BIPOC Lit – Page 67 – Trigger Warning Database

Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel by Gabby Rivera and Celia Moscote

Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel by Gabby Rivera and Celia Moscote

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But don’t worry, Juliet has something kinda resembling a plan that’ll help her figure out what it means to be Puerto Rican, lesbian and out. See, she’s going to intern with Harlowe Brisbane – her favorite feminist author, someone’s who’s the last work on feminism, self-love and lots of of ther things that will help Juliet find her ever elusive epiphany.

There’s just one problem – Harlowe’s white, not from the Bronx and doesn’t have the answers… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Bimisia
Lesbomisia
Fatmisia & body shaming
Cheating
Sexual assault
Sexual harassment

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

“You’re gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living.

Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the “rez,” and his former life… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Homomisia

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor, but her life is full of simple pleasures, like raising her black-and-white speckled goat, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape & rape of a child
Child sexual slavery (theme)
Child & sex trafficking
Alcoholism mentioned
Suicide
Drugging

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

For Angel, life is only about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are currently taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything – her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world. Jimmy owes everything to The Ark. He’s their frontman – and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing. But dreams don’t always turn out the way you think, and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together they find out just how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Transmisia
Outing recounted
Parental abandonment
Disownment
Alcoholism
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Depression
Suicidal ideation
Blood & injury depiction (broken leg)
Hospitalisation
Knife violence & stabbing

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman’s daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan–reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch. Anchoring herself with stories of Auntie Po, Mei navigates the difficulty and politics of lumber camp work and her growing romantic feelings for her friend Bee.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Hate crime, off-page

Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho

Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho

Elena Soo has always felt overshadowed. Whether by her more successful older sisters, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except Elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. But she is certain about one thing – she has no interest in going to prom. While the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, Elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community centre, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a father in a car accident

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

In the months following his father’s suicide, sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto can’t seem to find happiness again, despite the support of his girlfriend, Genevieve, and his overworked mom. Grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist won’t let him forget the pain. But when Aaron meets Thomas, a new kid in the neighbourhood, something starts to shift inside him. Aaron can’t deny his unexpected feelings for Thomas despite the tensions their friendship has created with Genevieve and his tight-knit crew. Since Aaron can’t stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound happiness, he considers taking drastic actions. The… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia
Depression
Self-harm
Death of a father from suicide

Blood to Poison by Mary Watson

Blood to Poison by Mary Watson

Seventeen-year-old Savannah is cursed. It’s a sinister family heirloom; passed down through the bloodline for hundreds of years, with one woman in every generation destined to die young. The family call them Hella’s girls, named for their ancestor Hella; the enslaved woman with whom it all began. Hella’s girls are always angry, especially in the months before they die. The anger is bursting from Savannah – at the men who cat-call her in the street, at her mother’s disingenuous fiancé, even at her own loving family… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Slavery mentioned
Sexual harassment

Every Variable of Us by Charles Bush

Every Variable of Us by Charles A. Bush

After Philly teenager Alexis Duncan is injured in a gang shooting, her dreams of a college scholarship and pro basketball career vanish in an instant. To avoid becoming another Black teen trapped in her poverty-stricken neighbourhood, she shifts her focus to the school’s STEM team, a group of nerds seeking their own college scholarships. Academics have never been her thing, but Alexis is freshly motivated by Aamani Chakrabarti, the new Indian student who becomes her mentor (and crush?). Alexis begins to see herself as so much more than an athlete. But just as her future starts to reform, Alexis’s own doubts and old loyalties pull her back into harm’s way.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Racism & racial slurs
Homomisia
Transmisia
Islamomisia
Classism
Hate crime
Disownment
Substance addiction
Gun violence

Noelle: The Mean Girl by Ashley Woodfolk

Noelle: The Mean Girl by Ashley Woodfolk

There are only three things that matter to Noelle Lee: her family, school, and the cello. She doesn’t care if people see her as selfish or mean, because she knows she has her priorities in order. That’s why when her dad loses his job, she doesn’t hesitate to work more hours at her grandparents’ Chinese restaurant. Seeing her girls and dealing with her ex-boyfriend have to take a backseat so she can help her family and prepare for her school’s fall showcase. But things get even more complicated for Noelle when she realizes she can’t stop thinking about Tobyn, one of the other Flyy Girls. With all of these distractions, Noelle starts to wonder if working hard even matters, especially if she can’t keep her life from falling apart around her.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Cheating
Chronic illness
Panic attacks
Bullying