Looking for the Panacea: What's With All the Books About Suicide?

Friday, February 6, 2015

What's With All the Books About Suicide?

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but there have been a crapload of books dealing with more serious issues recently. It's really become a return of the dark contemporary, and I, for one, am quite liking this shift in YA.

In particular, there seems to be a surge in books dealing with mental health issues, suicide and grief.
It's definitely important that we make these issues more apparent in YA, because so many people suffer from them in real life. It's important we recognise the signs and it's important to get help.

Personally, I think the main reason I like to read books about serious issues is because I actually really like being able to feel something from the book I'm reading. Something that some people don't understand is that I love finding books that make me cry, because that means that I felt deeply enough about the characters and their situations that I was overwhelmed by feels. This doesn't happen often, and I find it's mostly contemporaries that can make me really feel something. Probably because they often depict things that could easily happen to me, or to a friend, or to a family member.

I also quite like how a lot of books dealing with darker issues actually handle the issues very well. A lot of them are twisted through with humour, but it's never to the point where it seems like the issue is being dealt with lightly. Many are beautifully written, and leave you with the sort of quotes that you don't easily forget. They really are just fantastic.

List of some great recent/upcoming darker contemporaries
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

Do you like reading "darker" contemporaries? Have you read any books dealing with mental health, or other serious issues, recently? Any that you'd recommend?

Comments (30)

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kaylasanchez2 69p · 530 weeks ago

I really do like darker contemporaries, but the ones about suicide I've found that I really need to be careful with. They open up a lot of memories for me and I find myself falling back into those thought patterns I used to have, so I have to make sure I'm very level when I get into those books! But the newer ones about different disorders are fabulous as well - I'm waiting for the influx of books dealing with straight up anxiety, and not just OCD.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

That's fair enough. I mean, I haven't really gone through anything similar to what the characters of darker contemporaries have been through, and even so, I'm pretty affected by just reading about it. Would be a lot worse if I had previous experience to "draw on", so to speak.

Yeah, it's strange, not very many books deal with anxiety. Or if they do, it's either completely extreme, as in OCD, or it's really mild.
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mel1704 86p · 530 weeks ago

If I read contemporary, most of them are on the 'darker' or 'heavier' side. I don't care much for books that center around romance. I like it when books deal with difficult topics and if they make me feel something.

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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

haha I dunno, the occasional fluffy romance/contemporary can be fun! :P
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Bec · 530 weeks ago

Contemporary isn't a genre I read very often, and when I do branch out I tend to go for the lighter, fluffier, happy reads. Saying that, a lot of my favourite contemporaries do deal with a lot of dark issues which I, like you, think is great. These things need to be talked about and I'm sure a lot of people who are afraid to talk to others about their problems would find help/solace in books where the character is going through the same thing they are.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Fluffy reads are awesome. And darker reads are awesome too! Just depends on what mood I'm in, I guess.

Yeah, it would definitely be nice if people could find some comfort in reading about characters with similar problems to them! I feel like, as an author, that would be one of the most amazing things about writing about these issues.
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littlebookstar 68p · 530 weeks ago

Since I love contemporary books, I'll read anything contemporary whether it's about a heavy topic, or a fun and light read. The ones that I enjoyed off top of my head are 13 Reasons Why, Faking Normal, and Wonder. Such great books! I can't wait to lend it to my friends because those books are just beautifully written with amazing characters.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

I need to read Wonder! I have heard that it's rather amazing- just haven't got around to it.
haha book pushing- one of the great privileges we have as book lovers :P
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mishmanixon 63p · 530 weeks ago

I love dark contemporaries!Though I occasionally go for some light and cute romances,my real love is for books that deal with issues.Books that talk about disorders,mental issues,rape,suicide,foster homes and abuse are my favourite type of books.
Not only I enjoy those as fiction but I also love them as books that show me the harsh reality.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

I definitely like to mix things up- too many dark books in a row can get a bit tiring, you know? Nice to break it up with a fluffy romance :)
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delicateeternity 69p · 529 weeks ago

I LOVE dark YA contemporaries. I love that they are more true to life than the fluffy ones that end in a happily ever after.

And I'm also like you: I adore reading books that make me FEEL something. if a book can make me cry, it must be pretty darn special, because I hardly ever cry in books. I have to be SO attached to the characters, and what they are going through. And when I find a book that makes me cry, I know that the author has done it right. They have created these true to life characters that made me so attached to them that their fictional circumstances ripped at my heart enough for it to drip tears of pain.

I haven't actually read any of the books on your list, but I'm pretty sure all of them are on my TBR. I cannot wait to get around to reading them. BRING ON THE TEARS.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Oh man, so many feels! I definitely hope you get as many feels from those books as I did!
The only one I haven't read that's on the list is The Last Time We Say Goodbye, but really, from the title, I already know it's going to be a heartbreaker
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Christy @ Novel Ink 76p · 529 weeks ago

I actually really like the darker contemporary books! I've read 5/6 on your list haha. The only one I haven't read...yet, is I Was Here and that one is on my wishlist.

