Looking for an unforgettable collection of addiction and recovery novels like The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow? As an award-winning author and veteran blogger, I’ve spent over a decade analyzing and recommending the most impactful YA novels that reveal the complexities of addiction and recovery from alcohol abuse.
You’ll find detailed reviews of many of my favorites in the roundup below. I’m confident you’ll find something new to read for Alcohol Awareness Month or National Substance Abuse Prediction Month.
Drive to June by Khristina Chess
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Alcohol abuse and grief
What It’s About
After sixteen months of quiet self-destruction, a girl drowning in grief and addiction is thrown a lifeline by an unexpected stranger—if she’s brave enough to take it.
Why I Love It - Review
“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” Ian said. ― Khristina Chess from Drive to June.
What kind of girl drinks after a drunk driver kills her mom?
Sixteen months ago, Adrianna lost her mother. Since then, she’s been drowning her grief—one bottle at a time. With her father always away and her sister off at college, no one notices she’s slowly draining the wine collection and numbing herself to an awful secret she can’t face.
Now, she can’t quit.
Then one evening, a pizza delivery boy finds her crying on the roof of her house and offers to teach her how to drive—and somehow, that changes everything.
Wow—what a ride! Drive to June grabs you from the start and never lets go. It’s more than a story about alcohol abuse—it’s funny, romantic, and deeply emotional, unraveling the truth of grief, healing, and unexpected love. Adrianna and Ian’s chemistry is undeniable, and their growing connection makes this novel dreamy, raw, and unforgettable.
If you enjoy YA novels about addiction and recovery, like The Glass Girl, this is your next must-read. In fact, Khristina Chess 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!
The First True Thing by Claire Needell
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Recovery from alcohol abuse
What It’s About
A teen girl works through a recovery program as well as a mystery
Why I Love It - Review
“People sometimes go with their instincts. They have sympathy. They care about people. I think Martin learned something when he messed up. Like now he really knows he wants to be here. Like he actually knows why he’s here and what this Group is really for.” ― Claire Needell from The First True Thing
The First True Thing is both a mystery and a book about a teen working through the hard parts of recovery.
The mystery is that Marcelle’s friend Hannah is missing, and Marcelle was the last person to hear from her. What happened? What should she do? And if she tells the truth, the whole truth, what does that mean for her friends?
Working through this dilemma is part of her recovery because lying, hiding, hanging out with people who aren't good for her are all behaviors associated with her drinking.
Books about people in recovery can be hard to read. Addiction and drug abuse makes people choose the wrong thing, and Marcelle does that before she chooses the right thing. Therapy and group can seem dull or even frustrating. However, the ending of her story was satisfying to me because she grew and made the positive steps she needed to make. I felt she was on a good track by the end.
If you loved The Glass Girl as much as I did, The First True Thing is definitely worth a look.
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Amazing book by Kathleen Glasgow!!!
What it’s about
A complex and bestselling novel about a girl working through recovery and the setbacks she experiences along the way.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“People should know about us. Girls who write their pain on their bodies.” ― Kathleen Glasgow from Girl in Pieces
This wonderful novel about self-harm was the kind of story that kept pulling me away to a quiet room to curl up with a cup of tea and a lamp until I finished. I had to know what was going to happen to Charlie. I had to know whether or not she was going to be okay in the end. Because although she seemed to be making progress, this guy in her life wasn't a good choice for her. And then her friend from the hospital shows up, and she doesn't seem to be a good direction either. And if you've ever known addiction or seen someone struggling with recovery from anything, you know that the line is so easy to cross.
For Charlie, crossing the line might have devastating consequences because she has her tender kit, and it's full of glass. It's not tender but slashes and cuts.
So I read and worried and loved this young girl, who was so alone and hungry and living on the edge. I wanted someone to help her. Someone good.
This YA book about self-harming and cutting―and this girl―will stay with me for a long while.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Alcohol abuse and consequences
What It’s About
A teen girl dies in a drunk driving accident and must relive her last day in this YA version of Groundhog Day with a twist.
Why I Love It - Review
“The last laugh, the last cup of coffee, the last sunset, the last time you jump through a sprinkler, or eat an ice-cream cone, or stick your tongue out to catch a snowflake. You just don’t know.” ― Lauren Oliver from Before I Fall
Samantha Kingston is dead.
In this YA-version of Groundhog Day, a “mean girl” gets a chance to relive her last day and the party she attended with her friends before the fatal car crash. She has an opportunity to make the same choices over and over, until she makes different ones.
This beautiful novel is a mystery about redemption. Samantha’s character arc really blew me away, and although I disliked her in the beginning, I was cheering for her by the end, and I love the way Lauren Oliver wrote the ending.
If you loved The Glass Girl and are looking for an atypical book about the consequences of teen drinking, Before I Fall is worth a look.
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Alcohol abuse and consequences
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 - 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 bestselling 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 a poignant YA book about alcohol abuse and sexual assault that can be hard to read because Eden’s pain makes her an unlikeable character at times, but this story is worthwhile. Fans of The Glass Girl are sure to enjoy this one.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Why it’s like The Glass Girl
Alcohol abuse and grief
What It’s About
A quiet boy at boarding school meets a charismatic girl, then loses her.
Why I Love It - Review
“There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to sea by the undertow-that, in short, we are all going.” ― John Green from Looking for Alaska
A quiet boy at boarding school meets a charismatic girl, then loses her.
Miles Halter goes away to boarding school, where he makes new friends, takes up drinking and smoking, breaks some rules, and meets a hot girl named Alaska Young. She’s the ringleader of the merry group’s adventures. She’s the one who can get alcohol and cigarettes.
She’s a bit wild.
Then one night while they’re all partying, she receives a phone call and takes off in her car. She never returns.
For a cautionary tale about alcohol and drug abuse, this award-winning story is a must-read.
Other YA Books Like The Glass Girl
For more YA books similar to The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow, might be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens.
Author Bio
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.
