Category Archives: Disability Lit

Protect by Paisley Hope

Imagine coming into the town pub with my crew, dirty and exhausted, only to walk right into my biggest regret. The twin sister of my lost best friend and the one who got away. I haven’t seen Violette Taylor in years but I haven’t forgotten her either. I used to be Rowan to her. Now, I’m just King, the guy who broke her heart, but not for the reasons she thinks. Violette is back in town for good, she’s a single mom and a nurse in the burn unit I accidentally wind up in. Can you call that fate? Maybe, if she wasn’t doing her best to stay far away from anyone who reminded her of her past, especially… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Burn injury from fire
  • Grief & loss depiction

We Could Be Rats by Emily R. Austin

Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society. But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past—from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression
  • Substance addiction & drug abuse
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation

Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

It’s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can’t help being intrigued by Winter’s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court’s seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away. That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Blood & injury depiction)

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff

London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before when she worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe —and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war. Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan—a once-glamorous department store that… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Chronic illness (protagonist)
  • Imprisonment
  • World War Two (theme)

I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

After: Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn’t act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive—for now. Before: Jess hadn’t seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in over a decade. But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded. After: With only her father’s dog for company, Jess must forage and hunt for food, build shelter, and keep herself warm. Some… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Depersonalization episode (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse mentioned
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction and emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Explosion
  • Car accident
  • Fire
  • Kidnapping & hostage situation
  • Blackmail
  • Drowning
  • Graphic animal death & dead bodies including the on-page death of a pet dog & hunting (theme)
  • Bullying recounted

This Might Get Awkward by Kara McDowell

Seventeen-year-old Gemma’s favorite kind of beach is an empty one. Social interactions are too much for her to handle. She always says the wrong thing—if she manages to say anything at all. She can’t even bring herself to speak to her longtime crush, Beau Booker, without losing sleep over her own awkwardness. During a solo outing to her favorite beach, Gemma realizes—to her horror—that the popular kids from school have shown up to throw a party. Before she can sneak away (and possibly puke behind her car) Gemma is pulled into the action and ends up talking to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Social Anxiety Disorder (protagonist)

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Seventh grade is going to be Iveliz’s year. She’s going to make a new friend, help her abuela Mimi get settled after moving from Puerto Rico, and she is not going to get into any more trouble at school.. Except is that what happens? Of course not. Because no matter how hard Iveliz tries, sometimes people say things that just make her so mad. And worse, Mimi keeps saying Iveliz’s medicine is unnecessary–even though it helps Iveliz feel less sad. But how do you explain your feelings to others when you’re not even sure what’s going on yourself?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alzheimer’s Disease & dementia
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attacks
  • Self-harm ideation
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted

It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango

No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was . . . until the accident. After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number Myrka. When she sweeps Vale aside with her perfect form and easy smile, Vale just can’t accept that. But the harder Vale fights to catch up, the more she realizes her injury isn’t the only thing holding her back. If she can’t leave her accident in the past, then what does she have to look forward to?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Physical injury
  • Bullying

Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz

Max Bretzfeld doesn’t want to move to London. Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he’s been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein. Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. It merely involves accomplishing the impossible – becoming a British spy.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Eugenics discussed
  • Period-typical Nazism, racial slurs & antisemitism
  • Suicide discussed
  • Alcohol consumption & smoking mentioned
  • Physical assault of a child by a teacher (protagonist)
  • World War Two (theme) including depiction of the Holocaust, Kristallnacht, the Kindertransport & the Blitz
  • Bullying

Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz

Max was on a mission. Well, two missions. One mission his British spymasters knew about: infiltrating the Funkhaus, the center of Nazi radio and propaganda. The other, they did not: finding his parents. Max Bretzfeld was willing to do anything to return to Germany, even become a British spy. Training complete and forged papers in hand, the radio wunderkind’s mission has begun—gain access to the legendary Funkhaus, the base of operations for the Ministry of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment headed by Joseph Goebbels.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical Nazism, racial slurs & antisemitism
  • Slavery & colonialism discussed
  • Alcohol consumption & smoking mentioned
  • Murder & torture
  • Physical assault & hand-to-hand combat
  • World War Two (theme) including imprisonment & concentration camp
  • Bullying