Eating disorders can show themselves in more than one form. Sometimes it takes the form of starvation. Sometimes it is eating in excess that leads to obesity. Two books that talk about eating disorders are Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler and Butter by Erin Jade Lange. Hunger has our protagonist wasting away as her fear of food grows. Kessler has created a fantasy world where hunger and famine offer a form of control. On the other hand, Butter is about a young man who has chosen to stand up to the bullying by creating a website where he is going to publicly eat himself to death. The count down has begun, and it brings big changes for everyone involved.
Sexual activity presents itself in a very casual way in Young Adult literature. The young reader needs to be discerning and realize that casual sex can have life changing consequences. One book that addresses those life changing consequences is Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High. This book is written in verse and follows the choices of a young teenage girl as she faces pregnancy.
Another topic that isn't very often addressed in association with teens is mental illness. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven covers more than one tough topic as we see mental illness, depression, and suicide all in the same book. This book is wonderfully written. It shows how mental illness can be written off as a personality quirk. It also shows what torment a young person can be experiencing as they want to be normal, but are incapable of what the crowd calls normal.
The final book I'll mention today is Shards by Allison Moore. Shards is the true story of a young police officer that gets caught up in the drug world. The author does not hold back as she describes how drugs and the irresistible cravings can destroy a life and steal a dream. Read this book with a word of caution that there is some adult graphic content.