Category Archives: Young Adult

Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran 

Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

When teenage queen Lia inherits her corrupt uncle’s bankrupt kingdom, she brings a new spymaster into the fold … Xania, who takes the job to avenge her murdered father. Faced with dangerous plots and hidden enemies, can Lia and Xania learn to rely on each another, as they discover that all is not fair in love and treason? In a world where the throne means both power and duty, they must decide what to sacrifice for their country and for each other … 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drugging
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Dead body
  • Emesis
  • Death of a father mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Poisoning
  • Near-drowning incident mentioned
  • Kidnapping
  • Solitary confinement & sensory deprivation, off-page
  • Animal death
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Warmaidens by Kelly Coon 

Warmaidens by Kelly Coon

Just a few moons after escaping the tomb in Alu, Kammani and the other runaway maidens have found refuge in the city-state of Manzazu. There, Kammani has become a respected healer, especially among the warriors she’s brought back from the brink of death. Now that the nightmares of Alu are fading, she can finally decide whether or not to take Dagan’s hand in marriage. But when an assassin murders a healer he believes is Kammani and attempts to kill the displaced queen of Alu, the maidens realize they’ve… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted rape
  • Blood & gore depiction
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Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon 

Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame. When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honour. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her. But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is-a death sentence… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Suicide
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an infant
  • Death of a mother during childbirth
  • Murder
  • Poisoning
  • Cults
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Exactly Where You Need to Be by Amelia Diane Coombs 

Exactly Where You Need to Be by Amelia Diane Coombs

Florie’s OCD and her mother’s worrying have kept her from a lot of things, like having an after-school job and getting her driver’s license. And now that she’s graduated high school, while her best friend Kacey is headed off to Portland in the fall, Florie’s taking a parent-sanctioned gap year off before starting college. When the decision was made, Florie was on board, but now she can’t ignore the growing itch to become the person she wants to be and venture outside the quaint, boring Washington town she grew up in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs 

Keep My Heart in San Francisco by Amelia Diane Coombs

Caroline “Chuck” Wilson has big plans for spring break—hit up estate sales to score vintage fashion finds and tour the fashion school she dreams of attending. But her dad wrecks those plans when he asks her to spend vacation working the counter at Bigmouth’s Bowl, her family’s failing bowling alley. Making things astronomically worse, Chuck finds out her dad is way behind on back rent—meaning they might be losing Bigmouth’s, the only thing keeping Chuck’s family in San Francisco. And the one person other… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Depression
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a mother from suicide
  • Financial difficulties
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Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs 

Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs

Josie Hazeldine has just graduated from high school, and she’s ready for a summer full of sunshine, beekeeping, and…lying to her mom. Josie’s mom couldn’t be more proud of her daughter going to college, something she never got to do. But Josie wants to stay in her California hometown and take over the family business, Hazeldine Honey. So that college acceptance her mom is thrilled about? Yeah, Josie turned it down. But she’s going to come clean—just not yet… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Panic attack
  • Parkinson’s Disease
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You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook 

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

17-year-old Kim never expected to plot a murder. But that was before her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. Now, Kim’s stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate and she can’t help wishing he was a little bit dead, even if she’d never really do that. But when Kim meets Nicki, a stranger on the plane who’s more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes, things start to look up. Nicki’s got a great sense of humour, and when she jokes about swapping murders, Kim… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Blackmail
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Suggested Reading by David Connis

Suggested Reading by David Connis

Clara Evans is horrified when she discovers her principal’s “prohibited media” hit list. The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren’t allowed anywhere on the school’s premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished.

Many of these stories have changed Clara’s life, so she’s not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Attempted suicide
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Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles

Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles

There’s always been a hole in Gio’s life. Not because he’s into both guys and girls. Not because his father has some drinking issues. Not because his friends are always bringing him their drama. No, the hole in Gio’s life takes the shape of his birth mom, who left Gio, his brother, and his father when Gio was nine years old. For eight years, he never heard a word from her . . . and now, just as he’s started to get his life together, she’s back.

It’s hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Bimisia
  • Racism & racial profiling
  • Child verbal and emotional abuse
  • Parental abandonment
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Death of a sibling
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Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

When Marvin Johnson’s twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid.

The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it’s up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Blood depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality & violence
  • Incarceration of a parent
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