Category Archives: Contemporary

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Darcy Patel is afraid to believe all the hype. But it’s really happening – her teen novel is getting published. Instead of heading to college, she’s living in New York City, where she’s welcomed into the dazzling world of YA publishing. That means book tours, parties with her favourite authors, and finding a place to live that won’t leave her penniless. It means sleepless nights rewriting her first draft and struggling to find the perfect ending… all while dealing with the intoxicating, terrifying experience of falling in love – with another writer.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder & mentions of the serial murder of children
  • Mass shooting (terrorist attack)

Underwater by Marisa Reichardt

Morgan didn’t mean to do anything wrong that day. Actually, she meant to do something right. But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. In order to move on, Morgan must learn to forgive—first someone who did something that might be unforgivable, and then herself. But Morgan can’t move on. She can’t even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Morgan feels like she’s underwater, unable to surface. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school. When it seems Morgan can’t hold… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Agoraphobia & anxiety
  • Parent with Military-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • School shooting & related trauma

A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt

Juniper Jade’s parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines. It isn’t exactly normal, but it’s the only thing Juniper has ever known. She doesn’t agree with her parents on everything, but she knows that to be in this family, you’ve got to stick to the rules. That is, until the unthinkable happens. Juniper contracts the measles and unknowingly passes the disease along, with tragic consequences. She is shell-shocked. June.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Discussions of antivaxxers and child neglect
  • Physical illness (measles)
  • Death of an infant

Aftershocks by Marisa Reichardt

When a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits California, Ruby is trapped in a laundromat with Charlie, a boy she had her first conversation with only moments before. She can’t see anything beyond the rubble that she’s trapped beneath, but she’s sure someone will come save them soon. As the hours and days tick by, Ruby and Charlie struggle to stay hopeful—and stay alive. Ruby has only Charlie’s voice and her memories to find the hope to keep holding on. Will the two make it out alive? And if they do, what will they have lost to the earthquake?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Earthquake (theme)
  • Death of a parent mentioned

Adult Onset by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Mary-Rose MacKinnon–nicknamed MR or “Mister”–is a successful YA author who has made enough from her writing to semi-retire in her early 40s. She lives in a comfortable Toronto neighbourhood with her partner, Hilary, a busy theatre director, and their 2 young children, Matthew and Maggie, trying valiantly and often hilariously to balance her creative pursuits with domestic demands, and the various challenges that (mostly) solo parenting presents. As a child, Mary-Rose suffered from an illness, long since cured and “filed separately” in her mind. But as her… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Internalised racism
  • Homophobia & biphobia
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (off-page)
  • Child abuse
  • Stillbirth (on-page)
  • Death of an infant
  • Animal death

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler

For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she wasn’t even looking for. Is it enough? Does he respond to texts? Honour his commitments? Make advance plans? Sometimes, rarely, and no, not at all. But when he shines his light on her, the world makes sense, and Adelaide is convinced that, in his heart, he’s fallen just as deeply as she has. Then, when Rory is rocked by an unexpected tragedy, Adelaide does everything in her power to hold him together—even if it means losing herself… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Depression
  • Anxiety & panic attack
  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Miscarriage
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent in a car accident

Acting Up by Adele Buck

The stage is set for the play of a lifetime: but it’s the romantic drama backstage that has everyone applauding. Paul and Cath are the perfect creative team. He’s an up-and-coming theatre director and she’s his unflappable, rock-steady stage manager. If Cath’s had to bury her unrequited affection for Paul for ten long years to keep things professional, it’s just the price she pays for a career she loves, working with her best friend by her side. Until he hires her old nemesis as the leading lady for a new play that’s their chance to make it big. Handling temperamental actors is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Familial estrangement
  • Bullying

Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfield

All Kate ‘Middleton’ McGrath wants is a man to call ‘Daddy’ in bed. But kinks aren’t for everyone. She gets it. They’re definitely not going to be for her grumpaholic boss, Mr Henderson. But a girl can dream, can’t she? Especially when he’s always so stern with her. Tyler Henderson is a golden boy who’s lost his shine. He’s old, his dream career is over, his fiancée left him. Now all the former firefighter can do is bury his troubles in paperwork and hard liquor… and try to keep Middleton out of his head. He’s not going anywhere near that girl. He’s done with sweet and innocent. And things don’t come much sweeter or more innocent…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist slurs
  • Workplace sexism
  • Infidelity recounted
  • Cyberharassment & cyberstalking by an ex-partner

Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling

Twelve-year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old “Addie Earhart” shares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. While watching this daring girl fly through the sky, Jolene can dream of what it would be like to fly with her, far away from her own troubled home life where her mother struggles with a narcotic addiction. And Addie, who is grieving the loss of her father, finds solace in her online conversations with Jolene, her biggest—and only—fan. Then, one day, it all goes wrong… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parent with substance addiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father
  • Plane crash

    Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye

    Nate Hargraves – stage-shy singer-songwriter – is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleazeball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list. Jai Patel – hot-as-hell high school rock-god – has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break. When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong . . . ?

    Goodreads

    Trigger and Content Warnings

    • Homophobia
    • Racism & mentions of apartheid
    • Child abuse
    • Alcohol consumption
    • Grief & loss depiction
    • Death of a parent
    • Animal death