Book picks similar to
Only My Mouth is Smiling by Jocelyn Riley


young-adult
ya
classic-favorite
mental-illness

Gemini7


Jordan Cray - 1997
    When the dream girl he meets on the Internet shows up as a real person, Jonah watches his totally exciting other life turn into a nightmare.

Finding Felicity


Stacey Kade - 2018
    And her parents’ divorce and the move to Arizona three years ago didn’t help. Being the new girl is hard enough without being socially awkward too. So out of desperation and a desire to please her worried mother, Caroline invented a whole life for herself—using characters from Felicity, an old show she discovered online and fell in love with.But now it’s time for Caroline to go off to college and she wants nothing more than to leave her old “life” behind and build something real. However, when her mother discovers the truth about her manufactured friends, she gives Caroline an ultimatum: Prove in this first semester that she can make friends of the nonfictional variety and thrive in a new environment. Otherwise, it’s back to living at home—and a lot of therapy.Armed with nothing more than her resolve and a Felicity-inspired plan, Caroline accepts the challenge. But she soon realizes that the real world is rarely as simple as television makes it out to be. And to find a place where she truly belongs, Caroline may have to abandon her script and take the risk of being herself.

Consumed


Abbie Rushton - 2016
    Until the day Asha was taken from her and the sun went out. Forever.That was two years ago. Myla hasn't been down to the beach - or even left the house - since. Crippling agoraphobia and panic attacks keep her locked inside a nightmare of the day she can never forget. Her main contact with the outside world is online - until she meets Jamie.Jamie is new in town and also struggles with things most people find easy. Nobody gets why it's so hard for him to eat. But, like Myla, Jamie is trapped by his fears and feels anxious, awkward and alone.Gradually the pair begin to trust each other. Are they willing to reveal their secrets - and risk discovering the truth? Or will they let their pasts consume them for good...

Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina


Michaela DePrince - 2014
     Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is currently a member of the Dutch National Ballet’s junior company. She has appeared in the ballet documentary "First Position," as well as on "Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America," and "Nightline." In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.

Counting Backwards


Laura Lascarso - 2012
    Now all I want is to go back.When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard just to hold on to her sanity as she battles her parents, her therapist, and vicious fellow patients. But even as Taylor struggles to hold on to her stubborn former self, she finds herself relenting as she lets in two unlikely friends--Margo, a former child star and arsonist, and AJ, a mysterious boy who doesn’t speak. In this striking debut, Laura Lascarso weaves together a powerful story of anger and self-destruction, hope and love.

That's Just The Beginning


istolethecookiez - 2013
    But there is more to this good girl; she’d rather ditch class than stay up all night to finish a project. She’d rather be at a party than in her room studying, but her parents would never approve of that. Unless, of course, they didn't know. When she's given the opportunity (with a super hot guy, may I add), will she take it? Adrian Easton is the most popular guy in school; the bad boy that girls swoon over and guys want to be friends with, but Fiona pays no mind to him- she thinks he’s bad news. When he suddenly finds himself and his family moving into the house directly beside Fiona’s; he finds an interest in his… unique new neighbor; an interest that’ll lead them both to a few traumatic experiences, feisty arguments, perverted jokes, childish pranks, funny moments, and maybe even a romantic interest. But 'That's Just The Beginning.'

School of Magical Arts: New York City Campus Novellas 1-3 (The Coven)


Chandelle LaVaun - 2020
    

Golden Filly Collection Two


Lauraine Snelling - 1995
    With Tricia as jockey and her father as trainer, the two have big dreams of winning the Triple Crown. Tricia has other pressures, too, like declining grades, a strained relationship with her mother, and the constant worry about her father's failing health. But Tricia's faith in God always gives her the strength to push her limits. Collection Two includes Shadow Over San Mateo, Out of the Mist, Second Win, Close Call, and The Winner's Circle.

The Secret Science of Magic


Melissa Keil - 2017
    But there are some things no amount of genius can prepare you for, and the messiness of real life is one of them. When everything she knows is falling apart, how can she crack the puzzle of what to do with her life? Joshua spends his time honing magic tricks and planning how to win Sophia’s heart. But when your best trick is making schoolwork disappear, how do you possibly romance a genius? In life and love, timing is everything.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes


Chris Crutcher - 1993
    When they were children, his weight and her scars made them both outcasts. Now Sarah Byrnes—the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known—sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she’s hiding before its dark current pulls them both under. Will appeal to fans of Marieke Nijkamp, Andrew Smith, and John Corey Whaley.

Hell Pig (Dawn of Mammals Book 3)


Lou Cadle - 2016
    A team of teen scientists... A desperate fight to survive... In book 3 of Dawn of Mammals, an emotionally devastated Hannah and the survivors leap forward to the end of the Eocene, a time when dozens of dangerous predators roamed North America. A family of Hell Pigs, entelodonts sporting massive jaws filled with bone-crushing teeth, stalk the humans. Armed with only spears and clubs, can the teenagers fight off this deadly predator? (Dawn of Mammals is a series that should be read in order for the best reading experience.)

Bad Kitty


Michele Jaffe - 2006
    5 One second she's trying to enjoy her Vegas Vacation, 6 the next she's tangled up in an outrageous adventure and has to outwit a crazed killer before he ends ten lives, one of them her own. 1 Hi! That's me!2 I. Wish.3 Emphasis on aspiring. Current status: failing.4 If friend means "unsuspecting victim" and animals means "one very bad kitty."5 And meet the cute guy at the Snack Hut. I have priorities.6 Meep! But I guess it winds up okay since Kirkus Reviews says: "Inventive, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, with an enjoyably twisty ending." They wouldn't say that if everyone died, right? Right?

Home to Woefield


Susan Juby - 2011
    But the bank is about to foreclose, so Prudence must turn things around fast! Fortunately she'll have help from Earl, her banjo-playing foreman with a family secret; Seth, the neighbor who hasn't left the house since a high school scandal; and Sara Spratt, an eleven-year-old who's looking for a home for her prize-winning chickens.Home to Woefield is about learning how to take on a challenge, face your fears, and find friendship in the most unlikely of places.

The First Horse I See


Sally M. Keehn - 1999
    Her grandfather warns her: don't fall in love with the first horse that you see. But Willo does--with Tess, a feisty ex-racehorse who has been mistreated by her former owners. Despite her father's doubts, Willo is convinces she can tame her. She has her trainer, Diana, and Diana's handsome and horse-smart son wants to help. But in the end, it comes down to Willo. . . . Can she handle the wild Tess alone? "Fast-moving and complex. Willo is a resilient and believable heroine with whom readers will empathize."--SLJ, starred review

Dear Charlie


N.D. Gomes - 2016
    But it did. Thanks to my brother, death made fourteen new friends that day. Maybe even fifteen, if you count Charlie.At sixteen, Sam Macmillan is supposed to be thinking about girls, homework and his upcoming application to music college, not picking up the pieces after the school shooting that his brother Charlie committed.Yet as Sam desperately tries to hang on to the memories he has of his brother, the media storm surrounding their family threatens to destroy everything. And Sam has to question all he thought he knew about life, death, right and wrong.