I love the fact that these books can make me break down and sob, so I completely agree with you about wanting to feel something.

Great discussion :)
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

It's definitely great when you get a hit to the feels! Then you know that the book was so well written that you were completely invested in the characters!
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Wattle · 529 weeks ago

Thank you for this list, I'm going to check some of those titles out :)

I like reading contemporaries that tackle the harder issues (the ones we deal with in real life), but I really need to be in the right mood for them. I can never read them when I'm feeling down, for example. But gosh, I think it's so important that they're out there, because they are topics that should be written about.
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Yeah, you definitely need to be in the right mood for them. I find for me though, that it's not necessarily when I'm feeling down that I don't want to read them- sometimes I read them looking for a situation that's even a little bit similar to mine (although I've definitely never been through what a lot of those darker contemp protagonists have been through)
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booksandbabyetc 54p · 529 weeks ago

I don't read a lot of contemporaries but I do love darker ones that deal with suicide and mental health. I read I Was Here and wasn't blown away by it but I am really interested to read more books with the same feel to them and that explore the same issues.

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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Yeah, a lot of people struggled with I Was Here. I guess I can understand that- Cody was a pretty difficult protagonist to empathise with.
The others on that list are a lot better, in my opinion!
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novaxwn 57p · 529 weeks ago

I love dark contemporary if it's written well. Sometimes I find myself offended over the ignorant of the author but that's less compared to the amount of times I've felt mad respect.

I really love books where the character is either insecure or descending into psychosis because for some reason, I always feel like I can relate. The fact that there's so much more on mental illnesses is actually so amazing. It means that people are now more willing to talk about it and to reach out to others <3
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

I don't think I've really come across a book where I've been enraged over the ignorance of an author! Or if I have, I've erased it from my memory or something haha

Insecurity is definitely a big area where I can empathise with a character. I feel like it's an issue that a lot of people can understand.
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caitdrews 124p · 529 weeks ago

I need dark contemporaries like I need air. SERIOUSLY. They are my favourite kind! I'm really not one for fluff, I need the dark and sadness. I like books that make me feel, gaaaah, yes, make me cry, too. I'm also pleased there are so many more illness books coming out, because these kind of things shouldn't be hushed up and swept under the rug. I think it's so freeing that they're no longer "taboo" to talk about, you know?!!

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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Definitely great to see more books dealing with heavier issues coming out! I feel like maybe they might help people who are going through similar situations, show them they're not so alone, you know?
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cayce006 17p · 529 weeks ago

I do like dark(er) stories, but suicide/death is not really my... thing. So yeah, I have noticed this... trend but, most of the time, am giving a pretty a wide berth to these kind of books. I kinda "enjoy" books dealing with mental health though ("luckily" there are many other issues characters can have that does not include them being suicidal)

Although, one of my recent reads (Harmony) was sort of about suicide (though it wasn't 100%YA).
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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Yeah, that's fair enough! If you don't like reading about it, then you don't like reading about it.
Often though, it's a friend or family member of the protagonist that's committed suicide, and the protagonist then has to deal with the backlash. I haven't come across too many books where the MC themselves is suicidal.
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Frannie Pan · 529 weeks ago

I haven't read that many books that deal with this "darker" topics but the ones I read I did enjoy. They're more raw and intense and while it's harder to read them, it's also true that they really make you think about your life ans so much more stuff and they actually leave you with something when you finish reading them.
A book I read that dealt with these topics was Forbidden. It was about incest and suicide and it was not an easy read but I loved it: that book opened my eyes and I like to think that it made me a slightly better person :)

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narapanacea 99p · 529 weeks ago

Oh man, Forbidden. That was such a tough book to get through! Especially since it felt kind of wrong shipping the characters when they're siblings...
And my god, that ending. SO MANY FEELS.
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rlsharpe 51p · 528 weeks ago

I have read I Was Here and have all the others on my to-read list. I agree with you. I do like these dark contemporaries, especially those who blend just the right touch of humour. I like them in small doses though just because I do get so emotionally involved. Great discussion topic. It is important to have books available that deal with mental illness and suicide and death because it is a reality for many teenagers.
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1 reply · active 528 weeks ago

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narapanacea 99p · 528 weeks ago

Oh man, yeah, I definitely couldn't read too many in a row. I tend to switch to SFF after I read a heavier contemporary.
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Sas · 526 weeks ago

I love dark YA! Bring on the tears. If a book can make my cry, its a winner for me.

I do need to have a break between them though. I'm not a huge contemp. reader, so they tire me out pretty quickly.
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1 reply · active 526 weeks ago

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narapanacea 99p · 526 weeks ago

I feel like with any genre, I don't really like reading too many in a row, because they tend to start blurring together haha- side effect of my terrible memory :P
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