House of Secrets

Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up

Does My Head Look Big in This?

Boy Underwater

The Last Black Unicorn

Big Nate: Very Funny!: Two Books in One

Wrecking Ball

Dandelion Clocks

Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

House of Secrets

Greg Call, Chris Columbus, Ned Vizzini, 2013

Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up

Isabella Rotman, Heather Corinna, 2019

Does My Head Look Big in This?

Randa Abdel-Fattah, 2007

Boy Underwater

Adam Baron, 2018

The Last Black Unicorn

Jessica Gibson, Tiffany Haddish, Jerdine Nolen, 2022

Big Nate: Very Funny!: Two Books in One

Lincoln Peirce, 2022

Wrecking Ball

Jeff Kinney, 2019

Dandelion Clocks

Rebecca Westcott, 2014