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.

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

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & intrusive thoughts
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Dissociation & derealization
  • Self-harm
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident
  • Disappearance of a parent

The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl & the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

Artemis’s mother is gravely ill. Unfortunately the cure, an endangered lemur, was made extinct eight years ago . . . by Artemis Fowl. Talk about awkward.

What if he could travel back in time, outwit his former self and bring the lemur home? With the right demon warlock, it might be possible.

But we all remember the young Artemis. He was, to put it mildly, a pretty terrible human being, so this won’t be easy.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Serious physical illness of a parent
  • Physical injury including broken bones
  • Death of a mother from radiation poisoning mentioned
  • Explosion & bombings
  • Kidnapping
  • Plane crash
  • Gun violence
  • Fire
  • Animal death (theme)
  • Animal cruelty
  • Animal medical experimentation
  • Animal stampede
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The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman book cover

Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel – by the command of his dying father. But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him. The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse
  • Kidnapping
  • War themes

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Physical child abuse & domestic abuse mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & nightmares
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use mentioned
  • Teen pregnancy recounted
  • Death of a friend & child (on-page & recounted)
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Gang violence
  • Incarceration recounted
  • Police brutality & violence, including the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teen

Liberté by Gita Trelease

Also known as Everything That Burns.

Camille Durbonne gambled everything she had to keep herself and her sister safe. But as the people of Paris starve and mobs riot, safety may no longer be possible… Not when Camille lives for the rebellion. In the pamphlets she prints, she tells the stories of girls living at society’s margins. But as her writings captivate the public, she begins to suspect a dark magic she can’t control lies at the heart of her success. Then Louis XVI declares magic a crime and all magicians traitors to France. As bonfires incinerate enchanted books and special police prowl the city, the time for… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical sexism & classism
  • Attempted sexual assault

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard book cover

Four pretty little liars’ charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily’s been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria’s boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer’s afraid she was involved in Ali’s murder. But Hanna’s fate is far worse: She’s clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. These liars have tried to keep their scandals secret, but the truth is about to rock their pretty little world!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, fatphobia & and body shaming
  • Homophobia & outing mentioned, including parental disownment
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Amnesia & blackouts mentioned
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation for injury & coma
  • Attempted murder
  • Physical assault mentioned
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard book cover

Everyone has something to hide, especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister’s boyfriend. Aria’s fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily’s crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they’ve all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished. How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and the dirty secrets they’ve kept. And guess what? I’m telling.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia &body shaming
  • Misogyny, slut-shaming, ableism & racism
  • Homophobia & lesbophobia
  • Child emotional abuse & neglect
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Sexual harassment
  • Infidelity
  • Eating disorders (bulimia), including disordered food thoughts, binging, and purging (on-page) and discussions of weight loss
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Murder
  • Stalking & blackmail (theme)
  • Car accident
  • Bullying

Perfect by Sara Shepard

Perfect by Sara Shepard book cover

Aria can’t resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can’t keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister. Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it’s hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say… or else!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, racism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Lesbophobia
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Child emotional abuse & neglect
  • Infidelity
  • Amnesia, memory loss & blackouts
  • Suicide & attempted suicide recounted
  • Self-harm recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Stalking & blackmail
  • Bullying

Killer by Sara Shepard

Killer by Sara Shepard book cover

In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystals. But pictures often lie— and so do Rosewood’s four prettiest girls. Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things—things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn’t die with her. Hanna’s on a mission to corrupt Rosewood’s youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria’s snooping into her boyfriend’s past. Spencer’s stealing—

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
  • Homophobia, including mentions of conversion therapy mentioned
  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Sexual assault & sexual harassment
  • Child neglect & abuse
  • Eating disorder, including disordered food thoughts, bingeing & purging
  • Anxiety attack
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis recounted
  • Attempted murder
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)
  • Forest fire
  • Car accident recounted