Category Archives: Disability Lit

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

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

Delaney Meyers-Petrov is tired of being seen as fragile just because she’s Deaf. So when she’s accepted into a prestigious program at Godbole University that trains students to slip between parallel worlds, she’s excited for the chance to prove herself. But her semester gets off to a rocky start as she faces professors who won’t accommodate her disability, and a pretentious upperclassman fascinated by Delaney’s unusual talents. Colton Price died when he was nine years old. Quite impossibly, he woke several weeks later at the feet of a green-eyed little girl. Now, twelve years later, Delaney Meyers-Petrov has stumbled back… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Parental abandonment & child neglect
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use mentioned
  • Death of a child
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & stalking
  • Drowning
  • Fire
  • Car accident mentioned

I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew

Following the death of his father, Thomas Walsh had to grow up quickly, taking on odd-jobs to keep food on the table and help pay his gravely ill mother’s medical bills. When he’s offered a highly paid position as an interpreter for an heiress who exclusively signs, Thomas — the hearing child of a Deaf adult — jumps at the opportunity. But the job is not without its challenges. Thomas is expected to accompany Vivienne wherever she goes, but from the start, she seems determined to shake him. To make matters worse, her parents keep her on an extremely short leash. She is not to go anywhere without express permission… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Body horror
  • Nonconsensual surgery
  • Murder & ritual human sacrifice
  • Kidnapping
  • Gun violence
  • Choking
  • Fistfights resulting in hospitalisation

Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

Katie knows there’s stuff that makes her different. She’s homeschooled, she has freckles, and her teeth are really crooked. But none of these things matter to Kacey. They’re best friends forever. But when they go to summer camp, Kacey starts acting weird. And when Katie gets home, she can’t stop worrying. About getting braces. About 6th grade. About friends. She knows tapping three times or opening and closing a drawer won’t make everything better . . . but sometimes it helps stop the worrying. Is something wrong with her? And will anyone want to be friends with her if they find out?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Turning Twelve by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

Katie can’t wait to turn twelve–pool parties! babysitting! friends! But sometimes it feels like there’s so much new stuff she can barely keep up. First Job? (Yes!) Unfair dress codes? (No way!) Make up (Okay?!) Shaving? (Uh…!) Maybe growing up isn’t as much fun as she had expected. But one thing does seem right–her new friend, Grace. Could Katie have a crush on another girl? Katie knows not everyone around her will approve…which is kind of scary. She might not be ready to tell anyone yet, and that’s fine…but can Katie stay true to herself and embrace the person she’s growing up to be?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Anxiety & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Finding You by Lena Hendrix

After eight years in the Marines, I’m still looking for the mysterious woman I’ve obsessed over since her first letter. When she shows up in my small town, I’m thrilled. But when she turns out to be my brother’s best friend–and the girl he’s always loved–I’m caught between the two people who matter to me the most. I’m a Marine, which means honor and duty run deep. Joanna is off-limits. That would be a whole lot easier if she hadn’t already agreed to help run my brother’s fishing guide business for the summer, forcing me to work side-by-side with the woman I’ve fantasized about for years. I try to keep her at a distance, push her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted rape
  • Military-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Military service recounted

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Eighteen-year-old Mila has been in the foster system since her mother abandoned her. Now that she’s graduating high school, she has nothing to do and nowhere to call home. So when she gets an offer to work as an intern on the Farm, she readily accepts. Her main job is to take care of eight-year-old Lee. At first the Farm seems like an idyllic paradise, a remote place on the cliffs with view of the sea far below. But Mila soon realises there’s something more sinister going on. Lee’s recent trauma causes Mila’s own frightening memories to bubble to the surface…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & neglect (theme)
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Emotional, psychological & financial domestic abuse
  • Gaslighting
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Needles & medical treatment mentioned
  • Car accident mentioned
  • Death of grandmother & grandfather mentioned
  • Fire & death from fire
  • Near-drowning incident

You’re Doing Just Fine by Charlotte Eriksson

Named after the poem that has been shared over 400,000 times on Tumblr, this is the third book from young author and songwriter Charlotte Eriksson. A collection of prose and poetry with the theme of hope, recovery and finding beauty in the darkness. An exploration of the life of a young artist with an aching heart, urged by a wanderlust that leads and directs, and the simple task of learning how to live with yourself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm