|
|
 |
Home
> Resources > Youth
> Mental Health and Substance Use >
Story Books and Novels
RESOURCES FOR YOUTH:
MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE: STORY BOOKS AND NOVELS
Legend
Anxiety | Bullying
| Body Image & Eating Disorders |
Conflict Resolution
Emotional Development |
Mood Disorders/Depression | Relationships
Anxiety
| |
Angels Turn Their Backs |
 |
| By Margaret Buffie |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Fifteen-year-old Addy can't go to school. She is afraid of
taking even one step out of the house. She can't hear people
when they're right in front of her, yet she hears voices that
no one else can. Addy feels as if she's falling apart. Her
parents have just split up and her one real friend is a thousand
miles away. Addy wishes she were back at her old school, but
she knows there's no going back. The trouble is, she can't
move forward. |
Bullying
| |
Basket of Beethoven |
|
| By Susan Currie |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
Sam is fascinated by the new girl in his class. The daughter
of a famous conductor, Helen seems angry and aloof - interested
only in her book. Pete and Troy love to tease Sam, but the
two boys recognize that Helen makes an even odder target.
After they steal her book and toss it on the school roof,
a frustrated Helen finds refuge in the auditorium, where she
plays her heart out on the piano. Sam is bowled over; he must
find the key to this secret language so he can express his
inner self. He must learn to play the piano too. There is
no question of taking lessons. His mother can barely afford
school supplies. And a piano? There isn't a hope. But Sam
is determined. So he goes to Helen with a proposal. He'll
keep Pete and Troy away from her if she gives him piano lessons.
And he's thrilled when she reluctantly agrees. |
| |
Dork on the Run |
|
| By Carol Gorman |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
Jerry can’t forget that last year he was a dork. But
this year, in a new town, at a new school, things have gotten
better. His social life isn’t quite as embarrassing
as it once was. That is, until he thinks about running for
class president. But before Jerry can even decide to run,
he discovers that he already has an opponent: someone willing
to do almost anything to get Jerry not to run. |
| |
Freak the Mighty |
|
| By Rodman Philbrick |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Two boys, a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant
and a tiny genius in leg braces, forge a unique friendship
when they pair up to create one human force. |
| |
Jake Drake, Bully Buster |
|
| By Andrew Clements
|
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
He's not the toughest, fastest, or funniest kid in fourth
grade, but he's got big ideas and he has stories to tell about
what "really" goes on in school. Like bullies, for
instance. Jake wants to know "if everybody who works
at school is so smart, how come they can't get rid of the
bullies? Jake Drake confronts the problems of school life
and finds some surprising solutions! |
| |
Loser's Club |
|
| By John Lekich |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
A humorous and feisty novel for young adults looks at the
complicated lives lead in high schools: learning to deal with
family problems, school counselors, and extortion. Wonderful
characters, deft humor and authentic dialogue. |
| |
Lottery |
|
| By Beth Goobie |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
While the principal and teachers look the other way, the Shadow
Council (aka "S.C.") rules Sally Hanson's high school,
targeting other students for exceptionally cruel pranks. Every
year, S.C. holds a lottery, and the "winner," delegated
as S.C.'s messenger to fresh victims, will be wholly shunned
by the student body. The dreaded role falls to Sally, and
the attendant trauma and confusion compound Sally's mysterious
problems. |
| |
Maximum Boy: Worst Bully in the Universe |
|
| By Dan Greenburg |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
It's April Fools over and over again. Someone is playing pranks
across the entire country. Who better to put a stop to these
stunts than our eleven-year old superhero? In fact, he's already
got some suspects. Could there be a new bully at the heart
of all these stunts? |
| |
Maze |
|
| By Monica Hughes |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Andrea doesn't know what to expect when she is given a mysterious
black box inlaid with a strange maze pattern. All she knows
is that being bullied by her high school's girl gang is becoming
unbearable. When in the middle of a attack on Andrea, Crystal
and her gal pal Sabrina grab the box and disappear, Andrea
knows she must somehow rescue her enemies. |
| |
Mean, Mean Maureen Green |
|
| By Judy Cox |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Lilley is a fearful person who dreads going to school because
of a mean neighborhood dog, a school bully, and her new bike
without training wheels. |
| |
Men of Stone |
|
| By Gayle Friesen |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Fifteen-year-old Ben can't make sense of his life. He lives
in a house full of women, yet he can't talk to girls. He is
ridicule aboutt the one thing he excels, dance. Now, he's
being bullied by Claude, who's found out about his ballet
classes. Ben's Great-Aunt Frieda comes to visit and he learns
about her life in Russia. He's surprised by her story. As
Frieda tells her powerful story, Ben begins to understand
who he is and what kind of person he wants to be. |
| |
Misfits |
|
| By James Howe |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle
school decide to create a third party for the student council
elections to represent all students who have ever been called
names. |
| |
Missing the Piano |
|
| By Adam Rapp |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Just last week, Mike Tegroff was a regular fifteen-year-old
guy. Then his dad and stepmother dumped him at a Military
Academy. St. Matthew’ s “ where boys become men.”
