Read Your Mind
Read Your Mind: Exploring Mental Health in Teen Books
Read Your Mind is a virtual series focusing on teen mental health & wellness. Featuring YA authors and community health experts, we hope to explore complex and common health concerns through the vehicle of Teen books.
All Read Your Mind sessions:
- take place live on Zoom;
- focus on a particular and unique youth mental health topic;
- feature authors of fiction and nonfiction books for teens;
- feature a community support partner with expertise in the mental health topics covered in each book;
- will leave time for anonymous audience Q&A;
- are intended for teenagers and adults who work with teens;
- will be recorded and made available for future viewing.
For information on upcoming events, please see the calendar listings to the right. We will be adding more events as the year continues, so check back soon!
The Read Your Mind series is brought to you by a partnership between the Portland Public Teen Library, the Lewiston Public Teen Library, Print: A Bookstore, and many local community partners who work with young people. Visit Print Bookstore if you would like to purchase any of the books featured in this series.
Questions about this series can be sent to hchance@lewistonmaine.gov.
Previous events:
- February 23, 2022: Maia Kobabe & Shelby Criswell
In February we hosted authors Maia Kobabe and Shelby Criswell to discuss how queerness & gender identity impact teen mental health, through the lens of their graphic novels Gender Queer and Queer As All Get Out. Maia and Shelby were interviewed by youth from our community guest organization MaineTransNet.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our YouTube page. -
April 28th, 2021: Lisa Allen-Agostini & I.W. Gregorio
In April we hosted authors Lisa Allen-Agostini & I.W. Gregorio to discuss how racism & differing cultural perceptions of mental health affect teens and young adults. Our community partner for this event was Gateway Community Services and the authors were interviewed by local Lewiston youth ZamZam Elmoge of the GenZ Project.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our YouTube page.
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March 31st, 2021: The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake
In March we hosted author Julia Drake in discussion with Lewiston Youth Advisory Council chair Hope Rubito to talk about self-harm behaviors, the influence of guilt and loss, and honest portrayals of hospitalization experiences. Our community partner for this is event was NAMI Maine.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our YouTube page.
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February 24th, 2021: Adib Khorram, Mark Oshiro, & Julian Winters
In February we hosted authors Adib Khorram, Mark Oshiro & Julian Winters to discuss how the intersection of masculinity, queerness, and racial and cultural identity impact teen mental health. Our community guest was Maine Boys to Men.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our YouTube page.
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January 27th, 2021: You Are Enough by Jen Petro-Roy
January’s featured book was You Are Enough: Your Guide to Body Image and Eating Disorder Recovery by Jen Petro-Roy. Jen was interviewed by fellow YA author Kim Savage. Our community guest was nutritionist Amy Taylor-Grimm.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our YouTube page.
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November 25th, 2020: The Stepping Off Place by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum
November’s featured book was The Stepping Off Place by Maine author Cameron Rosenblum. Cameron was interviewed by fellow Maine YA author Gillian French. Community guests were The Center for Grieving Children and The Yellow Tulip Project.Watch the recorded broadcast of this event on our Youtube page.