Books like Freaks and revelations by Davida Hurwin

Ari, a fifteen‑year‑old Mexican‑American with a brother in prison, meets Dante and a friendship sparks that forces him to confront his identity, family, and sexuality.

Jeannette Walls' memoir chronicles her turbulent childhood in a dysfunctional, itinerant family, detailing poverty, alcoholism, and homelessness across the United States as she seeks stability and personal growth.

Eighteen‑year‑old Susanna Kaysen is admitted to McLean Hospital in 1967, where she documents life in the psychiatric ward, exploring mental illness, recovery, and the cultural landscape of the late 1960s.

Dave Eggers' 2000 memoir chronicles his struggles and resilience after the cancer-related deaths of his parents, as he assumes responsibility for his younger brother and confronts the challenges of growing up alone.

High school junior Kristina’s life spirals when an illicit drug called crank enters her world, forcing her to confront addiction, family turmoil, and the threat of pregnancy in a harsh teenage reality.

A luminous twins’ story of love, loss, and family that follows Jude and Noah from carefree adolescence to a painful rift, as each seeks healing and a return to one another.

A memoir of a woman who overcomes a strict survivalist Mormon upbringing in rural Idaho to pursue higher education, ultimately earning a PhD in history at Cambridge.

Augusten Burroughs recounts his turbulent adolescence spent in a decaying Victorian home run by a psychiatrist, where ordinary rites of childhood give way to a surreal blend of family eccentricity, escape from school, and the early years of a future author.

A teenage boy grapples with his mother's terminal cancer and brother's suicide in a dysfunctional family setting.

James McBride’s memoir chronicles his upbringing among twelve siblings in Brooklyn’s Red Hook, revealing his mother’s hidden Jewish heritage and their shared journey of race, identity, and faith.

In the Gulf‑swamp town of Leechfield, Texas, a group of oil workers called the Liars’ Club spin tall tales, while a young woman confronts her family’s hidden past, unmasking lies that threaten her sanity.

Two Boys Kissing tells the true story of seventeen‑year‑old Harry and Craig as they attempt a 32‑hour kissing marathon to break a Guinness World Record, while other teens grapple with love, identity, and belonging.

A 12‑year‑old boy named Moose relocates to Alcatraz Island in 1935 with his family, where the guards’ families live in the prison’s residential quarters. He must navigate the island’s unique setting while caring for his autistic sister.

During his last summer before college, Dade Hamilton wrestles with job insecurity, a secretive boyfriend, and family turmoil, until a chance meeting with Alex Kincaid sparks love and self‑acceptance, setting him on a path of coming out and new beginnings.

Carlos Duarte, a 16‑year‑old aspiring make‑up artist, must navigate a jealous boss, an abusive boyfriend, and a crush on a punk‑rocker while chasing his dreams in a high‑school setting.

A poignant story of a love that transcends loss and confusion after the September 11 terrorist attacks, set in D.C. and centered on two young men trying to navigate the post-9/11 world while finding love with each other.

Jaya, a 17‑year‑old transgender Gujarati youth, and 16‑year‑old Rasa, who lives with a domineering mother, form an unlikely bond when they meet on a mountain in Hau’ula, Hawaii, exploring themes of love, family and identity.

"With candor and humor, a manic-depressive Iranian-American Muslim woman chronicles her experiences with both clinical and cultural bipolarity. Melody Moezzi was born to Persian parents at the height of the Islamic Revolution and raised amid a vibrant, loving, and gossipy Iranian diaspora in the American heartland. When at eighteen, she began battling a severe physical illness, her community stepped up, filling her hospital rooms with roses, lilies, and hyacinths. But when she attempted suicide and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there were no flowers. Despite several stays in psychiatric hospitals, bombarded with tranquilizers, mood-stabilizers, and antipsychotics, she was encouraged to keep her illness a secret-by both her family and an increasingly callous and indifferent medical establishment. Refusing to be ashamed, Moezzi became an outspoken advocate, determined to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness and reclaim her life along the way. Both an irreverent memoir and a rousing call to action, Haldol and Hyacinths is the moving story of a woman who refused to become torn across cultural and social lines. Moezzi reports from the front lines of the no-man's land between sickness and sanity, and the Midwest and the Middle East. A powerful, funny, and poignant narrative told through a unique and fascinating cultural lens, Haldol and Hyacinths is a tribute to the healing power of hope, humor, and acceptance"-- "Iranian-American activist Melody Moezzi speaks out on behalf of the mentally ill with a bracingly funny and poignant tale of her own suicide attempt, bipolar disorder diagnosis, and reclamation of her life"--

Thirteen‑year‑old Toby, a die‑hard Pittsburgh Pirates fan and baseball‑card collector, battles family chaos as his brother falls into drug use, his father is absent, and his mother dates a quirky local food king.

Naomi's Mexican grandmother and younger brother flee Mexico to find her father.

Seventeen‑year‑old Billy Bloom, a drag queen, vows to win Homecoming Queen at his elite private school near Fort Lauderdale after a brutal attack and loss of his best friend push him toward a bold, self‑assertive comeback.

A tender, powerful story of a teenage girl battling abuse and longing for a forbidden love, set within a family plagued by dysfunction and violence, while she seeks hope and self‑respect.

A richly plotted novel that explores the lives of 25‑year‑olds shaped by anti‑anxiety medication and modern communication, offering a keen look at paramedic work, anxiety disorders, and contemporary young‑adult experiences.