A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas. It is a story that proves that nothing is impossible. If you are one of those people who believe that some things are impossible, you should put this book down right away. It is most certainly not for you.
Because this book is FULL of impossible things. Are you still reading? Good. Then let us begin . . .

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Death of a mother from an animal attack (bear)
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Goldie Vance, Volume 3 by Hope Larson

Goldie Vance, Vol. 3 by Hope Larson, Jackie Ball and illustrated by Noah Hayes

Sixteen-year-old Marigold “Goldie” Vance has an insatiable curiosity with dreams of one day becoming a detective. Luckily, she lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place, and with a rotating roster of guests and events, there’s bound to be some mystery afoot! With the Prescription One race in town, Goldie and her biggest rival, Sugar Maple, find themselves in an unlikely alliance to find who is sabotaging the drivers before the big event.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Car accident
  • Explosion
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We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco. Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted. Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps. In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Misogyny
  • Hate crimes
  • Death of a friend
  • Fire
  • Imprisonment
  • Internment camps
  • War themes
  • Poverty themes
  • Animal death, on-page
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Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees–until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Panic attack
  • Bullying
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And They Lived by Steven Salvatore

And They Lived . . . by Steven Salvatore

Chase Arthur is a budding animator and hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he’s plagued with the belief that he’s not enough for anyone: he’s recovering from an eating disorder and suffers from body dysmorphia fueled by his father, and can’t quite figure out his gender identity. When Chase starts his freshman year of college, he has to navigate being away from home and missing his sister, finding his squad, and contending with his ex-best friend Leila who is gunning for the same exclusive mentorship. If only he can pull together a short for the freshman animation showcase at the end… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Misgendering
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Emesis & purging
  • Alcohol consumption
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Bright World by Stan Stanley

Bright World by Stan Stanley

Amparo’s deal with the talking cat was simple: a drop of blood and Amparo’s name to become a better person. Their mother and abuela would never worry about them again, and they’d finally be worthy of dating straight-A student Iolanthe. But when the cat steals their body, becoming the better person they were promised, Amparo’s spirit is imprisoned in a land of terrifying, flesh-hungry creatures known as Bright… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Misgendering
  • Nonconsensual surgery
  • Amputation (hands)
  • Murder

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho

No woman gets left behind. Three best friends are going to solve their relationship woes once and for all. Forty-something Jemima’s life is on track – well, sort of. All she has to do is muster the courage to bat her niggly ex away for good. Twenty-something Meagan is in the midst of her five-phase plan and is nearly ready for phase three – a relationship. While thirty-something Simi has had more it’s not yous than any I dos. Deciding it’s time to play the dating game by their own rules, they’re going to ditch the dating apps and ask people out in real life. The catch? They’re play… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Stalking

The Weddings by Alexander Chee

The Weddings by Alexander Chee

For Jack Cho, a fortysomething gay man, being able to marry someone he loves is so unfamiliar it’s terrifying. Then a wedding invitation from a college friend brings about a collision with those fears—and his own secret history. Jack and his new boyfriend, Caleb, are attending the wedding of Jack’s estranged straight friend Scott. No sooner do the guests start to mingle than questions arise about relationships, tradition, Jack’s feelings for the groom, and what’s at stake as he navigates daunting territory, both new and old.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

Twelve-year-old Fee is a shy Korean American boy and a newly named section leader of the first sopranos in his local boys’ choir. But when Fee learns how the director treats his section leaders, he is so ashamed he says nothing of the abuse, not even when Peter, his best friend, is in line to be next. When the director is arrested, Fee tries to forgive himself for his silence. But when Peter takes his own life, Fee blames only himself. In the years that follow he slowly builds a new life, teaching near his hometown. There he meets a young student who is the picture of Peter and is forced to confront the past he believed was gone.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisic slurs
  • Paedophilia, including child pornography
  • Suicide by gun
  • Self-immolation
  • Self-harm
  • Black Death pandemic
  • Death of a grandparents
  • Murder
  • Arson

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Lilliet Berne is a sensation of the Paris Opera, a legendary soprano with every accolade except an original role, every singer’s chance at immortality. When one is finally offered to her, she realizes with alarm that the libretto is based on a hidden piece of her past. Only four could have betrayed her: one is dead, one loves her, one wants to own her. And one, she hopes, never thinks of her at all.  As she mines her memories for clues, she recalls her life as an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept up into the glitzy, gritty world of Second Empire Paris. In order to survive, she transformed herself from… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape