Friday, May 18, 2018

Novels that get YA anxiety right

At the BN Teen Blog Dahlia Adler rounded up some expert opinion on YA novels that get teen anxiety right. One title to make the list, recommended by Adler herself:
How it Ends, by Catherine Lo

What struck me in Lo’s debut, and which I haven’t really had hit me in the same way in any other book, is the way anxiety can take over your life in the way the insecurity it produces can quietly tear friendships apart. The way Jessie imagined people were viewing her, the way she assumed she was being judged, the way she was unable to voice her thoughts and feelings resonated with me so strongly, and watching her friendship with Annie crumble because they weren’t equipped to have the conversations they needed to have was painful to read in large part because it’s so real. This is such an underread book, and it’s a shame because when I read it, all I could think was how many people I knew would see themselves in its pages. So I hope they—you—pick it up now.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue