BIPOC Lit – Page 34 – Trigger Warning Database

Unearthed by Lilliam Rivera

Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story by Lilliam Rivera and illustrated by Steph C.

Jessica Cruz has done everything right. She’s a dedicated student, popular among her classmates, and has a loving family that has done everything they can to give her a better life in the United States. While Jessica is a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, allowing her to go to school and live in the U.S., her parents are undocumented. Jessica usually worries for her parents, but her fears and anxiety escalate as a mayoral candidate with a strong anti-immigration stance runs for office… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Deportation

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria–and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there’s this boy. Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Sexual harassment
Anxiety & panic attacks
Animal death

We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera

We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera

Pedro, Luna, and Rafa may attend Fairfax High School together in Los Angeles, but they run in separate spheres. Pedro is often told that he’s “too much” and seeks refuge from his home life in a local drag bar. Luna is pretending to go along with the popular crowd but is still grieving the unexpected passing of her beloved cousin Tasha. Then there’s Rafa, the quiet new kid who is hiding the fact that his family is homeless. But Pedro, Luna, and Rafa find themselves thrown together when an extraterrestrial visitor lands in their city… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Recreational drug use & alcohol mentioned
Body horror
Police brutality & violence
Physical assault
Bullying
Animal attack

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

Sang Ly lives at Cambodia’s largest city dump, earning a living for her family by sifting through the trash for recyclables and things that can be repaired and sold. On a good day, she can earn enough to buy food for her family. She needs enough good days to pay the Rent Collector, Sopeap—a grumpy old woman who is willing to evict any tenant who can’t pay their rent on time. When Sang Ly is unable to pay her rent, she fears her family will have to leave their shanty home—a place where her only possessions can be carried in two hands. But when Sopeap sees a discarded children’s book lying on Sang Ly’s cardboard bed, her mood… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Human trafficking mentioned
Physical injuries & illnesses mentioned
Death of a parent
Gang violence
Physical assault
Poverty (theme)

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you. This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in American these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can you hold close? In a world of danger, what makes you feel safe? From a poem written in the form of a syllabus, to another about the time his grandmother literally saved his life, Johnson’s creative expression is constantly enacting the feminist mantra, “the personal is political.”

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slur
Cancer
Murder
Police brutality & violence
Gun violence

The Elites by Natasha Ngan

The Elites by Natasha Ngan

Hundreds of years into the future, wars, riots, resource crises and rising sea levels have destroyed the old civilisations. Only one city has survived: Neo-Babel, a city full of cultures – and racial tension. Fifteen-year-old Silver is an Elite, a citizen of Neo-Babel chosen to guard the city due to her superior DNA. She’d never dream of leaving – but then she fails to prevent the assassination of Neo Babel’s president, setting off a chain of events more shocking and devastating than she could ever have imagined. Forced to flee the city with her best friend Butterfly (a boy with genetically… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Murder

Why We Fly byKimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal

Two high school cheerleaders face the ultimate test when an act of solidarity spurs chaos. With a rocky start to senior year, lifelong friends Eleanor and Chanel have a lot on their mind. Eleanor is still in physical therapy months after a serious concussion from a failed cheer attempt. Chanel’s putting tremendous pressure on herself to get into the best colleges and starts making questionable decisions. But they have each other’s backs just as always. Eleanor’s new relationship with star quarterback Three may be causing a rift between the best friends. When the cheer squad decides to take a knee at the season’s first football game… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism

Haunted Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Haunted Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Everything in Evie Tanaka’s life is finally perfect. As a badass superheroine, she defends San Francisco from demon invasion on the regular. Her relationships with superhero partner Aveda Jupiter, little sister Bea, and hot, half-demon husband Nate have never been stronger. Maybe it’s possible for a grad school dropout turned put-upon personal assistant turned superhero to have it all? As if things can’t get any better, Evie learns she’s pregnant. She’s overjoyed but also worried about whether she’s cut out for motherhood. Before she can dwell on her dilemma too much, a women’s college reports a string of mysterious “hauntings,”… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Panic attacks

Follow the River by CE Ricci

Follow the River by C.E. Ricci

I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.
Rather than shy away, I grit my teeth and use it as an opportunity to prove myself. Not just in football, but also in life. Even when I was thrown through a loop in discovering I was bisexual, I embraced it. Owning it so no one can use it as ammunition against me. But when Ciaráin Grady comes barreling into my life with his venomous tongue and amber eyes brimming with disdain, I realize every test of my character and strength could never have prepared me for the trial he holds. One that toes the line of love and … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Bimisia
Graphic rape of a child, on-page
Child sexual abuse by a step-parent

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P by Alex Gino

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister Emma is born Deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. A big fantasy reader, Jilly connects with another fan, Derek, who is a Deaf Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for advice but doesn’t always know the best way to ask for it and makes some mistakes along the way. Jilly has to step back to learn to be an ally, a sister, and a friend, understanding that life works in different ways for different people, and that being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Racism
Police brutality