Category Archives: Kidlit

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumours circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Rumoured to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Sexism
  • Indentured servitude
  • Child sexual slavery & sex work, implied
  • Arranged marriage discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Dead bodies
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture, on-page
  • Graphic whipping
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Imprisonment
  • Hostage situation
  • War themes
  • Animal death, on-page
  • Hunting

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected….. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism
  • Rape mentioned
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Self-harm
  • Miscarriage recounted
  • Kidnapping
  • Stalking
  • Catfishing
  • Cyberbullying & online harassment
  • Bullying

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bittersweet. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Abandonment
  • Child neglect
  • Alcohol abuse

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn’t seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn’t walk out on the family, not exactly. It’s something more brutal. Ed’s locked up — on death row.

Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think … and no matter whether Ed committed the crime. But did he? And does it matter, in the end?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Incarceration for the presumed shooting of a police officer

Faith: Greater Heights by Julie Murphy

Faith: Greater Heights by Julie Murphy

Faith Herbert can finally admit that she’s not a regular teen. Thankfully, her two best friends, Matt and Ches, are now in on her superhero secret. But after the chaos of her first semester, Faith just wants to end her senior year on a normal note—enjoying all the hallmarks of graduating high school—like prom! And, possibly, getting to attend college in the fall. A new teacher has taken over journalism class, and Faith is only occasionally reminded of the empty spot left by Colleen Bristow, the quiet nerd-turned-supervillain. That is, until Faith hears from Peter that other psiots have been… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault
  • Fire
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)

Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy

Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy

Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove. So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly. When the fictional world of The Grove crashes into Faith’s reality as the show relocates to her town, she can’t believe it when… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Gun violence
  • Physical assault
  • Fire

Catch the Light by Kate Sweeney

Catch the Light by Kate Sweeney

Nine months after the death of her father, Marigold; her little sister, Bea; and her mom move from sunny California to Upstate New York to live with Mary’s aunt El. Maybe New York will be a fresh start for them.

But living in New York means missing all the things Mary left–from her BFF, Nora; to her now long-distance boyfriend, Bennett; her older sister, Hannah; and the memories of her father tied to the places she used to live. How can she keep them in her life with everything so far away?

Then, while settling into the new normal, Mary meets Jesse, a fellow photographer and kindred spirit who just seems to get her. Falling into a friendship with Jesse feels easy, there’s something about him she can’t stop thinking about. But as things with Bennett are so uncertain, she can’t seem to make a move either way.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a father recounted

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan 

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Torture mentioned
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Fire
  • War themes

One by Sarah Crossan

One by Sarah Crossan

Grace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body. Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.

But something is happening to them. Something they hoped would never happen. And Grace doesn’t want to admit it. Not even to Tippi. How long can they hide from the truth—how long before they must face the most impossible choice of their lives?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Surgery

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother’s heart is breaking and at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Bullying