Looking for an unforgettable collection of books you’ll love if you enjoyed Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow? As an award-winning author and veteran blogger for YA books, I’ve spent over a decade analyzing and recommending the most emotionally honest stories about difficult topics, such as self-harm and mental illness.
You’ll find detailed reviews of many favorites in the roundup below. These characters, their stories, their strength, and their scars are beautiful and inspiring. A couple of the books include eating disorders as well, which is more of an inadvertent method of self-harm that can also have devastating and lifelong consequences for young adults. If you loved Girl in Pieces as much as I did, I know you’ll love these novels.
The Cutting Edge of Friendship by Khristina Chess
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Self-harm, trauma, and friendship
What It’s About
Two best friends hide dangerous secrets—one about sexual assault and self-harm, and the other unknowingly walking into the predator’s trap.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Sometimes my inside hurts so bad that I need to make the outside hurt worse so the inside will stop.” ― Khristina Chess, from The Cutting Edge of Friendship
Absolutely gripping! For readers drawn to the emotional and physical scars of Kathleen Glasgow’s popular Girl in Pieces, The Cutting Edge of Friendship is for you. This realistic novel explores the wounds of self-harm, shame, and redemption following a sexual assault. Sadie’s resilience is fierce and unforgettable, and the book’s raw, unfiltered pain hits hard. This story doesn’t shy away from the truth—it reveals, with painful honesty, how self-harm can become a desperate response to trauma.
From the very first page, it’s clear that although Sadie and Elana have always shared everything, now they’re keeping secrets that could destroy them. On the night of the fireworks, something terrible happened to Sadie—something she can’t even name. Instead, she turns to cutting, the only way she knows to cope.
But Elana has secrets too. She’s been texting Hunter, making plans to meet in secret, and never questioning why he insists on hiding their relationship.
As their lives spiral deeper into danger, Sadie must find the strength to fight back—not just for herself, but for Elana—before a predator can strike again.
I wholeheartedly recommend this poignant YA book about friendship and the trust involved in sharing our truest selves. If Girl in Pieces left you breathless, The Cutting Edge of Friendship is an absolute must-read. In fact, don’t miss Khristina Chess’s other novels about self harm through eating disorders, such as The Delinquent Hero and Hollow Beauty. This author is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she tackles so many tough topics with heart.
Willow by Julia Hoban
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Self-harm, trauma, and family relationships
What It’s About
A teen girl becomes an orphan after a tragic accident, and self-harm becomes her coping method.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“It's hard to keep a secret when it's written all over your body.” ― Julia Hoban, quote from Willow
In this complex novel about self-harming and grief, I met the wonderful character of Willow. She is an orphan with terrible secrets. Guilt. Pain. Numbness. And love.
I can’t speak about whether or not Willow suffers from a deep self-harming mental illness, or if she’s simply a teenager who doesn’t know how to deal with the terrible things that happened in her life. Cutting seems like an answer. She feels alone and sad. At any rate, the book felt emotional and honest to me. I loved reading her story and connecting with her pain as she journeyed to wholeness.
If you loved Girl in Pieces as much as I did, be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book that wrestles with cutting, grief, and the healing power of love.
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Self-harm, trauma, and family relationships
What It’s About
After her brother’s best friend sexually assaults her in her own bedroom, a girl descends into self-destructive drinking and other behaviors to cope with the trauma and secret she’s keeping.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“No, can’t cry. Because there’s nothing to cry about. Because it was just a dream. A bad dream. A nightmare. Not real. Not real. Not real. That’s what I keep thinking: NotRealNotRealNotReal. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Like a mantra. Like a prayer.”― Amber Smith from The Way I Used to Be
Fourteen-year-old Eden was raped by her brother’s best friend. In her own room. In her own bed.
Instead of telling anyone, she internalizes the trauma and begins a multi-year downward spiral of acting out, drinking, taking drugs, losing friends, and sleeping around. She’s no longer the “good girl” she used to be.
This book shows how a young girl can stay silent about rape for years, why it can be so hard to tell someone, and what it’s like to try to survive in silence.
The Way I Used to Be is an emotional YA novel about rape that can be hard to read because Eden’s pain makes her an unlikable character at times, but this story is worthwhile. If you loved Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, don’t miss this one.
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Mental health and resilience
What It’s About
A compelling novel about an anxious girl with OCD who finds her tribe.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Everyone's got something. Some people are just better actors than others.” ― Tamara Ireland Stone, quote from Every Last Word
I loved everything about this book. Sam is a flawed character with a story to share. Although on the surface she looks like a typical teenager with the normal set of diverse friends and interests, she is something else. She has a secret, OCD, which she hides from everyone.
