Category Archives: BIPOC Lit

The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon

Successful pediatric surgeon London Kelley just needs to find some balance and de-stress. According to her friends Samiah and Taylor, what London really needs is a casual hookup. A night of fun with no strings. But no one—least of all London—expected it to go down at her high school reunion with Drew Sullivan, millionaire, owner of delicious abs, and oh yes, her archnemesis. Now London is certain the road to hell is paved with good sex. Because she’s found out the real reason Drew’s back in Austin: to decide whether her beloved hospital remains open. Worse, Drew is doing everything he can to show her that he’s a decent.… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse mentioned
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Death of a parent from cancer (off-page)

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

Samiah Brooks never thought she would be ‘that’ girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah – along with his two other ‘girlfriends’, London and Taylor – have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status. For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy & infertility mentioned (secondary character)
  • Hospitalisation of a friend from injuries sustained in a bike-bus accident (off-page)

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor needs more than the support of her new best friends, Samiah and London. She needs a miracle. And Jamar Dixon might just be it. The oh-so-fine former footballer wants back into the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. There’s just one catch — no one can know what they’re doing. But when they’re accidentally outed as a couple, Taylor’s game plan is turned completely upside down. Is Jamar just playing to win . . . or is he playing for keeps?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & panic attack
  • Dieting discussed
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Physical injury including sprained ankle & a previous sports injury (knee)
  • Hospitalisation of a grandparent (secondary character)
  • Grief & loss depiction and Survivor’s Guilt
  • Death of a friend in a motorcycle accident (off-page, discussed)

Cherish Farrah by Laura Bethany C. Morrow

Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a white, wealthy family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS–White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can’t seem to afford–and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she’s convinced she’s…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Self-harm
  • Emesis

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters: Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own. Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained. Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose. Amy, a dancer eager to explore… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery (theme)
  • Racism
  • Chronic illness
  • Gun violence
  • American Civil War

A Chorus Rises by Laura Bethany C. Morrow

Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, privileged, has “the good hair”— and she’s an Eloko, a person who’s gifted with a song that woos anyone who hears it. Everyone loves her — well, until she’s cast as the awful person who exposed Tavia’s secret siren powers. Now, she’s being dragged by the media. No one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, nor her Eloko community. But Naema knows the truth and is determined to build herself back up — no matter what.When a new, flourishing segment of Naema’s online supporters start target… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial profiling
  • Outing
  • Hate crimes
  • Stalking & doxxing

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. From a woman who lives in a house with all of her ex-boyfriends, to a toxic friendship built around a drug that makes you invisible, to an ancient ritual that might heal you of anything if you bury yourself alive, these and other scenarios reveal that the outlandish and the everyday are shockingly, deceptively, heartbreakingly similar.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Domestic abuse

Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor

From the moment Sunny Nwazue discovered she had mystical energy flowing in her blood, she sought to understand and control her powers. Throughout her adventures in Akata Witch and Akata Warrior , she had to navigate the balance between nearly everything in her life—America and Nigeria, the “normal” world and the one infused with juju, human and spirit, good daughter and powerful Leopard Person. Now, those hard lessons and abilities are put to the test in a quest so dangerous and fantastical, it would be madness to go but it may destroy the world if she does… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Physical child abuse

The Reindeer and the Submarine by Beverley McWilliams

An orphaned reindeer with no antlers, Pollyanna is raised by Igor, a Sámi herder, and is more at home in the company of people than other reindeer. When she discovers Igor is leaving for war, Pollyanna decides to follow, but en route, she is captured and gifted to the crew of a British submarine, the HMS Trident. Life onboard the Trident brings more than a few surprises, and Pollyanna – with her love of food – gets into all kinds of mischief. But she also makes friends, becomes part of the crew, and uses her courage and cheekiness to comfort her companions in the dark days of the war.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Naval warfare in World War Two (theme) including mentions of sunk submarines during skirmishes and on-page use of gun/torpedo.

Never Die by Rob J. Hayes

Ein is on a mission from God. A God of Death. Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to a murdered eight year old boy to render the judgement of a God. Ein knows he can’t do it alone, but the empire is rife with heroes. The only problem; in order to serve, they must first die. Ein has four legendary heroes in mind, names from story books read to him by his father. Now he must find them and kill them, so he can bring them back to fight the Reaper’s war.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia and body-shaming
  • Alcohol consumption (multiple on-page scenes)
  • A secondary character is dying of leprosy with some mentions of his symptoms including loss of fingers and teeth
  • Graphic fight scenes, including battle scenes/raids, destruction and pillaging of villages, hand-to-hand combat, and gun- & sword violence (on-page)
  • Murder by gunshot, poisoning, and stabbing (on page)
  • Attempted murder by strangulation