Self-Help Books For Teens

• Self-help books offer key insight, advice, and guidance to improve the overall well-being and achieve personal growth.
• Self-help books represent a safe space for teens to overcome their fears and struggles without being judged.
• When choosing a self-help book, ensure the topics and issues the book covers are suitable for teens and their needs.

As we grow up and hit our adolescent years, we start to crave more independence while we begin our journey of self-discovery. During this time, we face many new challenges that affect our future, physical and mental health, and overall well-being. Some of the challenges that teens might face during this time of self-discovery can be confusing and hard.

This is why guidance through these rough patches is crucial in order to choose the right path. But talking about these topics to parents or other parental figures can be difficult, and for many teens, embarrassing. This is where books about self-help come in handy.

Through these books, teens can receive the needed information to educate themselves with the proper knowledge instead of filling up with false facts from the internet.

Join us to learn more about the most popular self-help books for teenagers and discover what book you might need.

The Importance Of Self-Help Books

Self-help books are just that – books that offer advice, guidance, or tutorials on ways to improve oneself or overcome some of the many challenges in life. These books deal with specific issues, and the goal is to resolve a particular problem. Considering that not all age groups can fit into one, we can find books for general self-improvement and books that specialize in teenage problems.

Self-help books for teens focus on common teen issues like social anxiety, body image problems, sexual orientation, mental health, low self-esteem, etc. They are important because they promote self-awareness, offer encouragement to take on new interests and responsibilities, help develop effective coping mechanisms and decision-making skills, etc.

Self-help books are also a safe space for teens to reflect without the fear of being judged or misunderstood. Diving into these books allows teenagers the freedom to explore parts of themselves in a neutral environment. This leads to a better understanding of the physical and emotional needs of the individual and inspires them to take on positive actions.

Top 20 Self-Help Books For Teenagers

After thorough research, we picked the top 20 most popular and effective books that address vital and common teen issues. The books we recommend are some of the best self-help books for depression and anxiety.

Just as You Are: A Teen’s Guide to Self-Acceptance & Lasting Self-Esteem by Michelle Skeen PsyD, Kelly Skeen

The main topic addressed is self-esteem problems, putting the focus on how a teen can overcome this. Written by two top psychologists, it offers tips on getting rid of negative self-criticism and moving past the faults. It’s a great book that promotes self-acceptance and helps teens discover what really matters to them.

The book focuses on overcoming the feeling of unworthiness and explores new ways to deal with emotions and thoughts. It’s considered one of the best self-esteem books for teens offering tips on how to build a plan for the future. It’s also among the top books for time management. 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers by Sean Covey

An adaptation from the New York Times bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, it represents a manual that provides teens with the needed tools to reach their goals and dreams.

This book helps teens figure out what they really want to achieve in life and offers them the necessities to reach the top. The book’s main purpose is to help improve self-esteem and maintain a positive mindset. It also includes real stories from teens with whom readers can relate.

I Would, but MY DAMN MIND Won’t Let Me: A Guide for Teen Girls: How to Understand and Control Your Thoughts and Feelings by Jacqui Letran

It’s a rare jewel covering numerous topics and issues teens face in the modern world. This includes social media pressure, stress, lack of happiness, etc. Written by an experienced author, this award-winning guide teaches the reader how to take control of emotions and create a positive state of mind.

I Would, but MY DAMN MIND Won’t Let Me is a teenage girls’ guide that offers step-by-step instructions to overcome difficult challenges. This is one of the best self-help motivational books because it also offers tips on ways to maintain control of your thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

The famous Austrian psychologist explains how having meaning in life can help overcome many struggles. Many consider this book a helpful tool to keep their head above water.

Man’s Search For Meaning is considered to be one of the best-selling self-help books of all time. It gives readers a chance to see things from a different perspective by reading about Frankl’s own life experiences.

The Body Image Book for Girls: Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless by Charlotte Markey 

One of the most popular self-help books for teen girls, it covers a topic that has become a significant problem in the modern world. Dr.Charlotte Markey, a psychology professor, discusses how body-image problems and the frustration of young girls with their bodies lead to depression and eating disorders.

This is a very serious problem girls face, especially during the teenage and adolescent years. Here the reader can find a lot of information on puberty, mental health, and how to deal with the images of the perfect supermodels we see daily on social media. Read about the real-life stories of girls going through and facing the same struggles.

Social Skills for Teens: How to Build Self-Esteem, Confidence, and Become Your Best Self by Discover Press

It’s a book that targets introverts who struggle to adjust to social situations and experience a lack of friendship. Social Skills for Teens is meant for young adults who can’t overcome the feeling of loneliness. It touches on the burning problems of modern living, where we have more friends on social media but none in real life.

