Willow is a thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA novel that wrestles with the tough topics of self-harming, grief, and the healing power of love. When I first met the wonderful character of Willow, I immediately fell in love with her. She’s an orphan with terrible secrets. Guilt. Pain. Numbness. And love.

Find your next great read by exploring my reviews of these YA books if you loved Willow as much as I did.

1. The Cutting Edge of Friendship

“Sometimes my inside hurts so bad that I need to make the outside hurt worse so the inside will stop. ~ Sadie” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Cutting Edge of Friendship

Sadie and Elana are keeping dangerous secrets.

Best friends since elementary school, they know everything about each other, but on the night of the fireworks, something terrible happened to Sadie that she hasn’t told anyone. She can’t even say the word to herself. Instead, she’s started cutting to deal with the pain.

Elana has a secret of her own; she’s texting Hunter and making plans for a clandestine meeting with him. She doesn’t know what he did or why he really wants to keep their relationship secret.

To end this dangerous cat-and-mouse game, Sadie must reclaim her courage and rescue Elana before a rapist can attack again.

If you loved Willow, you won’t want to miss this thrilling story about the complicated nature of friendship, cutting, and the aftermath of sexual assault.

2. Girl in Pieces

“People should know about us. Girls who write their pain on their bodies. ~Louisa”
― Kathleen Glasgow, quote from Girl in Pieces

This wonderful novel about self-harm was the kind of story that kept pulling me away to a quiet room to curl up with a cup of tea and a lamp until I finished. I had to know what was going to happen to Charlie. I had to know whether or not she was going to be okay in the end. Because although she seemed to be making progress, this guy in her life wasn't a good choice for her. And then her friend from the hospital shows up, and she doesn't seem to be a good direction either. And if you've ever known addiction or seen someone struggling with recovery from anything, you know that the line is so easy to cross.

For Charlie, crossing the line might have devastating consequences because she has her tender kit, and it's full of glass. It's not tender but slashes and cuts.

So I read and worried and loved this young girl, who was so alone and hungry and living on the edge. I wanted someone to help her. Someone good.

Like Julia Huban’s Willow, Charlie and her story will stay with me for a long while.

3. Scars

“Other times, I look at my scars and see something else: a girl who was trying to cope with something horrible that she should never have had to live through at all. My scars show pain and suffering, but they also show my will to survive. They're part of my history that'll always be there.” – Cheryl Rainfield

Wow! What a powerful, thrilling, emotional, heartbreaking book. Scars packs a real punch, touching on multiple tough topics, including cutting, sexual abuse, and relationships. Kendra was raped at a very young age by a man whose face she cannot remember. The story opens with her in therapy with a counselor who is helping her to cope with the painful memories that have started to surface, but the plot accelerates quickly as Kendra feels her abuser is stalking her. She copes with her pain through self-harming and also in her art, which is both beautiful and darkly disturbing. Descriptions of her art in this book are very vivid.

The revelation of her abuser is a shock and a non-shock, and I was rooting for her to confront him and find a path to justice and healing. Scars is a great read if your looking for a YA book about self-harm and cutting.

4. By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

Daelyn is going to kill herself in 23 days.

A website named Through the Light provides support to wanna-be suicide “completers” like Daelyn, and she spends a lot of free time there. Counting down the days.

Then she meets a boy. She tries to ignore him, but he’s pushy. Persistent. Charming, even.

But is he charming enough to keep her from going through the light when the countdown ends?

This raw book is a fast read. It’s not easy, happy, or hopeful, but it’s an authentic and real look at depression and suicide.

What about you? Do you have any recommendations about self-harming to add to my list? If you enjoyed Willow, are there other similar books you loved?

Khristina Chess is the author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Goodreads and on Twitter.