The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

Marcos Rivas wants to find love. He’s sure as hell not getting it at home, where his mom’s racist boyfriend beats him up. Or from his boys, who aren’t exactly the “hug it out” type. Marcos yearns for love, a working cell phone, and maybe a pair of sneakers that aren’t falling apart. But more than anything, Marcos wants to get out of Maesta, his hood—which seems impossible.

When Marcos is placed in a new after-school program for troubled teens with potential, he meets Zach, a theater geek whose life seems great on the surface, and Amy, a punk girl who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. These new friendships inspire Marcos to open up to his Maesta crew, too, and along the way, Marcos starts to think more about his future and what he has to fight for. Marcos ultimately learns that bravery isn’t about acting tough and being macho; it’s about being true to yourself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexual assault mentioned
  • Graphic physical & verbal child abuse
  • Suicide of a gay teenager due to bullying mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Recreational drug use
  • Overdose mentioned
  • Emesis, off-page
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XL by Scott Brown

XL by Scott Brown

Will Daughtry is a late bloomer–at least that’s what everyone tells the high school sophomore, who is just shy of five feet. By his sixteenth birthday, Will is resigned, bitterly, to being tiny forever. His only comfort is his best friend and stepbrother, Drew (6’3″), and their pal Monica (5’10”), the girl Will’s secretly pined for since fifth grade. With them, he feels whole; everyone else sees him as a half man. But when Will stumbles onto Drew and Monica kissing, he realizes he’s on his own.

That’s when he starts to grow. And grow fast. Astonishingly fast… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Bullying
  • Cyberharassment
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Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throw downs and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but the sixteen-year-old grows weary of the life. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city’s benevolent founder and cross the border in a search for a mysterious gang the Ashé Ryders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles other crews and her own doubts, but the closer she gets to her goal, the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone— she cares about… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Familial abandonment
  • Child abuse
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use mentioned
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Knife violence
  • Use of a taser
  • Attempted drowning
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Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed. It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there’s one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She’s the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am. We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it? … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut shaming
  • Homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Cheating mentioned
  • Depression
  • Drug abuse
  • Death of a sibling
  • Bullying
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All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine, a witch, and Laurence Armstead, a mad scientist, parted ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. But as adults they both wind up in near-future San Francisco, where Laurence is an engineering genius and Patricia works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world’s ever growing ailments. But something is determined to bring them back together—to either save the world, or end it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Parental abuse
  • Suicide
  • Death of a parent
  • Hazing
  • Animal torture
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Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying
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Five Little Liars by Amanda K Morgan

Five Little Liars by Amanda K. Morgan

Nothing ruins summer vacation like a secret . . . especially when that secret is a dead teacher.

Ivy used to be on top of the social ladder, until her ex made that all go away. She has the chance to be Queen Bee again, but only if the rest of the group can keep quiet. Tyler has always been a bad boy, but lately he’s been running low on second chances. There’s no way he’s going to lose everything because someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut. Kinley wouldn’t describe herself as perfect, though everyone else would… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Hospitalisation
  • Blackmail
  • Bullying
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Love, Heather by Laurie Petrou

Love, Heather by Laurie Petrou

Stevie never meant for things to go this far. When she and Dee–defiant, bold, indestructible Dee–started all this, there was a purpose to their acts of vengeance: to put the bullies of Woepine High School back in their place. And three months ago, Stevie believed they deserved it. Once her best friend turned on her, the rest of the school followed. Stevie was alone and unprotected with a target on her back. Online, it was worse.

It was Dee’s idea to get them all back with a few clever pranks, signing each act Love, Heather–an homage to her favorite 80’s revenge flick. Despite herself, Stevie can’t help getting caught up in the payback… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Transmisia
  • Racism
  • Sexual assault
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Eating disorders
  • Gun violence
  • Bullying
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Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Reverie by Ryan La Sala

All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can’t remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it’s not just Kane who’s different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different.

As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what’s going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere—the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery—Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Amnesia
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Scars
  • Near-drowning incident mentioned
  • Car accident mentioned
  • Bullying
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Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade

Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade

The Shroud of Prophecy tests fate to discover what happens when the path of good and right, the triumph of light over darkness, the only path to salvation… fails.

Everyone loves Mathias. So naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in head first, pulling his best friend Aaslo along for the ride.

Mathias is thrilled for the adventure! There’s nothing better than a road beneath his feet and adventure in the air. Aaslo, on the other hand, has never cared for the world beyond the borders of his sleepy village and would be much happier alone and in the woods. But, someone has to keep the Chosen One’s head on his shoulders and his feet on the ground… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Body horror
  • Bullying
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