Category Archives: Kidlit

Needlework by Julia Watts 

Needlework by Julia Watts 

While other sixteen-year-old boys in Morgan, Kentucky, love hunting and football, Kody prefers to spend his time quilting with his grandmother (“Nanny”), watching Golden Girls reruns, and listening to old Dolly Parton albums. Nanny is Kody’s main caregiver, but it takes both Nanny and Kody to take care of Kody’s mother, whose drug problem is spinning out of control. Between looking after Mommy and trying to survive in a place that doesn’t look kindly on feminine boys, Kody already has a hard time making sense of his life. But then he uncovers a family secret that will change everything in his life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Religious homomisia
  • Parent with a substance addiction
  • Death of a parent

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

Before: With graduation on the horizon, budding writer Claudine Henry is making plans: college in the fall, become a famous author, and maybe–finally–have sex. She doesn’t even need to be in love. Then her dad drops a bombshell: he’s leaving Claude’s mother. Suddenly, Claude’s entire world feels like a lie, and her future anything but under control.

After: Claude’s mom whisks them away to the last place Claude could imagine nursing a broken heart: a remote, mosquito-infested island off the coast of Georgia. But then Jeremiah Crew happens. Miah is a local trail guide with a passion for photography–and a past he doesn’t like to talk about. He’s brash and enigmatic, and even more infuriatingly, he’s the only one who seems to see Claude for who she wants to be…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Suicide discussed
  • Drowning

Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek

Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek

Sam Dickson is a charismatic actress, ambitious and popular with big plans for her future. Ros Shew is one of the smartest people in school–but she’s a loner, and prefers to keep it that way. Then there’s Christian Powell, the darling of the high school soccer team. He’s not the best with communication, which is why he and Sam broke up after dating for six months; but he makes up for it by being genuine, effusive, and kind, which is why they’re still best friends.

When Christian falls for Ros on first sight, their first interaction is a disaster, so he enlists Sam’s help to get through to her. Sam, with motives of her own, agrees to coach Christians…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Queermisia mentioned
  • Sexual assault (nonconsensual kiss)
  • Child abandonment
  • Death of a parent from cancer mentioned

The Kindred by Alechia Dow

The Kindred by Alechia Dow

The Kindred by Alechia Dow

Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.

Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.

Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body-shaming & fatmisia
  • Alcohol use
  • Blood depiction
  • Physical injury
  • Death
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Captivity
  • Poverty themes
  • War themes
  • Mind control & loss of autonomy

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

It all started when Mike Parker’s girlfriend showed up with a bruise on her face. Or, more specifically, when she walked into the principal’s office and said Mike hit her. But her classmates have questions. Why did she go to the principal and not the police? Why did she stay with Mike if he was hurting her? Obviously, if it’s true, Mike should face the consequences. But is it true?

Some girls want to rally for Mike’s expulsion—and some want to rally around Mike. As rumors about what really happened spread, the students at North Bay Academy will question what it means to be guilty or innocent, right or wrong.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut-shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Relationship abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Cheating
  • Bulimia
  • Panic attacks
  • Self-harm
  • Recreational drug use
  • Drug abuse

Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister

Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for one tiny issue. When his sister Delia comes home to find him trying on her clothes, he fears her judgment, but she only fears his fashion choices. One quick makeover later, Declan is transformed into Delia’s mysterious cousin Layla and dragged to the party of the year, hosted by Carter, the most popular boy in school.

When Carter meets Layla, he fumbles to charm her. He adores her sense of humor and her poise. But when she vanishes in the middle of the night, he’s left confused and determined to solve the mystery of who she is.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Queermisia
  • Queermisic & homomisic language

Fever 1973 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1973 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1973 by Laurie Halse Anderson

It’s late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn’t get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family’s coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie’s concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family’s small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie’s struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight—the fight to stay alive.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood letting
  • Yellow fever pandemic
  • Death of loved ones

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Murder
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Gun violence
  • Animal attack

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she’s unafraid to be herself.

So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared…

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a pet

Heartstopper: Volume Four by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 4 by Alice Oseman

Charlie didn’t think Nick could ever like him back, but now they’re officially boyfriends. Charlie’s beginning to feel ready to say those three little words: I love you.

Nick’s been feeling the same, but he’s got a lot on his mind – not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder.

As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Bimisia
  • Coming out & outing mentioned
  • Eating disorder (anorexia)
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  • Self-harm
  • Voluntary psychiatric hospitalisation
  • Bullying mentioned