Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme, GoodReads group here with all the topics + discussion!
This week’s topic is: Books Featuring Mental Health
1) Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
(PTSD, Anxiety etc)
After all things Aelin goes through in this series, it’s no wonder she’s suffering from a few mental illnesses. I love that SJM included Aelin’s struggle. A lot of fantasy novels have a tendency to skip over mental illnesses – despite the traumatic and live changing things characters go through. I appreciate mental health rep in all genres, it’s something that needs to be talked about and represented across the board.
2) The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
(Trauma, grief, abuse, anxiety, depression)
There are quite a few themes of mental health running through this series. I think it is done really well and accurately. Most of the characters suffer from some kind of mental illness/problems and are very relatable and realistic. I think some of these aspects are overlooked the majority of the time but I think they’re really important to point out.
3) A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
(Selective Mutism)
Before reading this book I had never heard of Selective Mutism before. It is a severe anxiety disorder that affects a person’s communication skills. This actually hit home quite a lot with me, despite never hearing about this before, I could relate to the main character. I, as a child, could not communicate with people outside my very close family. I’m not self-diagnosing here – but I felt as though this character felt close to how I felt as a young child.
It’s also such a cute, fluffy YA contemporary! Lovely story, highly recommend.
4) Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
(ADHD + Dyslexia)
(Unfortunately, I do not own copies.)
I love that Rick Riordan chose to include these mental illnesses in his books. It is so important for kids to learn about mental health and normalise it! He does it in such a lovely, positive way too.
5) Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Thought I’d include a non-fiction book in here too, I don’t read a lot of non-fiction but anxiety and depression is something I personally suffer with so I’m definitely interested in reading about it. Notes On A Nervous Planet is such an excellent read for people with depression and anxiety. It made me more self-aware and realise a lot of triggers and things around me causing my mental health to be bad. I highly recommend this to people with anxiety/depression and anyone who knows someone with it. I feel this would be great for learning how others suffer.
There is a serious lack of mental health books in my life.
Have you read any of these? Were they 5-star reads for you?
I love the friendships in Mistborn.
Literary Leisha 