But Mike would rather not be the kind of man the Academy wants
to make him. |
| |
Pigface |
|
| By Catherine
Robinson |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
When a broken leg keeps Noah off school for several weeks,
he finds out what life as an outsider is like on his return.
A new boy has joined the class and everyone is fascinated
by him. Noah just can’t slip back into his normal place.
His only choice of partner in class and at lunch is Pigface,
the class-joke. Noah has a choice, make a desperate effort
to get back into the “inner circle” or get to
see life from Pigface’s point of view. |
| |
Run for Your Life |
|
| By Wilma E. Alexander |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
This book follows the life of ten-year-old Emma as she dodges
bullies and babysits her crazy aunt. Things take a turn for
the worse when Emma’s mother falls ill and the local
plant explodes. It’s up to Emma and her family to rescue
the workers. |
| |
Run, Zan, Run |
|
| By Catherine
MacPhail |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Katie is being bullied at school and cannot get anyone to
believe her. She feels frightened and alone. One day, a girl
called Zan leaps to Katie’s defence. Zan tries to keep
her identity a secret. Slowly Katie learns the truth and realizes
Zan is the one who needs help. |
| |
Scrambled Eggs and Spider Legs |
|
| By Gary Hogg |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
It’s just Matt’s luck that his teacher pairs him
with the biggest bully in the fifth grade. Although Matt’s
only a second grader, he’s smart enough to realize that
even a bully has fears. |
| |
Spitfire |
|
| By Ann Goldring |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Kathryn is a 14-year-old girl fighting a war of her own against
a gang of local bullies who threaten Avery and April, a brother
and sister from the wrong side of the tracks. Inspired by
April’s move to join a boys-only soap box derby, Kathryn
builds her own car. But when the competition assumes she is
April’s ally, Kathryn is forced to endure the sting
of gossip and threat of sabotage. The cost of being different
tests her loyalty to April and soon reveals her family’s
own prejudices. |
| |
Sticks and Stones |
|
| By Beth Goobie |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Jujube is thrilled when Brent asks her out. She is not so
happy when the rumors start flying at school. Pretty soon
her name is showing up on bathroom walls and everyone is snickering
and sniping. When her mother gets involved, Jujube's reputation
takes another hit. Deciding that someone has to take a stand,
Jujube tries to impress on her fellow students the damage
that can be done by assigning a label that reduces a person
to an object. |
Body Image & Eating
Disorders
| |
Dough Boy |
|
| By Peter Marino |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Overweight fifteen-year-old Tristan, who lives with his divorced
mother and her boyfriend, Frank, suddenly finds his life turned
upside down when Frank's popular, troubled, nutrition-obsessed
daughter, Kelly, moves in. As he faces increasing abuse about
his weight at home and at school, the hurt of his former best
friend pairing off with Kelly, and the anxiety of a crush,
he manages to find peace in taking his own path. |
| |
Everything You Need to Know About
Eating Disorders |
Gr 5 - 9 |
| By Rachel Kubersky |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
In Eating Disorders , the pressure to be thin is explored,
along with how to keep the body and mind healthy. |
| |
Fat Chance |
|
| By Leslea Newman |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Judi Liebowitz thinks she's fat. And she's convinced, as she
confides in her diary, that she'd be happier if she were skinnier.
So when Judi becomes friendly with pencil-thin, glamorous
Nancy Pratt, she learns Nancy's secret and joins her in the
secret binge-and-purge cycles of bulimia. Before long, Judi's
life spins out of control and her obsession with food, calories,
and pounds is no longer another typical eighth-grade problem--it's
a matter of life and death. |
| |
More Than You Can Chew |
|
| By Marnelle Tokio |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Marty has retreated from a difficult family situation into
the area she can best control, her own appetites. She may
not be able to control her parents’ behavior, but she
can decide what she will and will not eat. Eventually, she
stops eating altogether. Marty is close to death when she
finally asks for help and finds herself in a psychiatric institution.
|
| |
Nell's Quilt |
|
| By SusanTerris |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Urged at the age of eighteen to marry a man she doesn't want,
Nell delays the event by working on a quilt, slowly starving
herself, and observing the unhappy lot of many women in turn-of-the
century Massachusetts before arriving at a decision to rescue
herself from the brink of death and take charge of her life.
|
| |
Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade |
Age 8 - 12 |
| By Barthe DeClements |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Initially repelled by an overweight new student who has serious
home problems, the fifth grade class finally learns to accept
her. |
| |
Out of the Fire |
|
| By Deborah Froese |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Life seems good to sixteen-year-old Dayle. No longer a self-conscious
bookworm, she's well aware that it's her looks that have drawn
the attention of her new boyfriend Keith, a handsome jock.
