LibraryAware Top Ten Books to De-Stress and Think Positive

Top Ten Books to De-Stress and Think Positive

Going back to school can be a stressful time for many teenagers. The books on this list are to inspire readers to find happiness and reduce their anxiety. Some of these books tell stories of making peace with past mistakes, building positive relationships with others, and dealing with mental health. Others are resources to become more resilient in the face of challenges and accept one's self, even if you're not perfect.

If you find yourself feeling stressed, you can use Stress Buster Bingo Sheet or another On Our Sleeves resource. Reading a book with a positive message is a great way to de-stress as well as being creative and talking to someone like a parent, family member, friend, or teacher.

This Is What It Feels Like
by Rebecca Barrow

A band contest forces a once-aspiring musician to make peace with the consequences of a friend's heavy drinking and the harsh realities of the disparity between the futures they imagined and how things really panned out.

Once and For All
by Sarah Dessen

Gaining considerable experience while working for her cynical mother's successful wedding-planner business throughout her high school years, Louna holds her own wary beliefs about love before charming playboy Ambrose joins the company and dares her to date while he attempts a long-term relationship with one woman.

Your Brain Needs a Hug: Life, Love, Mental Health, and Sandwiches
by Rae Earl

Author Rae Earl offers her personalized advice on the A to Zs of mental health, social media, family, and friendship. When she was a teenager, Rae dealt with OCD, anxiety, and an eating disorder; but she survived, and she thrived. Your Brain Needs a Hug is filled with her friendly advice, coping strategies, and laugh-out-loud moments to get you through the difficult days.

What I Carry
by Jennifer Longo

Entering her final year before being released from the foster-care system, a teen who has avoided emotional attachments forges unexpected bonds with three classmates, including a boy who changes her perspectives on everything.

The Resilient Teen: 10 Key Skills to Bounce Back From Setbacks and Turn Stress Into Success
by Sheela Raja

Presenting 10 skills grounded in key principles from psychology and neuroscience; a psychologist, teen expert, and trauma specialist helps readers manage difficult emotions, recover from difficult situations and cultivate a sense of joy.

For Every One
by Jason Reynolds

For Every One is just that: for every one. For every one person. For every one dream. For those who dream of being better than they are; who dream of doing more than they almost dare to dream. Jason wants kids to know that dreams take time. They involve countless struggles. But no matter how many times a dreamer gets beat down, the drive and the passion and the hope never fully extinguish -- because just having the dream is the start you need, or you won't get anywhere anyway, and that is when you have to take a leap of faith.

Fantastic Failures: True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First
by Luke Reynolds

A fun-filled, inspirational book that will help students learn that mistakes and failures do not define their whole lives presents stories about such luminaries as J.K. Rowling, Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Vincent Van Gogh, Steven Spielberg, and others; including great inventors and scientists who discovered and created some of the most important medicines, devices, and concepts of all time that were stumbled upon by mistake.

The Words We Keep
by Erin Stewart

After her sister Alice was found hurting herself, Lily, who has secret compulsions of her own, learns the healing powers of art while working with a new student who was in the same treatment program as her sister.

The Beauty That Remains
by Ashley Woodfolk

Bonding over a shared love a music, an artist, a twin, and a writer of love songs suffer heartbreaking losses that compel them to seek solace in their musical activities and wonder how to pick up the pieces.

A Perfectionist's Guide to Not Being Perfect
by Bonnie Zucker

This must-have resource for teens encourages them to maintain their desire to achieve without always striving to be perfect and to appreciate and love themselves for who they are, not only for what they accomplish.