TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five books tackling difficult subjects

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

If you've read any YA, you'll know that a lot of it deals with extremely difficult topics. Sometimes the books tear your heart out and stomp all over it with their intensity, but sometimes they deal with the subject in an inspirational and hopeful way.
These five books tackle their subjects wonderfully, and I can't recommend them more highly.

5) 'Playlist For The Dead' by Michelle Falkoff

I hated 'Playlist for the Dead' when I read it last year, but I actually really appreciated the way it handled teen suicide - it's one of the only books that doesn't glamourise it and shows exactly how the actions of one desperate person can effect all of the people that they know and love.

4) 'Beautiful Broken Things' by Sara Barnard

I flew through 'Beautiful Broken Things' when I read it last month because Sara Barnard has a real skill with writing and it's impossible to put the thing down. Dealing with domestic abuse and depression, it handles both in a very sensitive way, but it also deals with the question all of us face at one point - what am I doing with my life?

3) 'Crank' by Ellen Hopkins

'Crank' deals with cocaine addiction and teen pregnancy, and is written entirely in prose. Do I need to say more to sell you on this book?!

2) 'Before I Die' by Jenny Downham

If you haven't heard of 'Before I Die', I don't know what rock you've been living under. Telling the story of Tessa, a 16 year old battling cancer, and her attempt to complete her bucket list before her death, this is the original (and better) 'The Fault In Our Stars' - it's soul-destroying. 

1) 'Wintergirls' by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dealing with anorexia, 'Wintergirls' is a wonderful piece of writing. I read it so long ago that I can hardly remember anything about it (apart from how much I loved it) so I've actually just reserved it at my local library again - I can't wait to rediscover Laurie Halse Anderson's writing. 

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! Are there any hard books that you absolutely love?