Dayle is forced to explore the depths beneath the surface
when a moment of carelessness at a teenage bonfire party causes
tragedy. Out of the Fire follows Dayle as she undergoes a
lengthy recovery, tracking her despair and triumph as she
learns that her own resources go much deeper than appearances. |
| |
Perfect |
|
| By Natasha Friend |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Isabelle Lee has a problem, and it's not just Ape Face, her
sister, or group therapy for an eating disorder, or even that
her father died and her mother is depressed and in denial.
It's that Ashley, the most popular girl in school, is inviting
Isabelle to join her at lunch and at sleepovers at her house,
and this is presenting Isabelle with a dilemma. Pretty Ashley
has moved Isabelle up the social ladder, but is it worth keeping
the secret they share? |
| |
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing |
|
| By Judy Blume |
English
|
Available at:
Winnpeg Public Library
Local or online bookstore |
Life with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel
like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper
tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls
at Hamburger Heaven, or trying to fly, he’s never far
from trouble. He’s an almost three-year-old terror who
gets away with everything, and Peter’s had it up to
here! When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet
turtle, it’s the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge
for too long. Way too long! How can he get his parents to
pay attention to him for a change? |
| |
The Pig-Out Blues |
|
| By Jan Greenburg |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstore |
Jodie's being overweight and unhappy causes problems with
her mother. |
| |
Turning to Stone |
|
| By John Brindley |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Some things die, other things live. It's what happens. This
is the story of Tim, his big sister Jazz, and someone else,
who lives alone in a world of her own making, but who is the
only person who can instill in both Tom and Jazz the will
to survive. |
Conflict Resolution
| |
Chocolate War |
|
| By Robert Cormier |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library
Local or online bookstores |
A high school student is first a hero, then an outcast, and
finally a victim in this novel of intimidation and the misuse
of power. |
Emotional Development
| |
Crash |
|
| By Jerry Spinelli |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Through the eyes of Crash, readers get a rare glimpse into
the life of a bully in this unforgettable story about stereotypes
and the surprises life can bring. |
| |
Feelings |
|
| By Joanne Murphy |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Poetry about emotions. |
Mood Disorders/Depression
| |
Adrift |
|
| By Julie Burtinshaw |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or
online bookstores |
At 14, David lives in an unhappy house. His mother is acting
strangely, retreating to bed and pleading for time alone.
His father buries himself in his work. When his mother is
checked into an institution for clinical depression, David
and his 10-year-old sister Laura are shipped from Toronto
to their Aunt Jenn’s home in B.C. The brother-sister
team steal a dinghy and head for the deserted caves on Dragon
Island, intent on calling their father’s bluff. A stormy
sea and an accident on the cliffs turn defiance into desperation
-- and David’s "crazy family" is the only
hope for rescue. |
Relationships
| |
Amazing Grace |
|
| By Megan Shull |
English
|
Available at:
Local or online bookstores |
Tennis superstar Grace Kincaid goes from everybody's idea
of perfect to her own idea of an imperfect (but wonderful)
self. |
| |
Loser |
|
| By Jerry Spinelli |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Donald is one of the greatest kids you could ever hope to
meet. He laughs easily, he likes people, he loves school,
he tries to rescue lost girls in blizzards, he talks to old
ladies. The only problem is, he's a loser. |
| |
Molly's Pilgrim |
|
| By Barbara Cohen |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
As Molly nears her first Thanksgiving in the New World, she
doesn't find much to be thankful for. Molly's embarrassed
when her mother helps with a Thanksgiving project by making
a little doll that looks more like a Russian refugee than
a New England Pilgrim. But that tiny modern-day Pilgrim just
might help Molly to find a place for herself in America. |
| |
Speak |
|
| By Laurie Halse
Anderson |
English
|
Available at:
Winnipeg Public
Library (borrow)
Local or online bookstores |
Melinda busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops.
Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't
even know hate her. But there's something about the night
of the party she's trying not to think about. |
For more information
about
Healthy Schools, please contact:
Healthy Schools
Phone: (204) 788-6679
Email: healthyschools@gov.mb.ca |
 |
|
|