Social Skills for Teens is one of the best self-help books on social anxiety for teenagers that help teenagers become more confident and connected to other people. It contains detailed exercises on widening the social circle and becoming an expert in calmly dealing with any social situation. Considered to be one of the top-rated public speaking books, it’s one of the must-read books.

Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens by Leslie Sokol and Marci Fox

It’s a helpful tool that contains many effective exercises and skills to get rid of that self-doubt and learn to replace them with confidence and a positive mindset. Written by two leaders in the CBT field, this is one of the top teen self-esteem books containing different kinds of activities to help build more self-confidence.

Using the exercises and following the guides, the individual can increase their self-esteem and erase the negative self-image they created for themselves.

The Trans Teen Survival Guide by Fox Fisher and Owl Fisher

Many teens struggle with the issue of being trans, and now they finally have a tool to help them overcome the situation. Fox and Owl offer tons of fact-checked information, advice, and tips to better understand and deal with life as a trans teen in today’s society.

Growing up as a teen in general is not easy, but being a trans teen opens up a lot of painful issues that these youngsters face daily. This trans-teen survival guide sheds the light on dealing with the issues and offers advice on coming out to friends and loved ones.

It also offers valuable knowledge from experienced people on growing up as a trans. Read everything from funny stories to life-changing advice and guidance on how to deal with more severe issues.

The Teenager’s Guide to Life, The Universe and Being Awesome: Super-Charge Your Life by Andy Cope

From the author of the bestselling book The Art of Being a Brilliant Teenager, this self-help book for teens is written to remind teens of their worth. Its purpose is to encourage them to reach out for better things.

The focus is on discovering what teens want to achieve in life and the kind of person they want to become. The author aims to encourage teens to think ahead and plan their future.

How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls by Donna Dale Carnegie

Among the best self-help relationship books, it focuses on maintaining and straightening relationships with people around us. The goal is to teach teens how to develop, maintain and utilize these relationships, become successful leaders and better friends.

Written by the bestselling author Dale Carnegie, this book is a guide for teenagers on communicating effectively and navigating any social situation.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

It may not be a step-by-step guide, but this book still represents valuable insight into the author’s deep personal life stories. It talks about the author’s experience with sexual assault and the effects of speaking about it. It covers many sensitive issues, like consent, the importance of speaking out, and supporting people with the courage to speak out.

Shout is an excellent book presenting the truth about the failures of our society. It’s a great reading for teens interested in activism and social justice. The book allows them to see things from another perspective as well as inspires them to take action.

Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens by Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Rising Troublemaker focuses on the individual differences, encouraging teens to embrace them and become their unique selves. What makes this book one of the best motivational self-help books is the fact that it promotes bravery, boldness, and honesty.

It’s a manual on reaching the life you want by just being yourself and embracing all of your smooth and sharp edges.

The Manual to Manhood: How to Cook the Perfect Steak, Change a Tire, Impress a Girl & 97 Other Skills You Need to Survive by Jonathan Catherman Conclusion

The manual to manhood is an inspiring book for men. It is considered one of the best self-help books for teen boys who, as they grow, need new social skills. Jonathan Catherman provides young teens with numerous step-by-step instructions to deal with the new changes.

The teenage years are a confusing time for boys. That’s why this is an excellent reading that covers topics from self-hygiene and professional and financial advice. It also offers tips from sporting activities to social skills and practical abilities, all of which help boys become more confident individuals in society.

YAY! You’re GAY! Now What? By Riyadh Khalaf

YAY! You’re GAY! Now what? focuses on discovering the personal sexual orientation and embracing the change happening inside. A go-to guide, it gives readers advice on everything they need to know on their journey. The author included stories from personal experience and inspiring stories from gay boys from all over the world.

It’s a useful tool that helps better understand labels and ways to deal with bullies and homophobia. The author covers the topic of self-love and offers advice on how to prepare to come out to close friends and family.

Shoot Your Shot: A Sport-Inspired Guide To Living Your Best Life by Vernon Brundage Jr.

Vernon Brundage uses this book to cover the steps of achieving great success as an athlete. Shoot Your Shot uses examples from many successful basketball athletes and elaborates on how to use their stories to reach your personal success.

This is one of the best self-help books that actually works because it contains some of the most important principles that successful basketball players apply to their lives. It gives the tools to reach the desired success. Shoot Your Shot helps individuals navigate life and realize dreams regardless of age, gender, or social standing.

