Category Archives: Kidlit

This tag contains all books tagged as Children’s Literature, including picture books, Middle Grade fiction, Young Adult fiction, and relevant non-fiction.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Coerced suicide (magical manipulation)
  • Global pandemic (on-page)
  • Consensual & non-consensual medical treatment, medical experimentation & needles
  • Death of a father (recounted & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident
  • Fire

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies – humans with extraordinary abilities – who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone… except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice – and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Physical injury (burns)
  • Death of a mother from a fall
  • Murder of a mother, father and baby sister by gun violence recounted
  • Gun violence including fatal shootings, stun guns and tranquilizer guns with poisoned ammunition
  • Fire, poisonous gas and explosions
  • Animal death & cruelty
  • Poverty
  • Bullying
  • War themes recounted & battle scenes (on-page)

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Overdose
  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Cancer
  • Gun violence
  • Near-drowning incident

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The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Parental abandonment (theme)
  • Cheating recounted
  • Nightmares & hallucinations
  • Self-sacrifice (on-page) & suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & boyfriend
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Explosions
  • Fire
  • Death from a fall
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • War themes & battle scenes (on-page)
  • Animal death

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to diabolical. In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Cheating recounted
  • Nightmares & hallucinations
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Injury depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister recounted
  • Death of a brother (on-page)
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Explosion
  • Torture
  • Knife violence
  • Fire
  • Death from a fall recounted
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Imprisonment
  • War themes & battle scenes
  • Animal cruelty

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan

When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped. And now it’s up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Parental abandonment
  • Nightmares
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • Torture
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Disappearance of a friend
  • Kidnapping
  • Car accident mentioned
  • War themes

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson—a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any “normal” friends. But things don’t stay quiet for long…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Parental abandonment & child abuse
  • Nightmares
  • Blood & injury depiction including mentions of cannibalism
  • Explosion
  • Knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Drowning mentioned
  • War themes
  • Animal death
  • Bullying
  • Homelessness

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse – Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Parental abandonment, child abuse & domestic violence
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Nightmares & hallucinations discussed
  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Injury depiction, emesis & mentions of terminal cancer
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of an uncle mentioned
  • Explosion
  • Knife violence
  • Car accident
  • Incarceration
  • War themes
  • Drowning mentioned
  • Hurricane, lightning & storms (on-page)
  • Earthquake
  • Animal cruelty
  • Bullying

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained. When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sex work recounted
  • Graphic auditory & visual hallucinations (on-page)
  • Nightmares
  • Suicide & attempted suicide (on-page)
  • Self-injury (on-page) with mentions of intentional self-starvation
  • Physical injuries including burns & scars
  • Death of a friend & lover recounted
  • Death of a sister (on-page)
  • Death of a father from a fever illness (off-page)
  • Multiple graphic scenes of murder & attempted murder (on-page)
  • Mass murder & regicide mentioned
  • Knife & sword violence
  • Explosions
  • Fire including attempted murder by being burnt at the stake
  • Imprisonment
  • War themes including battle scenes, forced conscription & naval warfare
  • Animal death & dead bodies

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old – including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire – Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical. (less)

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Coming out themes
  • Homophobia & slurs
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Bullying