Tag Archives: Bullying & Hazing

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Homomisia
  • Victim blaming
  • Sexual assault
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • Terminal cancer
  • Death of a parent
  • Bullying
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Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once. The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Bullying
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The Ivies by Alexa Donne

The Ivies by Alexa Donne

Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Outing, threatened
  • Rape
  • Cheating
  • Disordered eating
  • Drugging mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Blackmail
  • Bullying

Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir and Michel Falardeau

Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir & Michel Falardeau

Summer 1994: with just two months left before college, Elodie is forced by her mother to take a job as a camp counsellor. She doesn’t know the first thing about nature, or sports, of kids for that matter, and isn’t especially interested in learning… but now she’s responsible for a foul-mouthed horde of red-headed girls who just might win her over, whether she likes it or not. Just as Elodie starts getting used to her new environment, though — and close to one of the other counsellors — a dark mystery lurking around the camp begins to haunt her dreams.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Bullying
  • Animal death

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone…and more tormented. As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation mentioned
  • Suicide attempt & suicide, off-page
  • Hospitalisation
  • Panic attacks
  • Nightmares
  • Flashbacks & blackouts
  • Pica (central theme)
  • Blood depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father & husband from a heart attack recounted
  • Death of a sister recounted
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Vivisepulture (being buried alive), on-page & recounted
  • Physical assault
  • Home invasion & vandalism
  • Death of a pet kitten mentioned
  • Bullying

You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno

You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno

Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother’s life. The day Eryn, Magpie’s sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp’s party. Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won’t speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who’ve all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near. Near is perfect–a place… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Bimisia
  • Transmisia
  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape & date rape
  • Child neglect
  • Cheating
  • Anxiety & anxiety attacks
  • Suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drugging
  • Murder
  • Bullying

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

Beyond the Gender Binary, spoken word poet Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full colour. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Gender dysphoria
  • Coming out
  • Hate crimes
  • Bullying & cyberbullying

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Eleven-year-old December knows everything about birds, and everything about getting kicked out of foster homes. All she has of her biological mum is the book she left behind, The Complete Guide to Birds, Volume One, and a photo with a message: ‘In flight is where you’ll find me.’ December knows she’s truly a bird, just waiting for the day she transforms and flies away to reunite with her mum. The scar on her back must be where her wings have started to blossom – she just needs to practise and to find the right tree. She has no choice; it’s the only story that makes sense…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment mentioned
  • Scars
  • Bullying

Color Outside the Lines edited by Sangu Mandanna

Color Outside the Lines edited by Sangu Mandanna with contributions from Anna-Marie McLemore, Elsie Chapman, Karuna Riazi, Lydia Kang, L.L. McKinney, Lauren Giabaldi, Tara Sim, Caroline Tung Richmond, Kelly Zekas, Tarun Shanker, Samira Ahmed, Adam Silvera, Eric Smith, Lori M. Lee and Michelle Ruiz Keil

When people ask me what this anthology is about, I’m often tempted to give them the complicated answer: it’s about race, and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it’s about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, racism & antisemitism
  • Dieting & disordered eating
  • Hospitalisation
  • Police brutality
  • Explosion
  • Bullying

Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

Life has never been easy for 20-year-old Levi Carillo. The youngest of the Carillo boys, Levi is nothing like his older brothers. He isn’t dark in looks or intimidating to everyone he meets. In fact, he’s quite the opposite. Haunted by a crippling shyness and the tragic events of his past, Levi spends his days with his head buried in his books or training hard for his college football team. Too timid to talk to girls, Levi stays as far away as possible and completely on his own until he saves the life of a troubled pretty blonde, a troubled pretty blonde that might just be the exception to his rule… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted rape
  • Suicide
  • Homelessness
  • Bullying