Navigating the teen years and finding your place in the world can be difficult, but when you have a disability it can be harder to be seen for who you really are. This selection of fiction and graphic novels features characters living with disabilities or chronic illnesses as they face moving to a new school, getting a huge crush on someone in their class, solving murders, and even the end of the world.
This list is loosely ordered from ‘light’ to ‘gritty’ reads. A Christchurch City Libraries’ list.
A story for younger teens packed with mystery, humour, and friendship. When Aven Green’s family move to Arizona to work at the rundown Stagecoach Pass theme park, she knows she’ll have to answer the question “what happened to your arms?”…
“Three friends, two love stories, one convention.” Vlogger and indie actress Charlie is heading to SupaCon to promote her first film, while ignoring her awful ex-boyfriend and co-star Reese, and crushing on the YouTube-famous actress…
Sixteen year old Peta Lyre has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder/ADHD/Sensory Processing Disorder, and the world isn’t designed for the way her mind works. She is told if she follows her therapist's social training ‘rules’, she…
American teen Martin goes with his mum and sister to live in the land of croissants, coffee and love: France! Martin, who is on the autism spectrum, is obsessed with cooking and books, and falls in love with a French girl who he thinks is…
Isabel has rheumatoid arthritis and has sworn off dating. Then she meets a gorgeous guy called Sasha, who is another ‘sick kid’. Diagnosed with Gaucher disease, he understands her more than anyone, even more than her doctor father. This…
Set in the DC universe, this graphic novel follows the story of Barbara Gordon after a paralysing gunshot wound leaves her in a wheelchair. Sent to the Arkham Center for Independence to recover, Barbara struggles to adjust to her new life.…
This heartfelt novel by Paralympian Josh Sundquist follows the life of sixteen-year-old blind teen Will Porter. He has a lot going on in his life: he’s starting at a new school, making new friends, developing a crush on a girl in his…
Like many other teens she knows, Vanni had plans to flee her small hometown in New Mexico as soon as she could. Those plans are thrown out the window when her father is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. Living at home and caring for her…
Two teens with cystic fibrosis fall in love, but can’t get within five feet of each other without risking their lives. Stella wants to get better and be in control. Will just wants to get out of the hospital and live his life. Can you love…
Written in verse, “A Time to Dance” tells the story of ambitious and spirited teenager Veda, who is a prodigy in Bharatanatyam, an ancient Indian dance form. When she loses one of her legs in an accident, her dancing career seems to be…
"Unbroken" is an Own Voices anthology of short stories revolving around protagonists with various disabilities. With a wide range of genres from futuristic sci-fi and supernatural thriller to contemporary romance and historical fiction,…
When an office party reconnects 26 year-old Tsugumi with her high school crush Itsuki, she’s not surprised to learn he’s achieved his goal of becoming an architect. However, she’s shocked to discover that he now uses a wheelchair after an…
Written through a series of letters to her absent brother Rudy, autistic 17-year-old Erin documents the mishaps she encounters as she nears the end of high school, gets a new job, goes for her driving test and much more. This coming of age…
Sixteen-year-old Brynn is struggling to cope after the death of her brother, her first real girlfriend has broken up with her, and her parents are driving her up the wall. This is enough to make anyone fall behind at school, but Brynn also…
Mega-corp owner Nicholas Grant takes over Britain with an army of clone soldiers. Some of the only people not killed or herded into mass prisons are a ragtag bunch of teenagers – the Underdogs – many from Oakenfold Special School. Join…
The apocalypse is coming – what do you do? This short story anthology is a dynamic collection of tales about how characters with disabilities face the end of the world; from forming an all-girl band, to selling art supplies, to fighting…
For Ria, diving seems to be the only thing she thrives at. She struggles at school largely because of her ADHD. Ria is on track for the Olympics, pushed on by her controlling coach Benny, when an accident at a big competition changes…
When Kalyn returns to her small hometown, she must hide her true name from the residents who won’t forget the crime her father committed there. She gains a new best friend in Gus, who was born with cerebral palsy. They bond over their…
In this haunting page-turner, Stephanie Oakes spins a poetic mystery of cults and murder. Seventeen-year-old Minnow has lost everything to the Kevinian cult: twelve years of her life, her family, and her ability to trust. When she…
In an alternate version of Ireland, every teenager is at some point “called” to the fae land of the Sídhe, where they must survive 24 hours of being hunted by vicious, horrific monsters. Few return alive, but Nessa is determined to be one…
