The best fiction stories about teen depression & adulting

Why am I passionate about this?

First of all, I’m an incurable addict to dark romance novels. Why stories for teens specifically? Well, I’m a mom of two girls and I never stop thinking about their future, including their high school years that are always filled with worries, problems, and self-judging issues. Teens are always vulnerable and it’s important to teach them how to overcome their problems and show them why it’s important to rely on their families and be there for their friends when they need them. As well as to help them realize that material things are not the only values in life to hold on to. 


I wrote...

All My Nevers

By Diana Nixon,

Book cover of All My Nevers

What is my book about?

Three years ago, leaving San Fernando felt like the best way out of the mess I was neck-deep in. An addict to all things forbidden, I betrayed everyone I loved and watched my little sister pay for my sins with her life. An escape felt like a blessing, so I ran away and left the ashes of my past drift behind me. This is why returning to my hometown was never on the menu. Nor was falling in love with my childhood friend whose heart had been irreparably broken by yours truly. But my father’s death turned out to be a twist I wasn’t expecting, and I had no choice but to come back home, face my demons, and head the family and what was left of my father’s business.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Playing with Fire

Diana Nixon Why did I love this book?

A well-thought-out story about the importance of true values, such as friendship and family. It shows just how little youth nowadays care about non-material things and how much attention they pay to outer beauty and perfections. The story teaches you to look deeper and never judge anyone by their appearance. 

By L.J. Shen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Playing with Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A broken boy on the path to destruction.A scarred girl without direction.A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.She is the strange girl from the food truck.He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.She is invisible to the world.He is the town’s beloved bad boy. She is a reject.He is trouble.When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or…


Book cover of Broken Knight

Diana Nixon Why did I love this book?

A fantastic story about love at a young age that reveals so many aspects of life teens are fighting for when away from home, the scars they hide from their parents, and the pain they try to heal with forbidden addictions. I highly recommend this book not just for teens but also for their parents who sometimes seem to fail to right key to their children's hearts and minds. Because despite everything the youth go against when growing up, they still need to know that the main strength of their life is their family. 

By L.J. Shen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Broken Knight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

"Everyone needs to read this book. I’m certain you won’t feel a single regret. " - Harloe Rae, USA Today Bestselling author.From USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a new, standalone romance about first loves, betrayal and loss.Not all love stories are written the same way. Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending.Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favorite wallflower.Sweet.Caring.Charitable.Quiet.Fake.Underneath the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves (yet pities) is a girl who knows exactly what, and who, she wants—namely, the boy from the treehouse who taught her how to curse in sign language.Who taught her…


Book cover of Revenge

Diana Nixon Why did I love this book?

A beautifully-written bully romance that uncovers the ugly side of high school life, the problems teens face on a daily basis and the troubles they get into. Teens who call themselves the elite know no boundaries in getting what they want. They are too young to foresee the terrible aftermath of their actions and it can scary at times. Again, we return to the values that kids should start cherishing at a young age, so that in the future they could be more responsible for their actions and words. 

By J. L. Weil,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Revenge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Welcome back to Elmwood Academy. The conclusion begins. And the drama continues.

The Elite of Elmwood Academy have twisted up my world, but they are mine now.
My family.
My vengeance.
My only way out of hell.
Four guys who have become more than just a pain in my ass. And they all want the same thing as me.
Revenge.
But is there room for one more in our little pact? Or has the girl before me come back at the very worst time, right smack in a war of power and wealth?


Book cover of Broken Pretty Things

Diana Nixon Why did I love this book?

The book reveals all the shades of hate and love, all wrapped in one package. Devious and manipulative, people start to neglect your personality and dig out your weakest sides. Not just objects can be broken, but people as well. As this book shows just how easily it happens, especially at a tender age when everything seems on edge and it’s hard to see the colors between black and white. 

By Amber Faye,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Broken Pretty Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Even in hate, you rule me. Body and soul.”In Torrent Bay, whenever it rains, it pours.

We were Torrent Bay Academy royalty.

But the king is dead, and now every pretty thing we had is broken.

Gunnar Rayne. Heir to the biggest financial empire in the state. Smart, handsome, charismatic. And my best friend.

Or he was.

My most powerful ally has become my most devastating enemy.

Devious, manipulative, cunning — it figures that the only thing in this world he can’t stand is a liar as good as him.

Without our friendship, nothing is off limits anymore…

Nothing.


Book cover of Heartless

Diana Nixon Why did I love this book?

You will either love or hate the leading characters, but they won’t leave you disappointed! This is a kind of a story that pulls out all of your emotions, twisting and turning them into what the author wants you to feel. A great roller-coaster read that will give you chills! It’s one of those stories that might become your bookish addiction that you’ll want to read many times, despite everything that you might despise this story. 

By Ivy Fox,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Heartless as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I had their love once.

They saw me for the girl I am and the person I yearn to become one day—a woman who thrives in her freedom and dances away in her rightfully earned independence.

They saw all the strong, unafraid parts of me, and coaxed each one of them out, daring me to dream bigger, climb higher.

They never once saw the girl I had been groomed to see in the mirror.

The abandoned daughter of a dead man.

The unwanted child of a woman who despised her.

The broken body formed wrong and built on a shaky…


You might also like...

Book cover of This Animal Body

Meredith Walters

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life together—she’s determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuse to share. And while the animals may not have Frankie’s exalted human brain, they know things she doesn’t, like what happened before she was adopted.

To prove she’s sane, Frankie investigates her forgotten past and conducts clandestine experiments. But just when she uncovers the truth, she has to make an impossible choice: betray the animals she’s fallen in love with—or give up her last chance at success and everything she thought she knew.

By Meredith Walters,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Animal Body as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Frankie Conner, first-year graduate student at UC Berkeley, is finally getting her life together. After multiple failures and several false starts, she's found her calling: become a neuroscientist, discover the cause of her depression and anxiety, and hopefully find a cure for herself and everyone like her.

But her first day of the program, Frankie meets a mysterious group of talking animals who claim to have an urgent message for her. The problem is, they're not willing to share it. Not yet. Not until she's ready.

While Frankie's new friends may not have her highly evolved, state-of-the-art, exalted human brain,…


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