Research Guides: Mental Health in Children's and Young Adult Literature: Substance Use & Addiction

About Substance Use & Addiction

Substance use disorders occur when the recurrent use of alcohol and/or drugs causes significant impairment, including health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. Many times people that struggle with addiction also have a mental illness. Dual diagnosis is a term for when someone experiences a mental illness and a substance abuse problem simultaneously. Either substance abuse or mental illness can develop first. A person experiencing a mental health condition may turn to drugs and alcohol as a form of self-medication to improve the troubling mental health symptoms they experience, or abusing substances can lead to mental health problems because of the effects drugs have on a person’s moods, thoughts, brain chemistry and behavior.

- National Alliance on Mental Illness & Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Nonfiction & Informational Books

Substance Abuse: The Ultimate Teen Guide by
Sheri Mabry Bestor
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2015
"Looks at the various reasons why young people experiment with drugs and alcohol-and the consequences of doing so by providing insights from real people-teen addicts and others- who have been affected by substance abuse."
Alcohol 101 by
Margaret O. Hyde; John F. Setaro
Call Number: Y 362 H
Publication Date: 1999
"Discusses alcohol use in the United States, including the physical effects, the origin of the drinking age, societal mixed messages, and the sociological impacts."
Drugs 101 by
Margaret O. Hyde; John F. Setaro
Call Number: Y 362 H
Publication Date: 2003
An overview of different drugs and how drugs interact with the brain
Smoking 101 by
Margaret O. Hyde; John F. Setaro
Call Number: Y 362 H
Publication Date: 2005
A look at the harmful effects of smoking
The Facts about Cocaine by
Suzanne LeVert
Call Number: Y 362 L
Publication Date: 2005
Information covering the topics of how cocaine affects the mind and body, dangers of cocaine abuse, laws, and living a drug free life.
The Facts about Inhalants by
Francha Roffe Menhard
Call Number: Y 362 M
Publication Date: 2004
Provides information on the history, dangers, and laws of using inhalants
The Facts about Amphetamines by
Francha Roffe Menhard
Call Number: Y 362 M
Publication Date: 2005
Describes the history, characteristics, legal status, and abuse of amphetamines and methamphetamines.
Meth: America's Drug Epidemic by
Elaine Landau
Call Number: Y 362 L
Publication Date: 2007
Information on the drug, methamphetamine, and how it can effect lives
Crystal Meth by
Jeremy Harrow
Call Number: Y 616 H
Publication Date: 2007
Information on what crystal meth is and how it can change a person's life
Heroin by
Susan Elliot Wright
Call Number: Y 362 E
Publication Date: 2004
A history of heroin, information on how it is used today, and an overview of the effect it can have on lives

Picture Books

Daddy Doesn't Have to Be a Giant Anymore by
Jane Resh Thomas & Marcia Sewall
Call Number: YE THO
Publication Date: 1996
"A little girl is frightened of her daddy when he's drunk, but with the support of his family and friends he enters a treatment program and resolves to stay sober."
When Someone in the Family Drinks Too Much by
Richard C. Langsen
Call Number: Y 362 L
Publication Date: 1996
A self-help guide to enable children to cope with alcoholism in the family setting.
My Dad by
Niki Daly
Call Number: YE DAL
Publication Date: 1995
"A father's drinking causes pain and embarrassment to his family, until he begins to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings."
The Night Dad Went to Jail by
Melissa Higgins
Call Number: Y 362 H
Publication Date: 2011
"When someone you love goes to jail, you might feel lost, scared, and even mad. What do you do? No matter who your loved one is, this story can help you through the tough times."
The Monster Health Book by
Edward Miller
Call Number: Y 613 M
Publication Date: 2006
A look at what it means to live a healthy lifestyle including topics on drug and alcohol use (p.36) and eating disorders (p.29).
An Elephant in the Living Room by
Marion H. Typpo; Jill M. Hastings
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 1994
An illustrated story to help children understand and cope with the problem of alcoholism or other drug addiction in the family.
When a Family Is in Trouble by
Marge Eaton Heegaard
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 1996
A good tool for helping children understand basic concepts of drug and alcohol addiction and its effect on the family and develop healthy coping skills.
Wishes and Worries by
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Staff
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2011
"Children of parents who drink too much alcohol are affected in many ways. They may experience anger, fear, confusion, and guilt. This reassuring book, written by professionals, offers information in the form of a story about one family's struggle. When Dad's drinking ruins a birthday party, everyone wishes that he would just stop. If only wishing could fix the problem!"

