The books below were read in an effort to examine the presence of depression in children's and young adult's literature. Some of the books deal with the character having depression, where others describe someone else having depression, helping readers relate to what the other person is going through. 

Girl, Interrupted

Susanna Kaysen

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The story about Susanna Kaysen is captured in this authentic, autobiographical book about her time in McLean Hospital. She was admitted to the mental hospital because she was described as severely depressed and suicidal. This book recounts the time she spent there, along with the people she met while there. This includes other patients, nurses, and doctors. Kaysen tells about various times throughout her stay at the hospital in this novel, as well as some background about her time before McLean Hospital. Even in a hospital full of people that have been classified as having some mental ailment, she is able to show the real concerns that both her and the other patients have, as well as their observations of life. This allows the reader to relate to people that they may have never otherwise thought they  could relate to.



Kaysen also talks about her time outside of the hospital after leaving, and how it feels to be diagnosed. Not only does she describe her life before the resulting diagnosis, but she also includes the definition of her diagnosis from the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," along with her analysis of this definition. Through this definition, she found things that fit her, and other criteria that she felt were too vague to classify someone with Borderline Personality Disorder. Through the last few chapters, she is able to explain her confusion as well as her acknowledgement of what was going through her mind.



This novel is unique when it comes to depression and other mental illnesses because it provides a first hand account of someone that was hospitalized for treatment. What makes it more intriguing is that her place of hospitalization is well known for helping those with mental illness. Furthermore, there is included documentation of her medical papers from the time Kaysen spent at McLean hospital.

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One problematic feature of the text might be that the content could be emotionally tolling for some readers. It also may have readers wondering if they too are suffering from a mental illness as they become more attached to Kaysen's story. 



Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, interrupted. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.

The Me Nobody Knew

Shannon McLinden

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In this book the author, Shannon McLinden, recounts her days as a young teenager who was very unhappy with who she was. In the book, Shannon finds herself depressed and unhappy with every aspect of who she is and hates the sight of herself in the mirror. She measures the success of her life based on how many people are talking to her and how much she weighs, which is never little enough for her.



After almost taking her own life, Shannon realizes that she needs help and seeks it out. Even though her mother sends her to a therapist, she finds comfort in realizing that it is her that needs a reason to live. She begins reading the self-help books that she used to think were stupid and starts to try again to find what once made her happy.



After the book takes a turn for the worse (Shannon's close call with death), it becomes about a road to recovery and realization. The second half of the book turns into Shannon telling the reader everything she has learned, such as what true friendship is, how media consumes our minds, how depression and rage from it can hurt relationships that will need to be repaired, and how to not base your own value on someone else's opinion of you.



This book is unique for depression because it is written from the viewpoint of someone that was severely depressed and survived through it. This first hand, authentic perspective allows readers to better relate with the author, either through sympathy or empathy.



One problematic element of this text is that the author never describes reasons why she is sad. Although this accurately highlights depression and that there are not always reasons, Shannon has a great life even by her own account, as do her classmates, whom share similar bouts of depression. This can make depression harder to understand for some readers.



McLinden, Shannon. The me nobody knew. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 1998. Print.

The Red Tree

Shaun Tan

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This book depicts a girl that feels very isolated, alone and without hope in the world. It talks about how some days the girl does not even feel like getting up in the morning. Tan describes his thoughts on the book, in the back of his other book that contains this one, "Lost and Found."  As the book goes on to describe how feeling depressed can seem overwhelming, it makes a person feel alone, lost, and misunderstood, and it can feel senseless, never ending, and unavoidable. These emotions are told by the author who has too been through depression in his life, making this book from an authentic source.



Throughout this book though, there is a sense of hope that is represented by a small orange leaf that can be found in every picture of the book. This hope is present in all of the pictures that describe how the depression is overtaking the girl's life, and it  represents that even through the darkest times, there is still a small amount of hope present to keep her going. This is a positive message for readers, that demonstrates that no matter how bad things get, there is still hope that it will get better.



In the end the girl, even after the long and sad day, finds hope back in her room and she is happy again. This shows the readers that overcoming depression can be done and that people can be happy again.

This book has done what Tan mentioned when describing this book. It puts depression in terms that everyone can understand, through powerful images. This book is great for all readers because they are able to understand depression or relate to what the girl is going through. Also, the book is specific about the feelings associated with depression, but not about the reasons, so it allows the audience to better understand it on a general scale, as opposed to depression because of a certain set of circumstances.



Some have pointed out that this book might be too depressing, but there is that underlying hope represented through the leaf. The image of the girl is also very memorable, so it may be hard for some readers to project themselves onto the character.



Tan, Shaun. Lost and found. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011. Print.



Tan, Shaun. The red tree. New York: Simply Read Books, 2003. Print.

Meet the Books

Why Are You So Sad?

Beth Andrews, L.C.S.W.

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This book is addressed to a child who has a parent that is suffering from depression. What makes it most unique is that it addresses the child reader directly and asks them to interact with the book by drawing and writing in it. It has the following prompts for interactivity: "a picture of your parent who is depressed, how does your depressed parent act? Draw a picture, Do you have any other questions that you want to ask your parent [about going to the hospital to get treated for depression]?, Draw a picture about what you are feeling today, What have you tried to do, thinking that you could make it better? Draw a picture, Draw a picture of [a grown-up that you can tell about your feelings] here, What would you like to draw here?" These interactive pages are laced between informational pages about depression.



This book also explains what the parents might be feeling and why they may act the way that they do. However, the book suggests that it should not be read in one sitting with a child. This book was written for an adult and a child to go through together.



It is unusual to see an interactive hard cover book for children, so this book is very unique in that aspect. Also, it offers advice for both parents that are depressed or caregivers of children that have depressed parents. It also gives advice to the children by helping them identify the feelings they may be going through, as well as giving advice on what they can do if they are angry. This advice in the book is from a person that has significant experience in working to help people with depression, making her advice in these pages authentic. 



This book fully covers depression and the ways that it can be treated. It could be problematic if a parent does not want to go on medication for example, and the book keeps listing that as an option. This could cause confusion for the child if they ask their parent if they are on medication and the parent says, "no." The child could then perhaps feel like the parent is not trying. It also brings up hospitalization for the treating of depression, another option that not all people would want or have available.



Overall, the book adequately covers what both the parent and child can be going through as a result of a parent's depression. It even ends with six important things for the child to remember:
1. Depression is a problem with feelings.
2. It's not your fault.
3. You can't fix it.
4. It's okay to have whatever feelings you have about it.
5. Your parent still loves you, and you still love your parent.
6. There are lots and lots of things that you can do to help yourself feel better.



Andrews, Beth. Why are you so sad?: A child's book about parental depression. Magination Press, 2002. Print.