interpersonal effects; Elizabeth's journey is authentic and heartbreaking.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(2) YA While researching their origins, Evie and her fellow Diviners (The Diviners; Lair of Dreams) turn up connections between their families and entrepreneur/eugenics proponent Jake Marlowe. Before confronting Marlowe, however, they must stop an army of ravenous ghosts. The supernatural scares are spine-chillingly effective, but it's the depiction of real-life horrors (WWI, the rise of hate groups, systemic mistreatment of the mentally ill) that will haunt readers.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(4) YA High schooler Katie Wallace finds her world upended when her father is institutionalized for his beliefs about the "truth" behind the events of September 11, 2001. Based on cryptic statements during a hospital visit, Katie investigates the veracity of her father's claims. Despite the novel being overly long and repetitive, the conspiracy-thriller angle should appeal to some readers. Bib.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) YA Cassie, now eighteen, releases herself from the mental institution--where her mother put her over two years ago--to attend college. But Cassie's well-being suffers as she tries to rebuild her relationship with her toxic mother. While powerfully depicting the trauma of abuse and the challenges of recovery, the conveniently timed flashback that facilitates the story's conclusion feels like an obvious plot device.

Reviewer: Sian Gaetano

(4) YA Two years after her older brother Jake's public death, audacious Jaycee's grief turns self-destructive when she tries to recreate Jake's adventures in urban exploration. Four friends tag along and eventually reveal complicated relationships with both Jaycee and Jake. Jaycee's voice drips with sarcastic melodrama, but chapters from her friends' points of view--including comic panels and graffiti art--are more nuanced.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA Ricky, a bisexual teen, is committed to Brookline Asylum and subjected to terrifying mind-control experiments in this 1968-set prequel to Asylum. In Kay, an African American transgender girl, Ricky finds understanding and romance; together they lead a revolt against Warden Crawford. The story is frequently melodramatic but suspenseful, with real-world and supernatural horrors alike. Haunting black-and-white photo illustrations add to the creepy atmosphere.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) YA Sixteen-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a mental ward after a suicide attempt. She reluctantly agrees to stay for treatment and finds herself connecting with fellow patients as, together, they are guided by Dr. Desai to explore their issues. Stork imbues his characters with honest pain and humor, lending truth to their struggles with mental illness, class tensions, domestic violence, grief, and survival.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(3) 4-6 Running away with his mother from her abusive boyfriend, sixth grader Lincoln Jones has it rough. Bullied at school and teased for his Southern accent (dropped gs appear throughout), Lincoln finds solace in writing while spending his afternoons at the psychiatric care facility where his mother works. Lincoln's is a unique voice of courage and perseverance in the face of adversity and self-doubt.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) YA Diary of a Haunting series. Plagued by visions and bizarre physical symptoms, blogger Laetitia fears she is possessed. Others suggest her suffering indicates a divine calling, and her death weeks later--as a martyr of a Black Lives Matter–like movement--seems to confirm this interpretation. Verano's exploration of faith and timely social justice concerns adds some depth to an otherwise run-of-the-mill gory-horror thriller.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) YA Delia and her family are staying inside an old correctional institute Delia's family inherited from her father's reclusive great-aunt; their visit turns tragic when mysterious forces throw Delia out a window. Transformed into a ghost, Delia investigates the house's dark past and uncovers its secrets. This original tale offers a vivid, spooky setting and a memorable cast of turn-of-the-century spirit inmates.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) YA When high-school junior Emma learns that her mother's paranoid behavior is symptomatic of (previously stabilized) schizophrenia, Emma struggles to determine the significance of her mother's diagnosis, in terms of both her family's past and her own future. The characters and concerns feel slightly generic, but Emma's reflections effectively highlight the multiplicity of emotional challenges raised by a loved one's mental-health crisis.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) YA Dark Passages series. The new Now is an alternate Victorian London, where Emma (White Space) awakens in the body of schizophrenic grownup Elizabeth. Institutionalized in a psychiatric asylum, Emma must evade a nefarious doctor to relocate her friends and realign their realities. A complicated plot and sizable cast of characters with alternating aliases and versions of themselves limits this novel's appeal to series fans.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(4) YA Disturbed twins Alice and Cellie are regulars at a psychiatric hospital. This time, Cellie is in lockdown, while Alice is bent on punishing Cellie for killing her boyfriend. Journal entries reveal the girls' heartbreakingly troubled past, but interactions with doctors and patients cast suspicion on Alice's trustworthiness. Although the twist ending isn't surprising, this psychological thriller is a tense, dark read.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA It's 1988 in this autobiographical novel, and fifteen-year-old Jennifer is in a psychiatric hospital for bulimia and anorexia. The free verse and prose narratives cover her stay in the hospital, therapy sessions, treatment plans, and workbook pages. This affecting look at disordered eating, alcoholism, depression, and recovery ambitiously tries to tackle too much, resulting in a rather uneven and over-long story.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(3) YA Impregnated by her senator father and temporarily discarded in an abusive "lunatic asylum," Grace poses as a mute victim of brain surgery and escapes to a kinder asylum with Dr. Thornhollow, who employs Grace's intelligence and sharp memory to help profile criminals. McGinnis astutely blurs the lines between sanity and insanity and captures the changing mental-health environment of late–nineteenth century America.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox