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Books About Sadness & Grief for Ages 12–18 – Wonderlit | Wonderlit

Browse → Ages 12–18 → Themes → Sadness & Grief → Ages 12–18

Books About Sadness & Grief for Ages 12–18

Sadness in adolescence can shade into something heavier: isolation, numbness, the feeling that things won't get better. These 3,654 books don't minimize any of it. They meet teenagers where they are and, mostly, show that the heaviness does eventually shift.

3,654 books

Cover of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Sal and Gabi #1

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Carlos Hernandez

Cuban mythology meets high-stakes science fiction in this award-winning tale of a boy whose unique talents might just un

Cover of The Willoughby Spit Wonder

The Willoughby Spit Wonder

Jonathon Scott Fuqua

In 1950s Virginia, Carter channels the spirit of a comic book superhero to help his father find the strength to keep fig

Cover of The Rabbi's Girls

The Rabbi's Girls

Johanna Hurwitz

Eleven-year-old Carrie faces a year of massive change in 1923 as she moves house, welcomes a new sister, and says a fina

1 2 3...153

Cover of How Could You Do It, Diane?

How Could You Do It, Diane?

Stella Pevsner

Bethany is left with a million questions after her sister's suicide, searching for answers while her parents try to bury

Ages 12–17

Cover of All Rivers Flow to the Sea

All Rivers Flow to the Sea

Seventeen-year-old Rose wanders through a landscape of grief and guilt as she searches for a way to say goodbye to her s

Cover of Counting By 7s

Holly Goldberg Sloan

For the child who feels like an outsider and is navigating the heavy weight of loss, this story shows how a family can b

Cover of The First Horse I See

The First Horse I See

Determined to reach her grieving father, Willojean pours her heart into training an abused horse that no one else believ

Cover of We Speak in Storms

We Speak in Storms

For the teen feeling haunted by the past or struggling to find their place, this story explores how shared trauma can be

Cover of Broken Song

The Night Journey

Reuven Bloom’s dreams of the violin end when he must flee for his life. In 1897 Russia, he faces a perilous journey to l

Cover of Dream Journal

Karen Halvorsen Schreck

For the teenager navigating the heavy waves of grief after losing a parent and searching for a way to reconnect with the

Cover of A Box of Bones

For the child grappling with the heavy weight of loss and the tempting, dangerous urge to change the past through any me

Cover of Face at the Edge of the World

Face at the Edge of the World

Jed is left with a heavy silence and a thousand questions after his best friend’s suicide, leading him on a search for t

Cover of Crazy Lady!

Jane Leslie Conly

Vernon navigates the pain of his mother's death by forming an unlikely bond with two neighborhood outcasts who understan

Cover of The Boundless Sublime

The Boundless Sublime

Desperate for peace after a tragedy, Ruby follows a mysterious friend into a secretive community that hides a dark and s

Cover of If You Come Softly and Behind You

If You Come Softly

If You Come Softly and Behind You

Jacqueline Woodson

For the teen processing the weight of systemic injustice or the sudden, sharp ache of losing a first love. A profound lo

Cover of Flying Solo

When their teacher doesn't show up, a sixth-grade class tries to run the school day themselves, but old secrets and tens

Cover of This Is Not a Love Letter

This Is Not a Love Letter

Jessie navigates the sharp edges of a small town as she moves through the dizzying highs of a first romance and the heav

Cover of Bang!

Sharon G. Flake

A teenager navigates the dangers of the inner city and the fractures in his own family while trying to define the man he

Cover of Untwine

Edwidge Danticat

Identical twins Giselle and Isabelle are inseparable until a tragic car crash shatters their world, leaving one sister t

Cover of What We Lost

For the teen processing the heavy weight of a parent's sudden death and the complicated truths that often surface during

Cover of The Way Home Looks Now

The Way Home Looks Now

Wendy Wan Long Shang

For the child navigating a family changed by loss. This moving story shows how sharing a passion like baseball can help

Cover of Red-Dirt Jessie

Red-Dirt Jessie #1

Red-Dirt Jessie

Amidst the dust and despair of the Depression, young Jessie finds hope as she attempts to tame a wild dog and help her f

Cover of Growin'

After the loss of her father, a young poet named Pump finds an unexpected spark of hope and friendship when she meets Ji

Cover of After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away

Joyce Carol Oates

Everything feels raw and sharp for Jenna after the bridge accident, until a mysterious boy named Crow begins to pull her

Sadness & Grief for Other Ages

Books About Sadness & Grief for Ages 0–3(344)