Looking for an unforgettable collection of powerful YA novels about abuse and relationship violence? As an award-winning author and veteran blogger about issue-driven YA fiction, I know how powerful stories can open conversations about difficult topics, such as emotional abuse, possessiveness, and physical abuse in dating relationships.
You’ll find detailed reviews of many of my favorites in the roundup below. These must-read novels can be helpful for someone struggling to understand what an abusive relationship looks like or to help someone else who needs help coming to terms with an escalating and dangerous love relationship. Stories have power. Fiction can remind us that we’re not alone, that others have walked similar paths, and that healing is possible.
So discover your next great read for Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in the list below. Be warned! They portray characters whose romantic relationships escalate with extreme possessiveness, jealousy, manipulation, emotional and psychological abuse, and even physical assault.
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess
Abuse themes
Emotional & physical abuse
What it’s about
A seductive and chilling thriller about a runaway teen, drawn into an intoxicating relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
Why I Love It - Book Review
“He kissed me again and again, and I began bargaining once more with the wind. I vowed to do better and try harder to keep this Quentin who loved me and kept me safe. The Quentin who I loved. Who loved me. Who didn’t treat me badly. Sex was the one place where he was always himself. His very best self. “― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing
Wow! Readers who love the intense chemistry and unsettling seduction of a dark romance won’t be able to put Junior Missing down. What makes Junior Missing so special is the slow-boil depiction of how Grace’s forbidden attraction turns into a trap set by an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
The story starts as sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world with a bright future, is missing. At first, police assume she ran away. But when they find her abandoned phone along the highway, the truth becomes far more terrifying.
No one knows about Quentin Brock—the musician she met online. He’s charming, funny, and perfect.
Until he isn’t. Until she’s trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
If you’re looking for a powerful YA book about abuse and relationship violence—both physical and psychological—I recommend this mesmerizing, authentic novel that depicts how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in a toxic relationship. Junior Missing will stay with you after the final page. Worth the read!
In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Abuse themes
Emotional & physical abuse
What it’s about
A powerful story about a teen girl who falls for possessive and physically violent boyfriend after her sister runs away.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Sometimes, it was just a little rough: a blocking bruise. Other times, a hard foul. And if things were really bad—full contact.” ― Sarah Dessen, quote from Dreamland
I've read a couple Sarah Dessen books that were "okay," but wow, this one really, really grabbed me!
It starts when Caitlin's sister, Cass, runs away. I knew the story was about relationship abuse, and I was expecting the runaway sister Cass to be with a bad guy, but no. After she disappears, Caitlin falls for a guy named Rogerson who ends up being the abusive one. Caitlin's downward spiral is emotional, realistic, and heartbreaking. From the first time Rogerson hits her, I kept waiting for someone to intervene or for her to wake up, but it went on and on until the climactic moment when something had to shatter.
I felt really bad for Caitlin. She seemed invisible to everyone who supposedly loved her. She was hiding her pain in front of everyone. And people she loved kept leaving her: first her sister Cass and then her new friend Corinna.
If you like the tough topics and want to explore YA books about dating violence and abuse, Dreamland is great read.
The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
“I feel like I don't have all the ingredients a person is supposed to have.” ― Jane Hamilton from The Book of Ruth
I first read this novel when it became an Oprah's Book Club pick (a long time ago), and because I remember loving it, I decided to choose it for re-reading. It's funny how a person's taste in books changes over time. This time, I wasn't sure I liked it at all, but by the end, I saw why this book meant so much to me.
Ruth tells the story. From the beginning, she lets the reader know that she's trying to clarify something that happened, and to do that, she goes for a long time on tangents that don't seem to matter that much. It felt slow, but I kept going on the journey with her. A few times, I even went back to re-read that opening paragraph, where Ruth assures me that there's a point to all of this.
Ruth is poor. She lives with a mother who is poor and bitter about her life. Ruth meets and marries Ruby, who is "off", but who Ruth understands and appreciates. There are several other characters in the story who support and love Ruth: her aunt Sid, her boss at the dry cleaning store, her friend Daisy. Ruth shows us a world that is hard but not without beauty. She shows us the good that exists in all people, even in small portions, as well as the bad that's also there in all of us.
I stayed up late finishing the book. Readers searching for books about the slow unraveling of relationship and domestic violence will enjoy Ruth's story.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Abuse themes
Psychological (grooming) & physical
What it’s about
A 15-year-old girl in a private boarding school is groomed into a multi-year sexual relationship with a middle-aged teacher.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“To be groomed is to be loved and handled like a precious, delicate thing.” ― Kate Elizabeth Russell from My Dark Vanessa
What a deeply disturbing book. I wondered what made 15-year-old Vanessa so malleable to Strane's grooming and manipulation. It seemed like more than just being a lonely kid in search of approval. Her confusion about what was happening in the early days of the relationship was clear. Did she imagine that? Was it real? And then, the first sexual encounter with them was so horrible. Even in that moment of being raped, she was confused and tried to explain what was happening to her.
It was sad that the adult Vanessa was so messed up. She couldn't break free of him and what he did to her. She even seemed bent on repeating the cycle with another teacher, and I'm not sure I really believe the hopeful notes at the end of the story. I'm not sure Vanessa will ever recover from Strane.
