Category Archives: Representation

Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall

Once upon a time there was a king of a fallen kingdom. He was just and he was beloved. Or so the numbers said. One day, he gathered together the greatest, wisest minds in all the land — not sorcerers, but scientists — and he bade them fashion him a son. A prince. A perfect prince to embody his father’s legacy. The scientists each brought the prince a beauty, strength, ambition, intellect, pride. But they must have forgotten something because when he saw the mermaids dance at the Cirque de la Mer, he ran away to join them. For a year, he trained them, performed with them… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Drowning

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz

Samira thinks of her life as before and after: before the burning and violence in Burma (now Myanmar), when she and her best friend would play in the fields, and after, when her family was forced to flee. There’s before the uncertain journey to Bangladesh by river, and after, when the river swallowed her nana and nani whole. And now, months after rebuilding a life in Bangladesh with her mama, baba, and brother, Khaled, there’s before Samira saw the surfer girls, and after, when she decides she’ll become one. With Khaled’s help… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of a grandparent
  • Drowning mentioned
  • Refugee experiences
  • Poverty

Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo

For Jaime, returning to the tiny Vermont town of Saint Juniper means returning to a past he’s spent eight years trying to forget. After shuttling between foster homes, he hopes he can make something out of this fresh start. But every gossip in town already knows his business, and with reminders of his past everywhere, he seeks out solitude into the nearby woods, called Saint Juniper’s Folly, and does not return. For Theo, Saint Juniper means being stuck. He knows there’s more out there, but he’s scared to go find it. His senior year is going to be like all the rest, dull and claus… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Foster care system experiences
  • Hospitalisation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • House fire
  • Animal death

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

Emily Proudman has been offered the chance of a lifetime – leave her messy London life, move to a beautiful estate in France and help her boss’s wife take care of their daughter. It seems like the perfect opportunity to start again. But once there, Emily soon starts to suspect that her charismatic new employers aren’t telling her the whole truth. That there are even dangerous secrets hidden beneath the glamorous facade. Why have the family been moved to this isolated house so far from home? Why does her boss’s daughter refuse to speak or be touched?… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Foster care experiences mentioned
  • Child abuse, including one slap scene, faking a child’s chronic illness, and forcing them to live in isolation (etc.)
  • Discussions of childhood trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (c-PTSD)
  • Parent with dementia
  • Panic attacks
  • Self-harm (on-page)
  • Suicide by jumping (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse and implied drug abuse
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a daughter recounted
  • Minor blood & injury depiction and emesis
  • Attempted murder by gun violence
  • Kidnapping and captivity of a child
  • Stalking
  • Financial difficulties discussed

Safe Place by Jay Northcote

Where do you go when your home is no longer a safe place? Alex is about to turn eighteen and is firmly in the closet. He’s been biding his time, waiting to escape to uni, and finally come out away from the oppressive influence of his homophobic father. When he flunks his exams, he’s stuck in the small town of Porthladock—and what’s worse is that he’s working for his dad. The only thing that makes it bearable is Cam. Cam’s comfortable with his bisexuality, but he doesn’t broadcast it. Young, free, and single, his social life revolves… Read more

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Transphobia & deadnaming
  • Adult-minor relationship & dubious consent scenario (‘dubcon’)*
  • Alcohol consumption

Context : Relationship between a 17-year-old, who turns 18 during of the book, and a 23-year-old.

A Safe Girl to Love: Stories by Casey Plett

Eleven unique short stories that stretch from a rural Canadian Mennonite town to a hipster gay bar in Brooklyn, featuring young trans women stumbling through loss, sex, harassment, and love. These stories, shiny with whiskey and prairie sunsets, rattling subways and neglected cats, show growing up as a trans girl can be charming, funny, frustrating, or sad, but never will it be predictable.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & transphobia
  • Sexual assault
  • Depression
  • Attempted suicide recounted & self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption, drug use & smoking

Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot

Sadie is a rising star in the trendy Seattle restaurant scene. Her dream is to create unique, modern, and mouthwatering takes on traditional Jewish recipes. But after a public breakup with her boss, a famous chef, she is sure her career is over–until she lands a coveted spot on the next season of her favorite TV show, Chef Supreme. On the plane to New York, Sadie has sizzling chemistry with her seatmate, Luke, but tells him that she won’t be able to contact him for the next six weeks. They prolong their night with a spontaneous, magical dinner before parting ways. Or so she th… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Imaged-based sexual abuse (‘revenge porn’)

The Sad Ghost Club, Vol. 4 by Lize Meddings

When one sad ghost, alone at a crowded party, spies another sad ghost across the room, what happens next changes everything. Because that night, they leave the party and start the The Sad Ghost Club – a secret society for the anxious and alone, a club for people who think they don’t belong. Follow the Sad Ghost Club as they navigate the joys and complexities of opening up their community – and their hearts – to new members.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & depression (theme)

The Sad Ghost Club, Vol. 3 by Lize Meddings

When one sad ghost, alone at a crowded party, spies another sad ghost across the room, what happens next changes everything. Because that night, they leave the party and start the The Sad Ghost Club – a secret society for the anxious and alone, a club for people who think they don’t belong. In Volume 3 of this graphic novel series, follow the Sad Ghost Club as they navigate the joys and complexities of opening up their community – and their hearts – to new members.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & depression (theme)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent mentioned

The Sad Ghost Club, Vol. 2 by Lize Meddings

Ever felt anxious or alone? Like you don’t belong anywhere? Like you’re almost… invisible? Find your kindred spirits at The Sad Ghost Club. (You are not alone. Shhh. Pass it on.) When two strangers meet at a party and realise they both feel different from everyone else there, they start the The Sad Ghost Club – a secret society for the anxious and alone, a club for people who think they don’t belong. But when a third ghost wants to join the club, things get a bit more complicated. Can the two ghosts overcome their insecurities…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & depression (theme)
  • Intrusive thoughts
  • Suicidal ideation