Category Archives: Disability Lit

We Won’t All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

Two years ago Mercy Gray was hailed as a hero for saving lives during a mall shooting. She still carries souvenirs from that incident: the fragment of a bullet lodged in her back, a mountain of medical debt, and guilt for ignoring her sister’s warnings that the sweet boy next door was anything but. When billionaire-turned-TV-host Damien Dare recruits Mercy to compete on his new survivalist reality show, she can’t turn down a chance at the whopping cash prize that could send her sister to college—but when she and the other contestants arrive at the off-grid location… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • On-going medical condition from gunshot wound sustained in a mass shooting discussed (protagonist)
  • Murder & mass shooting discussed & recounted
  • Kidnapping & stalking

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate. Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & homophobic slurs, including discussions of anti-queer legislation & culture in Russia
  • Parent with Alzheimer’s Disease (off-page but discussed)
  • Smoking
  • Pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Hospitalisation for concussion & suspected spinal cord injury
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from suicide recounted

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life. Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia & dieting discussed
  • Parental divorce recounted
  • Infidelity recounted
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Nightmare
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Protagonist with a congenital heart condition (aortic valve stenosis & aortic coarctation), which requires open heart surgery
  • Mild physical illness (heatstroke) & mentions of a grandparent recovering from emergency hip replacement surgery
  • Death of a parent in a car accident
  • Death of a grandfather recounted
  • Death of a best friend recounted

Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand & Tara Anand

All Nitasha’s parents want is for her to be the perfect Indian daughter—something she is decidedly not. Everything she does seems to disappoint them, especially her mom. They just don’t get that she’ll never be like her doctor older brother. To make matters worse, she’s never quite felt like she belongs at school either, and lately, her best friend, Ava, and her crush, Henry, seem to be more interested in the rich new girl than in her. Alcohol takes the edge off, but when that doesn’t work, Nitasha turns to cutting. She can’t stop asking herself: Will she ever be enough for her friends or her family? Or even for herself?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse (protagonist)
  • Self-harm & attempted suicide (on-page, protagonist)
  • Cyberbullying

King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin

For the third summer in a row, Pernell is back in the classroom, facing the same struggles that have always made school seem more like a battlefield than a place of learning. This summer is different, he’s battling to become the Cypher King, leader of the lunchroom’s impromptu rap circles. Here, the rhythm flows and the words fly, creating a space where the wittiest and most rhythmically inclined reign supreme. Here, Pernell’s ADHD gives him an edge. But life outside the cypher isn’t as forgiving. Pernell’s English teacher has it out for him. His parents are pressuring him to see… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical ableism (theme)
  • Death of a parent

All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis

All Aiden ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. Unfortunately, due to Aiden’s autism, summer football tryouts did not go well when Aiden finds himself at the bottom of a pile-up resulting in an over-stimulation meltdown. But when the school year starts, a spot on the team opens urgently needing to be filled. Aiden finally gets his chance to play the game he loves most. However, not every team member is happy about Aiden’s position on the team, wary of how his autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called. When Brandon tries to interfere… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & ableism
  • Police brutality
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Incarceration for physical assault
  • Emesis

The Flip Side by Jason Walz

Theo’s best friend has died, and he can’t pull himself out of his sadness—a sadness that those around him don’t seem to respect or even notice. And then something even more disconcerting His town literally flips upside down and everyone disappears, except for a threatening, shape-shifting monster and a snarky teenage girl who knows her way around this flipped world. Is Theo doomed to spend the rest of his life in this scary state?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicidal ideation & self-harm
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend from cancer

Halfway There by Christine Mari

Christine has always felt she is just Half American, half Japanese. As a biracial Japanese American who was born in Tokyo but raised in the US, she knows all too well what it’s like to be a part of two different worlds but never feeling as though you belong to either. Now on the brink of adulthood, Christine decides it’s time to return to the place she once called home. So she sets forth on a year abroad in Tokyo, believing that this is where she truly belongs. After years of feeling like an outsider, now she will finally be complete. Except…Tokyo isn’t the answer she thought it… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Depression (protagonist) & panic attacks
  • Suicidal ideation &attempted suicide
  • Self-harm

Vantage Point by Sara Sligar

The old-money Wieland family has it all—wealth, status, power. They’re also famously cursed. Clara and her brother Teddy grew up on a small island in Maine in the shadow of their parents’ tragic deaths, haunted by rumors and paparazzi. Fourteen years later they’ve mostly put their turbulent past to rest. Teddy has married Clara’s best friend, Jess, and the three of them have moved back home to take over the sprawling, remote family mansion known as Vantage Point. Then Teddy decides to run for the Senate—an unnerving prospect made much worse when… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Eating disorder (protagonist)

Wild Card by Elsie Silver

Sebastian Rousseau is a grumpy, hot as hell fire pilot who is too damn good with his hands. It’s the perfect combination. But unfortunately for me, he’s also my ex-boyfriend’s dad. A chance meeting brought us together and a missed connection has kept us apart. One year later, a stroke of fate has us living under the same roof—which makes everything between us downright messy. Because even after all this time, he’s still the man I think about when I fall asleep. The one I can’t get over no matter how hard I try. He’s working on mending a fragile relationship with his son and we both… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia & body-shaming mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Hospitalisation for surgery