Also, I was confused about what actually happened with the other girls. Was she really the only one who was raped, or was that just something she told herself?
The psychological elements of this novel reminded me of The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison.
I know this review is all over the place, but it's a fitting reflection of this book.
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy
Abuse themes
Psychological abuse
What it’s about
A sad story about a girl from a bad home who falls in love for the worst kind of guy, and she is pulled into a crime with him.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“But in remembering, and in telling them what they needed to know, that golden feeling I’d had with Dee came back over me—the feeling of being a kind of temple for him. I was someone who worshipped him and understood him, in all the ways he needed and deserved. I could feel them hating me, thinking I was wrong, but they’d never had Dee’s hands on them, never felt him as completely as I had.” ― Terra Elan McVoy, quote from Criminal
This book was so absorbing I read the whole thing on a Saturday afternoon. I couldn't put it down.
It's a sad story about a girl from a bad home who falls in love for the worst kind of guy, and she is pulled into a crime with him. How far will she go to protect him? Why?
I loved Nikki's character. I loved how blind she is by her obsession with Dee. She’s honest, not particularly likeable, but real. Her mother was terrible, and Nikki found friendship and safety for herself with Bird. It was no wonder that she found herself in this bad relationship with Dee. Her world is tragic, but she is strong and makes good choices, even if they're really, really late.
Criminal is not a YA book about abuse and relationship violence in the sense that Dee physically harms Nikki. Rather, it is the escalating nature of the psychological manipulation in the relationship which creates the harm.
The Girl Who Fell by S. M. Parker
Abuse themes
Possessiveness & control
What it’s about
A hypnotic novel that shows how a girl can lose herself in a dating relationship that she believes is love.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Still, there’s a rumbling in the pit of my stomach telling me I’m missing out on something. Something I wouldn’t have missed for all the world before Alec.” ― S.M. Parker, quote from The Girl Who Fell
In this hypnotic story, Zephyr Doyle falls in love with the wrong boy. Only, he seems like the perfect boy. A boy she's willing to give up everything for: friends, her hockey team, even her future. He's saccharine sweet, but a bit jealous. Creepy. But she can't see his emotional abuse for what it is until it's too late.
I really enjoyed this one and read it quickly. Although I guessed the relationship was doomed (surely?!), I couldn't tell how it would fall apart and was surprised by the twists at the end. Creepy behavior just escalated into more and more aggressive awfulness. It shows how a person can lose herself in a dating relationship that she believes is love.
This is an important YA novel about abuse and relationship violence.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Abuse themes
Physical & emotional abuse
What it’s about
An epic story about a young girl growing up in a remote homestead in Alaska in the 1970s with a father who is an unstable and abusive Vietnam veteran and former POW.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Love and fear. The most destructive forces on earth. Fear had turned her inside out, love had made her stupid.” ― Kristin Hannah from The Great Alone
Leni is 13 when her parents decide to relocate to Alaska. It’s 1974. She’s used to moving around a lot and not fitting in, so her expectations about this place aren’t very high, either. Children of all ages share the same schoolhouse, and there is one other kid her age. A boy, Matthew Walker. They become fast friends.
Alaska is beautiful and beautiful. Although the new homestead is wonderful at first, the descent of winter and darkness brings out her father’s abuse. A former POW from the Vietnam war, he is now a violent, alcoholic, and paranoid man whose rage targets his fragile wife.
So many good and terrible things happen in this sweeping novel. Leni is a compelling character, and in fact, there is a whole cast of interesting people in Alaska who care for one another. Survival depends on community in this wild land.
If you like reading tough topics and want to explore YA books about domestic abuse and violence, The Great Alone is a fabulous and important read.
How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis
I love Mindy McGinnis' books. She has been a longtime favorite author. She’s amazing!
However, How Girls Are Made is such a radical departure from her work. I did not like this at all and could not stick it out. Instead of this one, I highly recommend that you check out The Female of the Species and Heroine by this author.
However, if you’re looking for books that address themes of dating violence and bullying, this novel includes those themes.
BONUS: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Abuse themes
Healing & recovery
What it’s about
A toxic love triangle in which a woman in a violent relationship reconnects with a high school love.
Why I Love It - Book Review
It Ends with Us is not a YA novel about abuse and relationship violence; it is an adult romance novel about this topic.
Lily grew up watching her mother suffer from domestic violence, and after meeting the perfect guy, Rile, she finds herself sliding into the exact same pattern of violence.
This book is gut-wrenching. I did not want it to end (and in fact, there is a sequel). No wonder Colleen Hoover is a multi-bestselling author! The story between Lily and Ryle is heartbreaking and real, and there is a love triangle thing between the present and the past, between Lily and Atlas and Lily and Ryle, and this adult romance book is just so, so, so good.
Other YA Books about Abuse and Relationship Violence
If you are looking other YA books about abuse and relationship violence, check out the YA Dating Violence list and Abusive Relationships in YA Fiction list on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens, including teen runaways and sexual assault.
Author Bio
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of more than a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Her novel about eating disorders, Hollow Beauty, was named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, dystopian, and adventure.
In a recent interview from her alma mater, she described how her experience in the creative writing program prepared her for success.