The Ultimate Self-Esteem Workbook for Teens by Megan MacCutcheon 

The main focus here is overcoming the many challenges in a young adolescent life that add stress and fear. It promotes positivity and confidence. The Ultimate Self-Esteem Workbook for Teens is one of the greatest self-esteem books for teens that contains advice and activities that can help eliminate self-doubt and negative thinking.

The reader can find more than 50 exercises and many true stories from teens who are going through the same thing. Some of the activities include quizzes, journal pages, and checklists to help set up goals and to figure out strengths.

The Teen Girl’s Survival Guide: 10 Tips for Making Friends, Avoiding Drama, and Coping with Social Stress by Lucie Hemmen 

The Teen Girl’s Survival Guide focuses on the importance of female relationships and how this impacts every girl’s life. This teen girls’ guide offers young girls tips on maintaining healthy female friendships and learning who they are as a friend.

Use many of the given exercises and quizzes to help find a place in the friend group. The purpose is to help figure out who we are as an individual first. The guide also offers tips on learning to love oneself and to expand social connections.

The One-Minute Gratitude Journal for Teens: Simple Journal to Increase Gratitude and Happiness by Brenda Nathan

A self-help journal intended to help us appreciate what we have in life and, through that, accept ourselves as we are. The journal contains empty pages where the reader can write, draw, and discover beautiful new things every day.

The journal emphasizes gratitude as a source of many benefits. It encourages relaxation which later leads to better mental, physical, and spiritual health.

Badass Black Girl: Quotes, Questions and Affirmations for teens by MJ Fievre

This book is a fantastic source of affirmations from many females of color. Read about their extraordinary achievements in entertainment, STEM, politics, law, literature, and more. The goal is to boost the reader’s self-esteem, help them learn more about themselves, and increase their confidence.

It covers many everyday topics and issues that women of color have to face, promotes authenticity, and celebrates who we are. Let the book help explore many parts of our identity that help us to accept and love ourselves.

Totally Me: The teenage Girl’s survival Guide by Sandy Rideout and Yvonne Collins

A teenage girl’s survival guide offering advice on ways to relax and live stress-free while achieving many goals in life. The reader can start by changing their relationship with themselves first. Collins puts the focus on building confidence and tackling everyday issues.

Totally Me is a teenage girls’ guide on relationships, friendship, and dealing with certain expectations. The reader can take the available quizzes themselves or with a friend to help bring their relationship to another level.

How To Choose The Best Self-Help Books For Teens

When choosing the best self-help book for teenagers, it is important to consider their needs and the struggles they are facing. Find a book that is best suitable and appropriate for that particular moment. To facilitate the decision, consider the following:

• The writing style of the book – look for a book that is easy to read and has a friendly tone while also providing relatable examples and stories.
• Check the credentials of the author – anybody can write and put it on the market. When looking for a self-help book for teens, make sure that the author is a professional in the relevant field.
• Ensure the book matches the teen’s interests – teens usually don’t like to read. When choosing a book, keep in mind their interests and hobbies so they can easily relate to and accept the book.
• Check the rating scores – No matter how attractive the main idea of the book is, it is always best to check and see how others are satisfied with the experience.

Final Words 

Reading self-help books is a useful practice for any individual. When it comes to teenagers, we need to pay close attention to ensure they are getting the right information. These books help teenagers navigate and manage the challenges of their adolescent lives and help them grow as a person.

Reading books on self-improvement and development offers teens a deeper knowledge of new beneficial skills they can apply in every stage and part of their life. Because these books cover different topics and issues, choose the most suitable book for the teen’s needs.

Never hesitate to consult a professional for advice. As parents, we can often get lost in the need to help our teens stay on the right path. That’s why consulting with a professional can help. Carefully consider the instructions and advice before making the final decision. Choosing the right self-help book is very important since it will influence how a teen starts managing life.

FAQs

1) What books should I read for self-development?

We can recommend The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers by Sean Covey and The Ultimate Self-Esteem Workbook for Teens as popular choices for self-improvement and development, offering a different perspective. However, in most cases the choice will depend on the issue the teen is struggling with.

2) How can I make my children start reading books?

Children usually tend to copy what they see, so a good place to start is by setting a good example. Try reading more often in front of your children, and make sure to have some fun and interesting books around at all times. You can even ask them to read together which is also great for bonding with your child.

3) What are the most purchased self-help books in 2023?

Just as You Are and Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens are self-help books for teenagers that are in high demand.

4) Is it worth investing time and money in self-help books?

Yes, self-help books offer valuable advice, insights, and perspectives that help you to overcome many obstacles, improve your mental health, and develop useful skills. Investing time and money in these books is also an investment in the future. Make sure to choose a book that is best suitable for your needs.