Guilt in Teen Fiction

As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds

• Pub Date: 2016
• Middle school interest
• Diversity: African-American characters
• See also in Children's: Intergenerational, Divorce, Research, Words, Forbidden Places
• See also in Teen: Extended Family 
• I wrote about it: Author Spotlight: Jason Reynolds 
• Genie feels guilty about accidentally killing one of his grandfather's birds. Genie's grandfather feels guilty about Genie's uncle's death.

The Day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde

• Pub Date: 2008
• High school interest
• See also: Suicide 
• Theresa blames herself when her neighbor commits suicide after she used him to make her boyfriend jealous.

Right Behind You by Gail Giles

• Pub Date: 2007
• High school interest
• See also: Secrets, Stepparents 
• Kip committed a horrible crime as a child and must change his name and keep it a secret to move on with his life.

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

Green deals with survivor's guilt when her family is killed in a tragedy and she is left alone.

Bang by Barry Lyga

• Pub Date: 2017
• High School Interest
• See also: Food/Cooking, Blogs/Social Media, Suicide 
• A teen deals with the guilt from a childhood gun accident that killed his sister. 

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

• Pub Date: 2017
• High School interest
• See also: Grief/Loss, Writers 
• A teen loses his three best friends in an accident he may or may not have had a role in. 

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

• Pub Date: 2016
• High School Interest
• See also: Grief/Loss 
• A teen grieves the death of his sister and comes to terms with his role in her death. 

A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant

• Pub Date: 2006
• Middle and High school interest
• See also: Historical, Writers
• Meg makes a joke about pirates before a friend leaves on a journey, and she feels guilty when he is indeed captured by pirates. 

American Panda by Gloria Chao

• Pub Date: 2018
• High school interest
• See also: Mothers & Daughters, Making Decisions, Forbidden Romance, Secrets, Siblings
• Mei feels guilty for all the ways she disappoints her strict parents.

What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee

• Pub Date: 2018
• High school interest
• See also: Grief, Suicide
• Will grieves his father's death by suicide  and feels guilty over their final interaction.