Middle Grade & Children’s – Page 35 – Trigger Warning Database

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy—the best magic school in the realm—even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she’s never met. Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse, off-page

Robots and Repeats by Gene Luen Yang

Robots & Repeats by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Mike Holmes

Dr. One-Zero has added a new class to Stately Academy’s curriculum. But in “Advanced Chemistry,” they only teach one lesson: how to make Green Pop! While their classmates are manufacturing this dangerous soda, the Coders uncover a clue that may lead them to Hopper’s missing dad. Is it time to use Professor Bee’s most powerful weapon: the Turtle of Light?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Disappearance of a parent

Secrets and Sequences by Gene Luen Yang

Secrets & Sequences by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Mike Holmes

Stately Academy is no ordinary school: it was once home to an elite institute where teachers, students, and robots worked together to unravel the mysteries of coding. Hopper, Eni, and Josh won’t rest until they’ve learned the whole story, but they aren’t the only ones interested in the school’s past. Principal Dean is hot on their trail, demanding that the coders turn over their most powerful robot. Dean may be a creep, but he’s nothing compared to the guy who’s really in charge: a green-skinned coding genius named Professor One-Zero.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Animal attack

Room to Dream by Kelly Yang

Room to Dream by Kelly Yang

After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family — to China! A total dream come true! Mia can’t wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China’s going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like . . . 1. Lupe’s taking classes at the high school! And Mia’s own plans to be a big writer are … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & colourism
Gentrification
Bullying

Star Child by Ibi Zoboi

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Sexism
Miscarriage mentioned
Poverty

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with. But that’s tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It’s even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties–and no playmates that stick around for more than a day… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Death of a sibling
Death of a parent

Riley’s Ghost by John David Anderson

Riley’s Ghost by John David Anderson

Riley Flynn is alone. It feels like she’s been on her own since sixth grade, when her best friend, Emily, ditched her for the cool girls. Girls who don’t like Riley. Girls who decide one day to lock her in the science closet after hours, after everyone else has gone home.

When Riley is finally able to escape, however, she finds that her horror story is only just beginning. All the school doors are locked, the windows won’t budge, the phones are dead, and the lights aren’t working. Through halls lit only by the narrow beam of her flashlight, Riley roams the building, seeking a way out, an answer, an explanation. And as she does, she starts to suspect she isn’t alone after all… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Bullying

Stowaway by John David Anderson

Stowaway by John David Anderson

When scientists discover a rare and mysterious mineral buried in the Earth’s crust, they have no idea that it just happens to be the most valuable substance in the entire universe. It’s not long before aliens show up to our little corner of the galaxy offering a promise of protection, some fabulous new technology, and entry into their intergalactic coalition—all in exchange for this precious resource. A material so precious that other alien forces are willing to start a war over it. A war that soon makes its way to Earth.

Leo knows this all too well. His father, a Coalition scientist, decides it would be best for them to leave Earth behind. It’s on this expedition… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Nightmares
Death of a mother recounted
War themes & battle scenes
Bullying recounted

Starfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Starfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Once every hundred years, a black foal is born, prophesied to either unite or destroy the five herds of flying horses that live in the land of Anok. He is fated to become the most powerful pegasus in all of Anok. Star is this black foal.

Even though Star has malformed wings that make him unable to fly, the leaders of each herd will take no risks and want to execute Star before his first birthday. With the help of his friends, Star must escape the clutches of the powerful leaders, and his epic journey of self-discovery turns into a battle between good and evil that will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Blood depiction
Animal death

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

Marva Sheridan was born ready for this day. She’s always been driven to make a difference in the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election? Duke Crenshaw is so done with this election. He just wants to get voting over with so he can prepare for his band’s first paying gig tonight. Only problem? Duke can’t vote.

When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his vote is counted. She hasn’t spent months doorbelling and registering voters just to see someone denied their right. And that’s how their whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school, waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva’s missing cat), it’s clear that there’s more to their connection than a shared mission for democracy.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial profiling
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother in a gang shooting recounted