My favorite books and print resources
This is a list of printed materials related to managing stress. Check them out from your local library!
I would approach research on books to read to manage stress from two perspectives: fiction books that are empowering or relaxing without explicitly talking about how to handle stress, and nonfiction books that go over stress management strategies and tools. Both fiction and non-fiction books for teens will be labeled by the issues they cover and you can do an advanced search of a library catalog by putting “teen” or “young adult” as a keyword and a phrase related to your stress like “new school,” “dating,” or “death,” for the subject. See the blog post “Search term tips” for other ideas of how to look for your own books and resources.
For fiction books, my first suggestion is to see if your library has any books you have read and enjoyed in the past and re-check them out. Re-reading favorite books can help during stressful periods in your life. From my own list, one of the books that is most uplifting and unique is The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. Although it may be marketed for younger kids, reading about Ben, Tom, Lindy, and the Professor’s journey and seeing them overcome obstacles using their imagination and perspective is meaningful for anyone. Plus, it is a quick and fun read! It has helped me manage my own stress as I grew up and is a favorite book to this day.
If you are in high school and want to read a realistic but fictional account of the different stresses that can come up in life and how one 17-year-old deals with them, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero covers sexuality, self-esteem, family drama, and cultural expectations well. Author Meg Medina said in an interview with NPR (available here), “I think there are many authors — and Isabel sits squarely in this group — who don't shy away from telling young people the truth. Who are producing work for young women that really dignifies their intelligence and dignifies their experience” (Medina, 2014). So, if you want books that reflect truthful but difficult situations to help manage your own stress and the challenges you face, this could be a good choice.
If you want to research books that go over stress management up front, you can check out Fighting Invisible Tigers: Stress Management for Teens by Earl Hipp. It has good tips and activities and is easy to read. Most importantly, it is empowering and can help you have tools to use when you get stressed. Looking up this book on Amazon and clicking through the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” section is one way to continue to search for books to read. Doing this can lead you to other great books like Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety: A Workbook for Overcoming Anxiety at Home, at School, and Everywhere Else by Christopher Willard. This is available as an eBook or print book at my local public library and would be especially good to look at for chronic stress. It goes over different stressful situations that often trigger anxiety, such as test taking, and goes over ways to manage them with more confidence.
For other books to check out related to handling stress in your life, you can also find articles that have their own lists, such as this teacher's post: https://www.noodle.com/articles/battle-teen-angst-with-these-10-books-about-mindfulness