Category Archives: BIPOC Lit

You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural. Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up. Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism
  • Eating disorder recovery (secondary character)
  • Bullying

Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca

Maya is the pragmatic twin. But when her sister threatens to reveal her secret anxiety to their parents, she feels completely betrayed. Chaya is the outgoing twin. With Maya shutting her out, she decides to make a drastic change to give her twin the space she seems to need. The once-close sisters can’t seem to find their rhythm, but they know that something has to give. So they make a bet: they’ll switch places at summer camp, and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school—the source of frequent arguments. But stepping into each other’s shoes isn’t as easy as it sounds. Will the twins’ relationship recover?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety (protagonist)
  • Self-harm
  • Blood & injury depiction

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart. Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick. Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Displacement (theme)
  • Blood depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from leukemia

Queen Takes Rose by Katee Robert

Once upon a time I made a deal with the devil. It turns out I like playing in the dark. Over the years, I’ve become someone I’m proud of, someone dangerous. I’ll never be as dangerous as Malone, though. She’s one of the most feared leaders in Carver City, and her reputation is more than earned. Years ago, we had a single night together and she’s ignored me ever since. Imagine my surprise to discover she’s scheduled me for the final two weeks of my contract. Maybe I should be afraid. Everyone else fears Malone. Instead, all I feel is anticipation. It’s time to balance the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother after twenty years in a life-support coma
  • Caning

Theirs for the Night by Katee Robert

Meg Sanders has spent her life playing by the rules—until tonight. It’s her birthday and she’s determined to be a little wild and a whole lot carefree, at least until she has to get back to reality tomorrow. But the last thing she expects is to be seduced by two gorgeous men on the dance floor. Theo and Galen are each incredibly sexy on their own, and potentially devastating as a pair—and they want her. Meg isn’t down for anything resembling complicated when her life is such a mess, but the pair win her over with the promise of a night out of her deepest, darkest fantasy—and that they walk the next morning with no strings attached.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment (groping)
  • Child neglect recounted
  • Scars (protagonist)

A Worthy Opponent by Katee Robert

Once upon a time I was a girl who believed in love and happily ever afters. Now the only thing I believe in is revenge. Unfortunately for me, there’s only one man willing to help me. Hook. I should have known it wouldn’t be out of the goodness of his heart. He doesn’t have one. No, Hook wants his ring on my finger and me on my knees before him—and he won’t take no for an answer. I’m willing to pay any price in order to bring Pan down…even if it means I lose my soul in the bargain.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Intimate partner abuse & violence recounted
  • Emotional & physical child abuse recounted
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attack
  • Scars
  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Attempted kidnapping

You, Me, U.S. by Brigitte Bautista

Best friends Jo and Liza are as opposite as night and day. Sex worker Jo swears by the worry-free, one-day-at-a-time dance through life. Salesclerk Liza has big plans for her family’s future, and there is nothing bigger than a one-way trip to the U.S. But an almost-kiss, a sex dare, and news of Liza’s engagement to her American boyfriend unveil feelings Jo and Liza never thought they had. Deciding between staying together and drifting apart puts Liza’s best-laid plans and Jo’s laidback life in jeopardy. When love clashes with lifelong ambitions and family expectations, someone has to give in. Question is: who?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse mentioned
  • Infidelity
  • Sexual harassment
  • Sex work & sex work shaming

Passing Through by Katia Rose

Emily Rivers does not have time for love. Or dating. Or even a one night stand. As the eldest of the Rivers sisters, she’s too focused on keeping her family’s campground running in the wake of a devastating tragedy to even think about romance. When Kim Jefferies shows up at the local small town bar looking like a lesbian snack on a stick, Emily writes her off as yet another tourist just passing through—no matter how much the butterflies in her stomach try to tell her otherwise. Only Kim’s plans of ‘passing through’ fade the second she sees Emily Rivers, despite… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Panic attack
  • Parent with depression
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from breast cancer recounted
  • Hiking accident resulting in serious injury

Just Might Work by Katia Rose

Dane Marner’s aunt is obsessed with soul mates. As a self-proclaimed ‘cosmically guided matchmaker,’ she’s played every card in the deck trying to set Dane up with the perfect match she’s found. The problem? The ‘perfect’ match is Evangeline Hudson. Dane and Evangeline rent rooms in Dane’s eccentric aunt’s house, but that’s where their similarities end. Dane is a drifter who freewheels from one odd job to the next, and Evangeline is an overachieving undergrad with a ten year plan so detailed it reads like an… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misgendering & deadnaming mentioned
  • Parental divorce
  • Bullying mentioned

The Devil Wears Tartan by Katia Rose

Raised as the shining prodigies of warring highland dance schools, the two grew up with blaring bagpipes as the backing track for a feud that took them all the way to the world championships. Moira could never keep Kenzie’s icy glares from getting under her skin, and Kenzie could never hold back an eye-roll as she watched the crowds fawn over her rival’s happy-go-lucky charm. Starting college has forced both women to hang up their kilts, but when their local highland dance association announces a scholarship for a life-changing amount of money, they find themselves back onstage for one last season…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression (secondary character)
  • Substance addiction, drug abuse & overdose (off-page, secondary character)