Best Anxiety Representation

Like many of my other lists, I didn’t realize this representation existed before I stumbled across it in Blade of Secrets. I found Ziva, the main character, with social anxiety, very relatable. The representation was well done, it hindered the character’s ability to complete their quest, but it wasn’t something to be conquered or solved, it was a reality to be dealt with. After that, I went in search of other books with strong anxiety representation, and these are a few of my favorites.

Blade of Secrets (Bladesmith #1) by Tricia Levenseller

I was here for all of it. Being in Ziva’s head as a young woman encountering her first attraction to a boy, but with the addition of social anxiety, just made every moment more special. She knew what she liked (not people) and she thought she had herself figured out (though with very little outside world experience), it really just made this coming of age adventure pop so much more.

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

Malik’s character was not the usual strength and power of a YA male lead. He was quiet and compassionate and struggled with his anxiety and panic attacks. He was thrust from obscurity into the limelight of a game of champions, the most unsuspecting hero.

The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither

Compelling characters, a mysterious magical world on the verge of big change, two characters trying to stay away from each other but drawn together like magnets. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

A story of dangerous court politics, fealty, responsibility and love, A Taste of Gold and Iron holds so many complex and interwoven emotions and feelings. The characters of Kadou and Evemer both dive right in the heart of all of them. This is a story of intense self-reflection and inner dialogue, and the anxiety representation for Kadou was one of the best I’ve read. Even Evemer, the stoic, restrained guard deals with a heavy dose of social anxiety and the space that he takes up.