Category Archives: Representation

Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi

In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighbourhoods are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked. A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives—a space… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Rape mentioned
  • Substance addiction
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies & emesis
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality
  • Lynching mentioned
  • Kidnapping
  • Incarceration & prison riot

Parsnips in Love by Porochista Khakpour

An ailing farmer in rural Iran unearths an extraordinary find: two parsnips, grown together and looking for all the world like entwined lovers. For now, the sublime treasure is his secret. Wrapping it in a silk handkerchief, he nestles it away in a dresser drawer. Day after day, he gazes at their unmistakable rapture, reminded of the long-gone youthful passions he once shared with his wife. So, too, he mourns the inevitable—the eventual decay of the parsnips in love. When he decides to share his discovery with the world, his life and the lives of those around him connect and change in the most unexpected ways.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Knife & gun violence

A Righteous Man by Tochi Onyebuchi

Nathaniel is a well-intentioned, if naive, British cleric feeling blessed to educate a West African village about the benevolent power of God. But as slavers encroach, Nathaniel’s endeavor is daunted by the realities unfolding on the beautiful homeland of his congregation. It seems the Devil has power too. What follows for Nathaniel is a profound spiritual upheaval as he questions his purpose and even his humanity.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Racism & classism
  • Hate crime
  • Rape
  • Miscarriage
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Mass shooting
  • Kidnapping
  • Colonisation
  • Animal death & cruelty

We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado

Sol Reyes has had a rough year. After a series of workplace incidents at her university lab culminates in a plagiarism accusation, Sol is put on probation. Dutiful visits to her homophobic father aren’t helping her mental health, and she finds her nightly glass of wine becoming more of an all-day—and all-bottle—event. Her wife, Alice Song, is far more optimistic. After all, the two finally managed to buy a house in the beautiful, gated community of Maneless Grove. However, the neighbors are a little too friendly in Sol’s opinion. She has no interest in the pushy Homeowners Associ… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & homophobia
  • Child abuse & neglect, including mentions of a parent slashing her child with a knife after they came out
  • Anxiety & alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Death of a child
  • Blood & gore depiction, including minor body horror & depiction of dead bodies
  • Car accident
  • Fire

We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado

Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they’re all meant to make some final memories together. Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can’t even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement. Anais ties her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shad… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Hate crime
  • Suicide discussed
  • Hospitalisation
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Drowning

The Secret Crush Book Club by Karmen Lee

For Dani, life is a juggling act. As a single mom devoted to her son and family, she barely has a moment to herself. But when her sister announces she’s moving out of the house, the ache of loneliness creeps in, and Dani can’t help but wonder if there’s something else she’s been missing in her life. Zoey came to Peach Blossom eager to start her new job as the town’s librarian and do a little research for her next book. Yet she never expected to find inspiration in fellow book club member Dani, whose captivating brown eyes tell a story of their own. Before they know it… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity mentioned

The Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee

Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia “Vini” Williams provides a tow—and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling—her relationship specialty—and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested. Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown—but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of a parent from cancer recounted

The 7-10 Split by Karmen Lee

For teacher Ava Williams, some subjects are not up for debate. Like history—specifically, the one she has with Grace Jones, bowling pro and local celeb. Who is now, for no identifiable reason, teaching at the same small-town Georgia high school as Ava. Once upon a time, they were thick as thieves, best friends, rivals who pushed each other, and total bowling nerds. Then they shared a kiss, sweet and confusing…and after that, they split and nothing was ever the same. Ava is pretty sure she has every reason to hate Grace. Especially when the school’s soggy potato of a principal annou… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Panic attacks mentioned
  • Death of a parent from cancer
  • Death of a parent in a drunk-driving accident

We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry

In the wake of her grandmother’s passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a little girl who looks more like Sydney than her own sister, or mother. She soon discovers the mystery girl in the photograph is her aunt, Carol, who was one of six local North Carolina Black girls to go missing in the 1960s. For the last several decades, not a soul has talked about Carol or what really happened to her. With her grandmother gone and Sydney looking to start a family of her own, she is determined to unravel the truth behind her long-lost aunt and the sinister silence surround… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infertility & IVF treatments (protagonist)

Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This time has to be different, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn’t know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family–by her niece, Amara, an ambitious college student–and delivered.. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism & police brutality
  • Graphic miscarriage & teen pregnancy
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Animal attack