Category Archives: BIPOC Lit

Zodiac Starforce, Vol. 2: Cries of the Fire Prince by Kevin Panetta, Paulina Ganucheau and Sarah Stern

After defeating a former Zodiac Member and her mean-girl minions, the girls thought they’d catch a break! But once a mean magical girl, always a mean magical girl and Libra’s former best friend wants that power back! Determined to bring the goddess Cimmeria into our dimension, her coven opens a portal to the dark dimension Nephos, only they don’t get what they bargained for. A new big-bad has come out to play and demons begin to overrun the town! Zodiac Starforce discovers they aren’t the only Zodiac team in the game and together they form a tenuous alliance to find out who’s behind the demon infestation.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Knife violence
  • Murder (human sacrifice)

Zodiac Starforce, Vol. 1: The Power of Astra by Kevin Panetta

They’re an elite group of teenage girls with magical powers who have sworn to protect our planet against dark creatures . . . as long as they can get out of class! Known as the Zodiac Starforce, these high-school girls aren’t just combating math tests. They’re also battling monsters–not your typical afterschool activity! But when an evil force from another dimension infects team leader Emma, she must work with her team of magically powered friends to save herself–and the world–from the evil Diana and her mean-girl minions!

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Injury & blood depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a friend
  • Kidnapping
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying

Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye

Nate Hargraves – stage-shy singer-songwriter – is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleazeball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list. Jai Patel – hot-as-hell high school rock-god – has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break. When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong . . . ?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Racism & mentions of apartheid
  • Child abuse
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo–until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and so they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain. On the way, Nuri is sustained by the knowledge that waiting for them is Mustafa, his cousin and business partner, who has started an apiary and is teaching fellow refugees in Yorkshire to keep bees. As Nuri and Afra travel through a.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a son in a explosion & loss of vision from injuries sustained during said explosion (protagonist)
  • War themes

Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker

Rora is a shifter, as magical as all those born in the wilderness–and as feared. She uses her abilities to spy for the king, traveling under different guises and listening for signs of trouble. When a magical illness surfaces across the kingdom, Rora uncovers a devastating truth: Finley, the young prince and her best friend, has caught it, too. His only hope is stardust, the rarest of magical elements, found deep in the wilderness where Rora grew up–and to which she swore never to return. But for her only friend, Rora will face her past and brave the dark, magic… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Physical assault

Figure It Out, Henri Weldon by Tanita S. Davis

Seventh grader Henrietta Weldon gets to switch schools—finally! She’ll be “mainstreaming” into public school, leaving her special education school behind. She can’t wait for her new schedule, new friends, and new classes. Henri’s dyscalculia, a learning disability that makes math challenging to process and understand, is what she expects to give her problems. What she doesn’t expect is a family feud with her sister over her new friends, joining the girls’ soccer team, and discovering poetry. Henri’s tutor and new friend, Vinnie, reminds her to take it slow. One problem at a time… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Bullying

Crow Country by Kate Constable

Sadie isn’t thrilled when her mother drags her from the city to live in the country town of Boort. But soon she starts making connections—with the country, with the past, with two boys, Lachie and Walter, and, most surprisingly, with the ever-present crows. When Sadie is tumbled back in time to view a terrible crime, she is pulled into a strange mystery. Can Sadie, Walter, and Lachie figure out a way to right old wrongs, or will they be condemned to repeat them? A fantasy ground in mythology, this novel has the backing of a full consultative process on the use of indigenous lore.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Murder (hate crime)
  • Destruction & theft of sacred Indigenous sites and objects

Drawing Deena by Hena Khan

Deena’s never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, or when she struggles to find the right words. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she loves to make. While her parents’ money troubles cause more and more stress, Deena wonders if she can use her artistic talents to ease their burden. She creates a logo and social media account to promote her mom’s home-based business selling clothes from Pakistan to the local community. With her cousin and friends modeling the outfits and lending… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & panic attacks

A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Sixth-graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl meet when they take a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom. Sixth-graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is huge and completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parent with depression

A Marriage of Lies by Amanda McKinney

Beneath the surface of every marriage there are secrets. This one is deadly. My husband is lying. The minute he came home with alcohol on his breath and unable to look me in the eyes I knew it. We used to be in love – the intense ‘I can’t be without you for a second’ kind. Where it hurts deep to be apart. But now, we’re the couple that keep secrets from each other. We hide the truth. He thought I wouldn’t find out. I’m a detective – it’s literally my job to uncover clues and solve mysteries. I know what he did. And now I’m sitting here, in a police interview, being asked the question ‘did you kill her?’ to which I utter one life-shattering ‘yes.’

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Infidelity
  • Attempted suicide mentioned
  • Murder