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Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory. Aki already knows she’s bisexual—even if, until now, it’s mostly been in the hypothetical sense. Aki has dated only guys so far, and her best friend, Lori, is the only person who knows she likes girls, too.

Actually, Aki’s theory is that she’s got only one shot at living an interesting life—and that means it’s time for her to actually do something. So when Aki and Lori set off on a church youth-group trip to a small Mexican town for the summer and Aki meets Christa it seems her theory is prime for the testing.

But it’s not going to be easy. For one thing, how exactly do two girls have sex, anyway? And more important, how can you tell if you’re in love?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Racism
Lesbomisia
Bimisia
Poverty themes
Death of a relative in combat

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school, she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily.

Linda Hairston is the daughter of one of the town’s most vocal opponents of school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races should be kept separate but equal.

Forced to work together on a school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race, power and how they really feel about one another.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism (theme)
Internalised lesbomisia
Child abuse
Bullying

Pulp by Robin Talley

Pulp by Robin Talley

In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Homomisia
Transmisia
Outing mentioned
Suicide
Murder mentioned
Car accident mentioned

Harley Quinn: Break Glass by Mariko Tamaki

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Steve Pugh

Harleen is a tough, outspoken, rebellious kid who lives in a ramshackle apartment above a karaoke cabaret owned by a drag queen named MAMA. Ever since Harleen’s parents split, MAMA has been her only family. When the cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that’s taking over the neighborhood, Harleen gets mad.

When Harleen decides to turn her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join Ivy, who’s campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or join The Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Gentrification
Explosions
Fire

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It’s their getaway, their refuge. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It’s a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slut-shaming
Attempted suicide
Miscarriage

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

This is the curious instruction that comes with the Eye of Know, the possibly powerful crystal amulet that Montgomery Sole buys online for $5.99. It’s also the next topic of discussion at Mystery Club (members: Monty and her two best friends, Thomas and Naoki), dedicated to the exploration of the strange and unexplained.

When Monty wears the Eye of Know, strange things happen, all targeted at people she despises. Maybe it will help Monty take down her newest enemy, a preacher who has come to save her town from so-called sinners—sinners like Monty’s moms. Or will its mysterious powers mean the end of the friendships Monty cherishes most?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Sexual assault

Skim by Mariko Tamaki

Skim by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

“Skim” is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth who goes to a private girls’ school. When Skim’s classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. As concerned guidance counselors provide lectures on the “cycle of grief,” and the popular clique starts a new club (Girls Celebrate Life!) to bolster school spirit, Skim sinks into an ever-deepening depression.

And falling in love only makes things worse…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Sexual harassment (groping)
Teacher-student relationship
Suicide
Grief & loss depiction (theme)
Death of a boyfriend

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

The day they got together was the best one of Freddy’s life, but nothing’s made sense since. Laura Dean is popular, funny, and SO CUTE … but she can be really thoughtless, even mean. Their on-again, off-again relationship has Freddy’s head spinning — and Freddy’s friends can’t understand why she keeps going back.

When Freddy consults the services of a local mystic, the mysterious Seek-Her, she isn’t thrilled with the advice she receives. But something’s got to give: Freddy’s heart is breaking in slow motion, and she may be about to lose her very best friend as well as her last shred of self-respect. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnist Anna Vice, to help her through being a teenager in love.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Statutory rape mentioned
Toxic relationship (theme)
Cheating (on- & off-page)
Adult-minor relationship discussed*
Alcohol consumption
Unwanted teen pregnancy
Abortion (off-page)
Hospital
Emesis
Bullying mentioned

*Note: Sexual relationship between a seventeen-year-old girl and a older married man.

Calling My Name by Liara Tamani

Calling My Name by Liara Tamani

This unforgettable novel tells a universal coming-of-age story about Taja Brown, a young African American girl growing up in Houston, Texas, and deftly and beautifully explores the universal struggles of growing up, battling family expectations, discovering a sense of self, and finding a unique voice and purpose.

Told in fifty-three short, episodic, moving, and iridescent chapters, Calling My Name follows Taja on her journey from middle school to high school.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Alcohol consumption mentioned
Recreational drug use (smoking) mentioned

All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani

All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani

From the moment Carli and Rex first locked eyes on a Texas high school basketball court, they both knew it was destiny. But can you truly love someone else if you don’t love yourself? Acclaimed author Liara Tamani’s luminous second novel explores love, family, heartbreak, betrayal, and the power of healing, in gorgeous prose that will appeal to readers of Nicola Yoon and Jacqueline Woodson.

A glance was all it took. That kind of connection, the immediate and raw understanding of another person, just doesn’t come along very often. And as rising stars on their Texas high schools’ respective basketball teams, destined for bright futures in college and beyond, it seems like a match made in heaven. But Carli and Rex have secrets. As do their families.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Cheating
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent