Phoenix by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Harper’s life just exploded. Her parents are getting a divorce. And she suspects her best friend, Cat, may have known the reason for it long before she did. Now Harper and her mom are starting over in a cramped house, in a new town, where everything feels unfamiliar, including the riding barn next door. There, Harper watches the kids she avoids at her new school take lessons. Harper’s never been around horses before. And no, she does not want to learn to ride. Then with no warning, a truck dumps a starved and neglected horse right in Harper’s yard. She has no idea… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parental divorce discussed (theme)
  • Bullying
  • Animal death (chickens)

Each and Every Spark by Claire Swinarski

Paris, present day. Penny Marks has never felt so alone. Forced to move to France for some fancy job her mom couldn’t turn down, she’s now miles away from her old life. If she hadn’t quit art after all that drama went down last year, she’d at least have something to keep her mind off the fact that life back home is moving on without her. Paris, 1943. Marie Bonnet has never felt so afraid. When the German army seized power over France, she and her sister Heloise watched their father get taken away, leaving them on their own. Then Marie finds evidence that Heloise has secret… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Protagonist with memory loss
  • Sibling with long-term illness leading to hearing loss
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • World War I (theme), including period-typical food scarcity

Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi

Iraqi American Mariam Hassan transfers to a local Catholic school and before her first day her parents remind her that she might be the first Muslim her classmates have ever met. No big deal, right? Just represent an entire religion while making new friends, keeping up with schoolwork, and figuring out who she is. When Mariam’s younger sister, Salma, is diagnosed with a serious lung condition, her family faces endless doctor visits and sleepless nights. Mariam tries to lighten their burden and keep her own problems to herself—including the fact that she’s just… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sibling hospitalised for cancer treatment
  • Minor blood depiction

Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros

Quetzalcóatl Castillo—Queso for short—has had an ache in his heart that won’t go away ever since his father’s death. More than anything, he wishes he could spend time with his dad again. After whispering that wish one night under the light of the moon, Queso wakes up the next morning in 1985. With 12-year-old Pancho—the kid who will grow up to be his dad. Even though he has no idea what to do, Queso is just happy to be by his dad’s side again. But while Pancho is confident when scoring on the foosball table or standing up to bullies, he doesn’t think he’s smart enough to reach for his dreams. If only Pancho believed in himself the… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homophobia & transphobia
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Murder of a father (shot during a home invasion)
  • Bullying

One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram

Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldn’t be more different—or so it seems. When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves they’d rather ignore. Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm he’s caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelings—about himself and about the… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homophobia & slurs (theme)
  • Disordered eating & body dysmorphia

When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller

When best friends Nomi, Vi, and Arthur were younger, they found a book that could predict the future. It was so very satisfying and comforting to know what was coming. But as the friends drifted apart, they forgot about the book. Except for Nomi. The final prediction says “How do you turn a girl into flame. You’ll never be the same.” What does it mean? It sounds dangerous—especially with wildfires raging in the distance. Nomi just knows there’s a sequel to the book; if only they could find it, everything would make sense. As Nomi teams up once again with Vi and Arthur… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Food & housing insecurity
  • Wildfires discussed

The Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham

All it takes to ruin someone’s life is the stroke of a key. Just ask Iris Henley. Her life is destroyed when someone posts an anonymous message on her high school’s subreddit thread: “Iris Henley is a killer. I’ve been too scared to come forward until now, but I saw her murder Rocky and Lynette last summer.” Just like that, Iris loses everything. Her reputation. Her friends. Her hope of getting into college on scholarship. Even, possibly, her freedom, once the police start to investigate. After all, she’s the perfect suspect: Rocky was her boyfriend, and Lynette was her ex-best friend—and… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Toxic friendship
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & drug abuse
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping mentioned
  • Bullying & cyberbullying
  • Stalking mentioned

Fever Dream by Elsie Silver

Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So, when he agrees to be the leading man on a hot new reality dating show, Romance Ranch, he’s already decided it’s all one big performance. Until Julia Silva walks onto his property. Smart, snarky, beautiful, and off-limits in more ways than one. As the location consultant on set and the little sister of his most bitter professional rival, she’s the last woman who should pique his interest. Julia has been warned about Emmett. She knows better… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Drugging for attempted sexual assault
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Blackmail

The Shippers by Katherine Center

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. Armed with pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighbourhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly divorced wedding guest). Determined to woo him for closure, she ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, as her wingman. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but showed up anyway. Cooper: who moved to London without a word four years ago. Cooper… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted sexual assault & sexual harassment
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Divorce recounted
  • Kidnapping & stalking recounted

Bad Bunny by Lexi Davis

When Nora brings a fluffy white rabbit into her kindergarten classroom, she expects squeals, giggles, and maybe a science lesson about spring. What she doesn’t expect is for the rabbit to bite her. Or to shift into a six-foot-five, battle-wounded man with the face of a fallen god. What she really doesn’t expect… is for him to be naked. He claims he’s a prince. He claims he’s being hunted. He claims there’s an enchanted sword powerful enough to save his kingdom — and he needs her help to find it. She thinks he’s insane. He knows she’s his. Bonded. Fated. Mates. Sorren is… Read more.

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Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parent with cancer
  • Death of a parent