Category Archives: Kidlit

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance until she falls… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Amisia
  • Deadnaming
  • Racism
  • Fatmisia
  • Suicide by overdose
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Terminal illness
  • Bullying

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

Beth Kramer is a “townie” who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of judgment from her roommate, Sarah. But Sarah Brunson knows there’s more to that story. Amanda Priya “Spence” Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah. Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys’ dorms. And Freddy Bello is the senior who’s no longer sure of his future but has fallen… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Adult-minor relationship
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Trichotillomania
  • Self-harm
  • Bullying & hazing

The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real. But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer. With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth

Tempest by Julie Cross

Tempest by Julie Cross

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies — nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors — it’s just harmless fun. That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Physical injury
  • Emesis
  • Death of a sibling recounted
  • Gun violence

Return to You by Julie Cross

Return to You by Julie Cross

Even with bad boy, TJ, disrupting their morning workouts, Karen and Stevie’s daily battles with each other are sure to bring both of them closer to a national title at next month’s championships. It’s the kind of feud that creates winning results. Until a fall from the uneven bars shakes Karen’s rock-solid confidence. Not only does she balk every time she so much as attempts a routine, she’s also facing all this without much support from Jordan. After receiving some bad news, Jordan’s reluctance to listen to reason causes Karen so much frustration she begins to avoid him, need… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Nightmares
  • Physical illness
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Car accident

On Thin Ice by Julie Cross

On Thin Ice by Julie Cross

Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is. Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and―shocking even to him―finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Incarceration of a parent
  • Hazing

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

Claire O’Connor is back in Juniper Falls, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be. One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again. Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

I’ve gotten used to the dead parents’ face. I’ve gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I’ve even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that’s made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan–being around him, talking to him, thinking about him–makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That’s something I haven’t been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it’s like to wonder–what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of parents recounted

Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

Haley Stevenson seems like she’s got it all together: cheer captain, “Princess” of Juniper Falls, and voted Most Likely to Get Things Done. But below the surface, she’s struggling with a less-than-stellar GPA and still reeling from the loss of her first love. Repeating her Civics class during summer school is her chance to Get Things Done, not angst over boys. In fact, she’s sworn them off completely until college. Fletcher Scott is happy to keep a low profile around Juniper Falls. He’s always been the invisible guy, warming… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption

Return to Sender by Julie Cross

Return to Sender by Julie Cross

Karen and Jordan might be out in the open with their relationship, but that doesn’t make it any easier for them to face events looming in the future. Like Jordan leaving for college halfway across the country. Or Karen’s win at a big international gymnastics competition setting the bar high for her future and adding pressure like she’s never experienced before. But when Nina Jones (aka-US Gymnastics Dictator), makes plans for Karen and teammate Stevie to train at a gymnastics camp for a month—the same… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent recounted