Families who loved I Crawl Through It by A.S. King often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
Reach for this book when your teenager feels paralyzed by the pressures of high-stakes testing or is struggling to process a trauma that feels impossible to put into words. This surrealist novel follows four high schoolers who are literally and figuratively unraveling: one is building a helicopter to escape, another is peeling off her own skin, and all are drowning in a system that prioritizes scores over souls. It is a raw, non-linear exploration of grief, anxiety, and the desperate need to be seen. Parents should choose this for mature readers who appreciate metaphors and need validation that the world can, at times, feel genuinely insane. It serves as a powerful bridge to discuss mental health and the toxic nature of academic perfectionism.