BIPOC Lit – Page 61 – Trigger Warning Database

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind.

Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery mentioned
Homomisia mentioned
Abandonment
Child abuse & neglect
Emotional & physical abuse
Suicide
Alcoholism
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Drug use
Blood depiction
Physical injury
Beheading
Forced blinding
Scarring
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent
Death of a child
Mass murder
Poisoning
Kidnapping
Physical assault
Imprisonment
Cult
Animal death

Burn Down, Rise Up by Tirado Vincent

Burn Down, Rise Up by Tirado Vincent

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Misogyny
Blood & gore depiction
Hospitalisation
Burns & scarring
Gun violence
Police brutality
Fire

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered.

But before it even really begins, the city implements a new safety protocol…the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those within to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slurs
Gun violence
Police brutality
Strangulation

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed his father his father was a criminal. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Homomisia
Transmisia
Deadnaming
Body horror
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Torture
Gun violence

Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

Beauregard “Bug” Montage: husband, father, honest car mechanic. But he was once known – from North Carolina to the beaches of Florida – as the best getaway driver on the East Coast. Just like his father, who disappeared many years ago. After a series of financial calamities, Bug reluctantly takes part in a daring diamond heist to solve his money troubles – and to go straight once and for all. However, when it goes horrifically wrong, he’s sucked into a grimy underworld which threatens everything, and everyone, he holds dear . . .

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Human trafficking
Misogyny
Racism
Fatmisia
Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Hate crime
Emotional & physical child abuse
Alcoholism
Substance addiction
Drug use & abuse
Emesis
Torture
Gun violence
Kidnapping
Car accident

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

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

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole

Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir. Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slavery mentioned
Parent in recovery from alcoholism
Bullying mentioned

The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

Trinity Jordan leads a quiet, normal life: working from home for the Hive, a multifunctional government research centre, and recovering from the incident that sent her into a tailspin. But the life she’s trying to rebuild is plagued by mishaps when Li Wei, her neighbour’s super sexy and super strange nephew, moves in and turns things upside down. Li Wei’s behaviour is downright odd—and the attraction building between them is even more so… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Memory loss & suppression
Panic attack
Stroke
Chronic pain
Nonconsensual drug use
Explosion

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

While her boss the prince was busy wooing his betrothed, Likotsi had her own love affair after swiping right on a dating app. But her romance had ended in heartbreak, and now, back in NYC again, she’s determined to rediscover her joy–so of course she runs into the woman who broke her heart.

When Likotsi and Fabiola meet again on a stalled subway train months later, Fab asks for just one cup of tea. Likotsi, hoping to know why she was unceremoniously dumped, agrees… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Alcohol consumption
Deportation