Early Readers

Bird by
Zetta Elliott & Shadra Strickland
Call Number: Y ELL
Publication Date: 2008
"An African-American boy nicknamed Bird uses drawing as a creative outlet as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather's death and his brother's decline into drug addiction."

Books for Tweens

Beneath a Meth Moon by
Jacqueline Woodson
Call Number: Y WOO
Publication Date: 2012
A young girl uses crystal meth to escape the pain of losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina, and then struggles to get over her addiction.
Because of Winn-Dixie by
Kate DiCamillo
Call Number: Y DIC
Publication Date: 2000
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
Dear Life, You Suck by
Scott Blagden
Call Number: Y BLA
Publication Date: 2013
"Irreverent, foul-mouthed, seventeen-year-old Cricket Cherpin, living under the watchful eye of Mother Mary at a Catholic boys' home in Maine, has such bleak prospects he is considering suicide when Wynona Bidaban steps into his world."
Emmy's Question by
Jeannine Auth
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2010
"Emmy feels like it is her fault that her mother is an alcoholic and that she is not helping her mother enough, especially when her mother's stint in rehab does not help her deal with her addiction."

Books for Teens

Under the Wolf, Under the Dog by
Adam Rapp
Call Number: Y RAP
Publication Date: 2004
Sixteen-year-old Steve struggles to make sense of his mother's terminal breast cancer and his brother's suicide in a facility for troubled youth.
Crank by
Ellen Hopkins
Call Number: Y HOP
Publication Date: 2004
"Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter, gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina. Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul - her life."
Far from You by
Tess Sharpe
Call Number: Y SHA
Publication Date: 2014
"After Sophie Winters survives a brutal attack in which her best friend, Mina, is murdered, she sets out to find the killer. At the same time she must prove she is free of her past Oxy addiction and in no way to blame for Mina's death."
Lush by
Natasha Friend
Call Number: Y FRI
Publication Date: 2006
"Unable to cope with her father's alcoholism, thirteen-year-old Sam corresponds with an older student, sharing her family problems and asking for advice."
Smack by
Melvin Burgess
Call Number: Y BUR
Publication Date: 1998
"After running away from their troubled homes, two English teenagers move in with a group of squatters in the port city of Bristol and try to find ways to support their growing addiction to heroin."
Bronxwood by
Coe Booth
Call Number: Y BOO
Publication Date: 2011
"Tyrell's life is spinning out of control after his father is released from prison, his little brother is placed in foster care, and the drug dealers he's living with are pressuring him to start dealing."
Do Not Pass Go by
Kirkpatrick Hill
Call Number: Y HIL
Publication Date: 2007
"When Deet's father is jailed for using drugs, Deet learns that prison is not what he expected, nor are other people necessarily the way he thought they were."
The Porcupine of Truth by
Bill Konigsberg
Call Number: Y KON
Publication Date: 2015
Seventeen-year-old New Yorker Carson Smith is resigned to spending his summer in Billings, Montana, helping his mom take care of his father, a dying alcoholic he doesn't really know. Together, Carson and Aisha embark on an epic road trip to find the answers that might save Carson's dad, restore his fragmented family, and discover the "Porcupine of Truth" in all of their lives.
I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip by
John Donovan
Call Number: Y DON
Publication Date: 2010
"While trying to cope with his alcoholic mother and absent father, a lonely New York City teenager develops a confusing crush on another boy."
Gray Baby by
Scott Loring Sanders
Call Number: Y SAN
Publication Date: 2009
"Clifton has grown up in rural Virginia with the memory of his African American father being beaten to death by policemen, causing his white mother to slip into alcoholism and depression, but after befriending an old man who listens to his problems, Clifton finally feels less alone in the world."
Shooting Star by
Fredrick L. McKissack