Watching her new friendships and romantic relationship with AJ develop was compelling, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the plot twists along the way. The poetry is awesome! Everything about Sam's world felt very vivid and rich--Poet's Corner, the swimming pool, Sue's office... The Odometer! There is so much depth to this novel. What a satisfying read all around.
Readers who loved Girl in Pieces also liked this one, and I can see how they’re rated as similar. It’s about having the secret life.
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Self-harm, trauma, and recovery
What It’s About
An emotional and heartbreaking novel about a self-harming girl who was raped at a very young age and now feels the man is stalking her again.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“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, quote from Scars
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 both 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 you’re looking for books like Girl in Pieces.
Hollow Beauty by Khristina Chess
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Self-harm & self-esteem
What It’s About
Prom should be magic, but when her date tells her to lose weight, Olivia’s quest for perfection pulls her into a toxic spiral of extreme dieting and exercising - until one boy helps her see herself clearly again.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“I’d always called my body ‘athletic.’ Words like ‘stocky’ and ‘muscular’ described my figure. I was the fastest girl on the track and cross country teams. Muscular, stocky girls weren’t beautiful, though. Skinny girls were. Girls like Erica Miller.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Hollow Beauty
If you’ve ever suffered the pain of unkind criticism, Hollow Beauty is for you. This authentic YA novel explores the slippery slope of pro-ana culture and the brutal consequences of chasing perfection. What makes Hollow Beauty special is the realistic portrayal of how Olivia falls into the self-esteem trap of trying to change herself for someone else. I loved seeing her journey and choices as the events escalated toward the story’s climax.
The story starts with a casual criticism from a cute boy: maybe you could use the next two months before prom to lose some weight.
That’s right. When tall, gorgeous Brody asks Olivia to prom, she’s ecstatic—until he suggests that she go on a diet!
What starts as a few skipped meals spirals into a dangerous obsession—hours spent scrolling pro-ana and thinspo forums, tracking calories like a lifeline, and watching the number on the scale plummet. The more weight she sheds, the more she disappears.
Ross, the new prep cook at the diner, sees her differently. He doesn’t suffer the same suffocating self-doubt, and the only time Olivia feels like herself is when she’s riding dirt bikes and cave-hunting with him. But with Brody, romance feels more like devour or be devoured.
She’s almost perfect for prom. Almost thin enough.
Until the unthinkable happens.
I highly recommend this thought-provoking YA novel about self-harm through eating disorders. It shines a harsh but necessary light on the world of anorexia and excessive exercise. Worth the read! Fans of Girl in Pieces will love this one.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
why It’s Like girl in pieces
Trauma & resilience
What It’s About
A hypnotic, disorienting story about lifelong friends and a secret that threatens all of them.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars
What an unexpected and beautiful story about friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!
I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with it. By the end it made me cry. This YA book about friendship is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.
If you’re looking for books similar to Girl in Pieces that have troubled narrators and deep friendships, pick this one up. It’s a whirlwind read. In fact, E. Lockhart is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!
How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
why It’s Like Girl in Pieces
Another heartfelt story about resilience by author, Kathleen Glasgow
What It’s About
A deeply moving story about a girl whose mother dies suddenly, leaving her adrift in the foster care system.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“You are carrying so many heavy feelings. There just isn’t enough room for them all.“ ― Kathleen Glasgow from How to Make Friends with the Dark
After Tiger Tolliver's mom dies of a brain aneurysm, she becomes a ward of the state, an orphan, suddenly faced with an uncertain future. She doesn't have any living relatives. She doesn't know anything about her father. It's just her and her mom--and now just her. A minor.
What Tiger begins to learn is that her mom kept some important secrets from her. For example, she has a living dad. And a sister.
This YA novel about death and dying is a real tear jerker! Tiger strikes me a sheltered girl with little real life experience; on the day her mom died, she was kissing a boy for the first time. She wasn't prepared for the events that followed as she entered the system. Yet, despite her tragic circumstances, she makes a path for herself. She makes mistakes but doesn't fall off a cliff. She keeps people at a cautious distance, but she does make friends and finds a way to build a new family for herself.
If you loved The Fault in Our Stars as much as I did, be sure to check out this thought-provoking and heartbreaking YA book that wrestles with grief and loss.
Other YA Books Similar to Girl in Pieces
If you are looking other books similar to Girl in Pieces, check out the Books Similar to Girl in Pieces list on Goodreads, YA Self-Harm and Cutting Fiction (25 books), and Books about Cutting Yourself (78 Books) on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.
In a recent interview from her alma mater, she described how her experience in the creative writing program prepared her for success.
