There's a line on the back of my book that says "Growing up can be trouble, but that's how you find out what really matters." (It's a great line – I wish I'd written it!) I might have focused on writing about the problems faced by a girl who gets pregnant at fifteen, but that's by no means the only trouble teens can find themselves in, and it's certainly not the only kind of trouble I want to read about.
The characters in the following books find themselves in some of the most complex and challenging situations you'll find in teen fiction today and I love every single one of them for tackling their problems in the same way anyone would: with difficulty.
1. Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
Looking for JJ sees its 10th anniversary this year and tells the story of Alice Tully, embarking on a new life, just as an old news story about Jennifer Jones, the young girl who killed her classmate, hits the headlines once more. The interplay between past and present provide the heart of the story: are there things for which you can - and should - never be forgiven? My answer to this changed between starting the book and finishing it.
2. You Don't Know Me by Sophia Bennett
The book's set-up – four friends, Sasha, Nell, Jodie and Rose accidentally entering as a girl group for a TV talent show – could lead you to think this is the happy-ever-after of a glamorous fairytale… Only this is tale tempered by a healthy dose of reality. As accessible as it is intelligent, You Don't Know Me is a clever commentary on the consequences of insta-fame as well as a sympathetic story of the fragility of friendship under pressure.
3. Hello, Darkness by Anthony McGowan
When Johnny is framed for the slaughter of the school pets, he is drawn into the underbelly of the school's social hierarchy as he seeks the real killer to clear his name (after all, he knows it's not him … doesn't he?). Johnny is an unreliable narrator of epic proportions – but the fact that you know better than to trust him doesn't stop you being sucked inside his head to experience his unravelling mental state as if it's your own. This book is both darkly funny and just plain dark.
4. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Elise is the girl no one likes at school and the effect on her is (unsurprisingly) damaging. When she comes across Start, an underground nightclub, and she starts DJ-ing, she finds a place where people don't just accept her – they like her. The depiction of classroom bullying stripped back the years, leaving me as raw as if they happened yesterday afternoon, but Elise's journey provides the kind of hope I could have used growing up. (Her music tips would have helped too!)
5. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Ed is Shadow, a talented graffiti artist; Lucy is the girl obsessed with uncovering Shadow's identity so she can fall in love with him. Ed is the one in trouble: is he Ed, unemployed school dropout without hope for a future, or is he Shadow, the artist Lucy sees in his pictures? Set on one perfect night, Ed takes Lucy on a Shadow hunt across the streets of Melbourne, a night of romance, lyricism and art. Told in dual narrative (with some bonus, brilliant, poems dropped in from Ed's friend/partner in crime, Leo), Graffiti Moon is a joy and delight.
6. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
It would be hard to think of anyone in more trouble than Todd in The Knife of Never Letting Go, the only book on this list not set in the real world. It might seem that Todd's struggle is one of staying alive, but his story is also about the power of society to silence its members and how it oppresses those who refuse to conform. Todd's fierce desire to retain his agency in the onslaught of Noise from others' thoughts is one that is incredibly relevant to those discovering their voice in the noise of an Internet age.
7. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Although Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak was the novel that first introduced me to YA over a decade ago and remains a favourite, this book is the more haunting. Lia is a recovering anorexic, struggling to accept both herself and the people who love her as she dwells on the ghost of Cassie, her friend and fellow 'winter girl', who has starved herself to death. A terrifying and insightful look into the pain and fears of an outlook that is difficult for many people to appreciate.
8. Heroic by Phil Earle
The story's dual narrative is driven predominantly by Sonny, who's getting by on the Ghost Estate whilst his older brother's away fighting. It is, however, Jammy's time in Afghanistan that really strikes home, bridging the gap between our view of war from afar and the reality experienced by those on the frontline - and the consequences of them coming home. Empathetic, thought provoking and, as always with Earle's writing, full of heart.
9. Cruel Summer by James Dawson
Proof that teens don't have to be 'troubled' to find themselves in at the deep end, Cruel Summer features a group of teens on holiday a year after one of their number perished in 'questionable' circumstances. Cleverly riffing on familiar horror movie tropes, Dawson also shows a healthy respect for the Point Horror and Christopher Pike novels that stormed the classroom when I was a teen, crafting a refreshing reboot of the genre for a new generation.
10. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Reading On the Jellicoe Road is a lot like falling in love: the beginning is as confusing as it is enticing, but the reward for holding your nerve is immense. The present-day narrative focuses on Taylor Markham, embroiled in a fiercely fought territorial battle between the Jellicoe School (which she attends), the Townies and the Cadets. This is interspersed with gradually unfolding flashbacks to an event that has an unknowable impact on Taylor's life… A modern masterpiece featuring one of the most compelling characters I've ever encountered (Jonah Griggs, leader of the Cadets), this Australian classic is probably the best book you've never read.
Do you have a favourite teen in trouble book to recommend? Email us on childrens.books@theguardian.com or tweet @GdnChildrensBks using #teensintrouble.