Call Number: Y MCK
Publication Date: 2009
"Jomo Rogers, a naturally talented athlete, starts taking performance enhancing drugs in order to be an even better high school football player, but finds his life spinning out of control as his game improves."
DJ Rising by
Love Maia
Call Number: Y MAI
Publication Date: 2012
"Sixteen-year-old Marley Diego-Dylan's career as "DJ Ice" is skyrocketing, but his mother's heroin addiction keeps dragging him back to earth."
The Beast by
Walter Dean Myers
Call Number: Y MYE
Publication Date: 2003
"A visit to his Harlem neighborhood and the discovery that the girl he loves is using drugs give seventeen-year-old Anthony Witherspoon a new perspective both on his home and on his life at a Connecticut prep school."
The Spectacular Now by
Tim Tharp
Call Number: Y THA
Publication Date: 2008
"In the last months of high school, charismatic eighteen-year-old Sutter Keely lives in the present, staying drunk or high most of the time."
What Happened to Lani Garver by
Carol Plum-Ucci
Call Number: Y PLU
Publication Date: 2002
"Sixteen-year-old Claire is unable to face her fears about a recurrence of her leukemia, her eating disorder, her need to fit in with the popular crowd on Hackett Island, and her mother's alcoholism until the enigmatic Lani Garver helps her get control of her life at the risk of his own."
Recovery Road by
Blake Nelson
Call Number: Y NEL
Publication Date: 2011
"While she is in a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol abuse, seventeen-year-old Maddie meets Stewart, who is also in treatment, and they begin a relationship, which they try to maintain after they both get out."
Tweak by
Nic Sheff; Deb Caletti
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2008
"Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery."
Clean by
Amy Reed
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2012
"A group of teens in a Seattle-area rehabilitation center form an unlikely friendship as they begin to focus less on their own problems with drugs and alcohol by reaching out to help a new member, who seems to have even deeper issues to resolve."
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie; Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
Call Number: Y ALE
Publication Date: 2007
"Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."
Walkaway by
Alden R. Carter
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2008
"Fifteen-year-old Andy, fed up with his alcoholic father and annoying older brother, leaves their northern Wisconsin cabin on his version of a walkabout, leaving his medications to combat depression, anxiety, and delusions behind."
Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by
Ann Jacobus
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2015
"A troubled American teen, living in Paris, is torn between two boys, one of whom encourages her to embrace life, while the other--dark, dangerous, and attractive--urges her to embrace her fatal flaws."
How I Made It to Eighteen by
Tracy White (Illustrator)
Call Number: Y 741 W
Publication Date: 2010
Based on the author's experiences, How I Made it to Eighteen is a frank portrait of what it's like to struggle with severe depression, bulimia, and drug addiction.
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain by
Marc Lewis
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2012
"In a vivid, candid memoir of his own addiction, a renowned neuroscientist articulates exactly how drugs speak to the brain, illuminating both the science of craving and the human condition."
Woodsie, Again by
Bruce Brooks
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 1999
"As the Wolfbay Wings make their way into the play-offs, several team members seem to be using marijuana to deal with the pressure and the whole teams suffers because of it."
Other Broken Things by
C. Desir
Call Number: Not in our collection.
Publication Date: 2016
"Forced to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where she bonds with a much older man, seventeen-year-old Natalie, a recovering alcoholic, confronts issues in her family and life as she tries to turn her life around."

Mental Health in Children's and Young Adult Literature