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A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abwai

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abwai

In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future.

In the wake of destruction, he’s threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq’s family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey.

But while this is one family’s story, it is also the timeless tale of all wars, of all tragedy, and of all strife. When you are a refugee, success is outliving your loss.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape (mentioned)
Grief depiction and death of a parent, child and sibling
Murder and bombings
Drowning
War themes

Junk Boy by Tony Abbott

Junk Boy by Tony Abbott

Junk. That’s what the kids at school call Bobby Lang, mostly because his rundown house looks like a junkyard, but also because they want to put him down. Trying desperately to live under the radar at school—and at the home he shares with his angry, neglectful father—Bobby develops a sort of proud loneliness. The only buffer between him and the uncaring world is his love of the long, wooded trail between school and home.

Life grinds along quietly and hopelessly for Bobby until he meets Rachel. Rachel is an artist who sees him in a way no one ever has. Maybe it’s because she has her own kind of junk, and a parent who hates what Rachel is: gay. Together the two embark on journeys to clean up the messes that fill their lives, searching against all odds for hope and redemption.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Parental abuse
Alcoholism
Suicidal ideation

The Project by Courtney Summers

The Project by Courtney Summers

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying—and failing—to prove it.

When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its leader, Lev Warren and as Lo delves deeper into The Project… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Abandonment
Disfigurmisia
Child abuse & neglect recounted
Emotional abuse & gaslighting
Cheating
Trauma & panic attacks
Nightmares
Hallucinations mentioned
Suicide by train, on-page
Suicidal ideation mentioned
Pregnancy & pregnancy complications, on-page
Traumatic premature childbirth, on-page
Blood depiction
Physical injuries including graphic burns, comas, broken bones and facial scars
Hospitalisation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father in a car accident, off-page
Death of a guardian mentioned
Death of a sister by drowning, off-page
Death of a mother in a fire mentioned
Death of a son discussed
Murder
Torture, on-page
Disappearance of a sibling
Car accident, on- & off-page
Blackmail mentioned
Cults (theme)
Homelessness mentioned
Mentions of stalking & harassment

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Suicide attempt, on-page
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries, specifically gunshot wounds
Nonconsensual hospitalisation
Medical experiementation
Death of a mentor
Murder
Gun violence

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic

Neil Josten is out of time. He knew when he came to PSU he wouldn’t survive the year, but with his death right around the corner he’s got more reasons than ever to live.

Befriending the Foxes was inadvisable. Kissing one is unthinkable. Neil should know better than to get involved with anyone this close to the end, but Andrew’s never been the easiest person to walk away from. If they both say it doesn’t mean anything, maybe Neil won’t regret losing it, but the one person Neil can’t lie to is himself.

He’s got promises to keep and a team to get to championships if he can just outrun Riko a little longer, but Riko’s not the only monster in Neil’s life. The truth might get them all killed—or be Neil’s one shot at getting out of this alive.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

The Foxes are a fractured mess, but their latest disaster might be the miracle they’ve always needed to come together as a team. The one person standing in their way is Andrew, and the only one who can break through his personal barriers is Neil.

Except Andrew doesn’t give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don’t have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil’s fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.

Neil’s days are numbered, but he’s learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won’t believe in himself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He’s short, he’s fast, he’s got a ton of potential—and he’s the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher.

Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn’t need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed.

But Neil’s not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil’s new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can’t walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he’s finally found someone and something worth fighting for.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Parental abandonment
Suicide, on-page
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Blood & gore depiction
Body horror (theme)
Human experimentation
Physical injuries, including loss of limb & eyeball trauma
Needles
Hospital
Emesis
Nonconensualmedical treatment
Starvation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Death of a father
Death of a friend
Murder & attempted mass murder
Gun violence
Knife violence & stabbing
Hanging
Bombing mentioned
Kidnapping & captivity
Disappearance of a loved one
Chemical gassing
Animal death & dead bodies
Animal illness
Animal hunting
Death by an animal attack

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

Raffy has a passion for bedazzling. Not just bedazzling, but sewing, stitching, draping, pattern making–for creation. He’s always chosen his art over everything–and everyone–else and is determined to make his mark at this year’s biggest cosplay competition. If he can wow there, it could lead to sponsorship, then art school, and finally earning real respect for his work. There’s only one small problem… Raffy’s ex-boyfriend, Luca, is his main competition.

Raffy tried to make it work with Luca. They almost made the perfect team last year after serendipitously meeting in the rhinestone aisle at the local craft store–or at least Raffy thought they did… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Bimisia
Coming out themes
Outing
Emotional abuse
Anxiety & anxiety attacks

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Summer of Salt by Kartina Leno book cover

A magic passed down through generations . . . Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

An island where strange things happen . . . No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask. No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Slut-shaming
Victim-blaming
Rape, off-page
Alcohol consumption
Childbirth & pregnancy mentioned
Physical illness
Emesis
Hospitals
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father
Attempted murder
Physical assault
Gun violence
Animal cruelty & death, off-page