I don't know if these match your criteria, but here are some books/series I enjoyed.
Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer
Damn, I can't really think of any right now, but when I think of some more, I'll post.
How do you feel about fantasy/sci-fi?
Have you ever tried reading Lovecraft? His works usually focus heavily on sanity, but as an older author (1900-1920), I find him hard to read sometimes.