Category Archives: Kidlit

Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Lottie Reeves has always struggled with anxiety, and when her beloved Aunt Helen dies, Lottie begins to fear that her own unexpected death might be waiting around every corner. Aunt Helen wasn’t a typical aunt. She was the author of the best–selling Alvin Hatter series, about siblings who discover the elixir of immortality. Her writing inspired a generation of readers. In her will, she leaves one last writing project—just for Lottie. It’s a series of letters, each containing mysterious instructions designed to push Lottie out of her comfort zone. Soon, Lottie’s trying some writing of her own, leaping off cliffs, and even fall… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Queermisia
  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety & panic attacks, on-page
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Terminal cancer
  • Hospital
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of an aunt
  • Death from a fall
  • Drowning mentioned

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

You live and you remember. Me, I live and I forget. But now—now I am remembering. For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder (theme)
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation discussed
  • Thwarted attempted suicide by drug overdose, on-page
  • Blood depiction
  • Hospital
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a brother
  • Car accident involving a truck hitting a motorcycle, on-page
  • Death of a pet goldfish mentioned

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno

Frannie and Louis met in an online support group when they were both younger. They have never met face-to-face. They don’t even know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them, exactly. Things just seem to…disappear. They each receive news in the mail that sets them off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all,…Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Self-harm
  • Schizophrenia
  • Amputation
  • Death of a parent

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up. The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work? … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Cheating

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Eleven-year-old December knows everything about birds, and everything about getting kicked out of foster homes. All she has of her biological mum is the book she left behind, The Complete Guide to Birds, Volume One, and a photo with a message: ‘In flight is where you’ll find me.’ December knows she’s truly a bird, just waiting for the day she transforms and flies away to reunite with her mum. The scar on her back must be where her wings have started to blossom – she just needs to practise and to find the right tree. She has no choice; it’s the only story that makes sense…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment mentioned
  • Scars
  • Bullying

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ‘89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before. But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media atten… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse recounted
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Gun violence

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner. For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside. Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Racism
  • Rape mentioned
  • Sexual harassment
  • Medical experimentation
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Poisoning
  • Whipping
  • Physical assault
  • Animal death
  • War & rebellion

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Everyone knows the legend. Of Arthur, destined to be a king. Of the beautiful Guinevere, who will betray him with his most loyal knight, Lancelot. Of the bitter sorceress, Morgana, who will turn against them all. But Elaine alone carries the burden of knowing what is to come–for Elaine of Shalott is cursed to see the future. On the mystical isle of Avalon, Elaine runs free and learns of the ancient prophecies surrounding her and her friends–countless possibilities, almost all of them tragic. When their future comes to claim them, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to take his throne in stifling Camelot, where… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Suicide by drowning, on-page
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Decapitation
  • Blood depiction
  • Sword violence

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe … which is now filling with blood. When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant. Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Self-mutilation, on-page

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break. Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape. Two girls, two centuries apart… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Depression
  • Attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother