Category Archives: Science Fiction

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down. She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends. Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any supp.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Biphobia & internalised biphobia
  • Coming out & outing (theme)
  • Alcohol consumption

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

It’s the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? .Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what’s coming. Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident. Orion and Valentino cross paths.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Domestic violence
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent in 9/11 mentioned
  • Attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident mentioned

The Final Six by Alexandra Monir

When Leo, an Italian championship swimmer, and Naomi, a science genius from California, are two of the twenty-four teens drafted into the International Space Training Camp, their lives are forever altered. After erratic climate change has made Earth a dangerous place to live, the fate of the population rests on the shoulders of the final six who will be scouting a new planet. Intense training, global scrutiny, and cutthroat opponents are only a few of the hurdles the contestants must endure in this competition. For Leo, the prospect of traveling to Europa-Jupiter’s moon-to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted suicide
  • Death of a relative recounted

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. From a woman who lives in a house with all of her ex-boyfriends, to a toxic friendship built around a drug that makes you invisible, to an ancient ritual that might heal you of anything if you bury yourself alive, these and other scenarios reveal that the outlandish and the everyday are shockingly, deceptively, heartbreakingly similar.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Domestic abuse

Future Feeling by Joss Lake

The year is 20__, and Penfield R. Henderson is in a rut. When he’s not walking dogs for cash or responding to booty calls from his B-list celebrity hookup, he’s holed up in his dingy Bushwick apartment obsessing over holograms of Aiden Chase, a fellow trans man and influencer documenting his much smoother transition into picture-perfect masculinity on the Gram. After an IRL encounter with Aiden leaves Pen feeling especially resentful, Pen enlists his roommates, the Witch and the Stoner-Hacker, to put their respective talents to use in hexing Aiden. Together, they gain access to Aiden’s social media account and post a picture… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Transphobia, misgendering & deadnaming

The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown

Against the backdrop of a ravaged world, Andrew and Jamie have settled in a new community, more in love than ever. Finally they’ve reached safety and have each taken on roles and responsibilities in this new life. But it’s soon clear they want different things: Jamie is ready to move on and take to the road, just the two of them. Andrew wants to remain in the safety of numbers. With a storm brewing up the coast they have no choice to head back into the wilderness where old enemies roam and they don’t know who to trust. Can they find their way back to safety and each other?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & religious bigotry
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping

The Reindeer and the Submarine by Beverley McWilliams

An orphaned reindeer with no antlers, Pollyanna is raised by Igor, a Sámi herder, and is more at home in the company of people than other reindeer. When she discovers Igor is leaving for war, Pollyanna decides to follow, but en route, she is captured and gifted to the crew of a British submarine, the HMS Trident. Life onboard the Trident brings more than a few surprises, and Pollyanna – with her love of food – gets into all kinds of mischief. But she also makes friends, becomes part of the crew, and uses her courage and cheekiness to comfort her companions in the dark days of the war.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Naval warfare in World War Two (theme) including mentions of sunk submarines during skirmishes and on-page use of gun/torpedo.

Never Die by Rob J. Hayes

Ein is on a mission from God. A God of Death. Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to a murdered eight year old boy to render the judgement of a God. Ein knows he can’t do it alone, but the empire is rife with heroes. The only problem; in order to serve, they must first die. Ein has four legendary heroes in mind, names from story books read to him by his father. Now he must find them and kill them, so he can bring them back to fight the Reaper’s war.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia and body-shaming
  • Alcohol consumption (multiple on-page scenes)
  • A secondary character is dying of leprosy with some mentions of his symptoms including loss of fingers and teeth
  • Graphic fight scenes, including battle scenes/raids, destruction and pillaging of villages, hand-to-hand combat, and gun- & sword violence (on-page)
  • Murder by gunshot, poisoning, and stabbing (on page)
  • Attempted murder by strangulation

Saha by Cho Nam-Joo

In a country called ‘Town’, Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates. Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police’s prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & classism
  • Sexual assault
  • Pregnancy & abortion
  • Suicide
  • Death of a child
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Unethical human experimentation & medical procedures (on-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality
  • Animal cruelty

Our Sister, Again by Sophie Cameron

On the Scottish coast, Isla and her family are grieving the loss of her older sister Flora, who died three years ago. Then they’re offered the chance to be part of a top-secret trial, which revives loved ones as fully lifelike AI robots using their digital footprint. Isla has her doubts about Second Chances, but they evaporate the moment the ‘new’ Flora arrives. This girl is not some uncanny close likeness; she is Flora – a perfect replica. But not everyone on their island feels the same. And as the threats to Flora mount, she grows distant and more secretive. Will Isla be able to protect the new Flora and bring the community back together?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of a sister recounted