Category Archives: Representation

The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan

The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan

with contributions from Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie, Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. Beagle, Beth Cato, Zen Cho, C.S.E. Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Kate Elliott, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ken Liu, Patricia A. McKillip, K.J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sara Gailey, Neon Yang, and Rovina Cai

From China to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imagination in myth and legend. Whether they are rampaging beasts awaiting a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach humanity, dragons are intrinsically connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle beloved for generations.

Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures as never before and is sure to become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Matriculation by Elle Katharine White– Blood depiction
– Grief & loss
Hikayati Sri Bujang by Zen ChoUnknown.
Yuli by Daniel Abraham– Fatmisia
– PTSD
– War themes
A Whisper of Blue by Ken LiuUnknown.
Where the River Turns to Concrete by Brooke BolanderUnknown.
Habitat by K.J. ParkerUnknown.
Pox by Ellen KlagesUnknown.
The Nine Curves by R.F. KuangUnknown.
Lucky’s Dragon by Kelly BarnhillUnknown.
The Exile by Neon YangUnknown.
Except on Saturdays by Peter S. BeagleUnknown.
La Vitesse by Kelly RobsonUnknown.
The Long Walk by Kate ElliottUnknown.
Cut Me Another Quill, Mister Fitz by Garth NixUnknown.
Hoard by Seanan McGuire– Abuse
The Last Hunt by Aliette de BodardUnknown.
We Continue by Anne Leckie & Rachel SwirskyUnknown.
Small Bird’s Plea by Todd McCaffreyUnknown.
The Dragons by Theodora GossUnknown.
Dragon Slayer by Michael SwanwickUnknown.
We Don’t Talk About the Dragon by Sarah GaileyUnknown.
Camoflague by Patricia A. McKillipUnknown.
Maybe Just Go Up There and Talk to It by Scott LynchUnknown.

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behaviour and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Murder
  • The Holocaust

Scandalous by LJ Shen

Scandalous by L.J. Shen

They call him The Mute for a reason. Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks. When he does, it’s with disdain. When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis. He is thirty-three. I am eighteen. He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner. I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter. He’s emotionally unavailable. And I am…feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him. Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul. And yet, I can’t stay away. A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them. And oh, what beautiful chaos it will be.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Physical parental abuse (on-page)
  • Parent with depression & a substance addiction
  • Drug use (on- & off-page)
  • Blackmail

Broken Knight by LJ Shen

Broken Knight by L.J. Shen

Not all love stories are written the same way. Ours had torn chapters, missing paragraphs, and a bittersweet ending. Luna Rexroth is everyone’s favourite wallflower. Underneath the meek, tomboy exterior everyone loves (yet pities) is a girl who knows exactly what, and who, she wants—namely, the boy from the treehouse who taught her how to curse in sign language. Who taught her how to laugh, to live. To love. Knight Cole is everyone’s favourite football hero. This daredevil hell-raiser could knock you up with his gaze alone, but he only has eyes for the girl across the street… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Child abandonment recounted
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Pregnancy
  • Selective mutism
  • Death of a parent from cystic fibrosis (on-page)

Ruckus by LJ Shen

Ruckus by L.J. Shen

They say that life is a beautiful lie and death a painful truth. They’re right. No one has ever made me feel more alive than the guy who serves as a constant reminder that my clock is ticking. He is my forbidden, shiny apple. The striking fallacy to my blunt, raw, truth. He is also my sister’s ex-boyfriend. One thing you should know before you judge me; I saw him first. I craved him first. I loved him first. Eleven years later, he waltzes into my life, demanding a second chance. Dean Cole wants to be my bronze horseman. But my clock is ticking. See, I’m not like the rest. I have an illness. Sometimes I conquer it. Sometimes it conquers me. My white knight has finally arrived. Hopefully, he isn’t too late.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment recounted
  • Panic attack
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug abuse
  • Infertility (on-page)
  • Cystic fibrosis (on-page)
  • Blackmail (on-page)

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi 

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colours to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Misogyny
  • Queermisia
  • Cancer

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik 

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Murder
  • Fire
  • Bullying

The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon & S.L. Huang

The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon & S.L. Huang

In the fading light of a dying star, a soldier for hire searches for a missing refugee ship and uncovers a universe-shattering secret. Asala Sikou is used to looking after number one while crisis reigns in her dying planetary system. But when she’s hired to find a missing refugee ship, she discovers that this is no ordinary rescue mission, and she must play a role in deciding the fate of the whole universe.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Genocide
  • Refugee crisis

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships travelling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Chronic illness
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Genocide
  • Confinement

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honour the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They’re going to need to ask it a lot.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Animal death & hunting mentioned