Counterpoint by Anna Zabo

Counterpoint by Anna Zabo

Twisted Wishes lead guitarist Dominic “Domino” Bradley is an animal onstage. But behind his tight leather pants and skull-crusher boots lies a different man entirely, one who needs his stage persona not only to perform, but to have the anonymity he craves. A self-imposed exile makes it impossible to get close to anyone outside the band, so he’s forced to get his sexual fix through a few hot nights with a stranger.

When computer programmer Adrian Doran meets Dominic, he’s drawn to the other man’s quiet voice and shy smile. But after a few dirty, demanding nights exploring Dominic’s need to be dominated, Adrian wants more than a casual distraction. He has no idea he’s fallen for Domino Grinder—the outlandish, larger-than-life rock god.

Dominic is reluctant to trust Adrian with his true identity. But when the truth is revealed prematurely, Dominic is forced to reevaluate both his need for Adrian and everything he believes about himself.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Workplace homomisia & racism
  • Anxiety & panic attacks (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Bullying mentioned
  • Doxxing
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Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia

Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia

Zora Novak has been framed.

When someone burns down the home of the school janitor and he dies in the blaze, everyone in Addamsville, Indiana, points a finger at Zora. Never mind that Zora has been on the straight and narrow since her father was thrown in jail. With everyone looking for evidence against her, her only choice is to uncover the identity of the real killer. There’s one big problem—Zora has no leads. No one does. Addamsville has a history of tragedy, and thirty years ago a similar string of fires left several townspeople dead. The arsonist was never caught.

Now, Zora must team up with her cousin Artemis—an annoying self-proclaimed Addamsville historian—to clear her name. But with a popular ghost-hunting television show riling up the townspeople, almost no support from her family and friends, and rumors spinning out of control, things aren’t looking good. Zora will have to read between the lines of Addamsville’s ghost stories before she becomes one herself.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Classism
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Decapitation
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture mentioned
  • Incarceration of a parent mentioned
  • Disappearance of a parent
  • Fire & arson
  • Animal death
  • Poverty themes
  • Bullying
  • Homelessness
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The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. The end of high school will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is happy wherever he is thanks to his obsession with the epic book series Bloodfall and the fangirl who may be turning his harsh reality into real-life fantasy. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia—neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending—one that will rock his life to the core.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableist language
  • Parental abuse
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation and attempted suicide
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Attempted kidnapping recounted
  • Bullying
  • Poverty themes

Note: A parent incarcerated for possession of chil pornography.

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Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Meet Rachel Grossman. She’ll stop at nothing to protect her daughter, Aviva, even if it ends up costing her everything.

Meet Jane Young. She’s disrupting a quiet life with her daughter, Ruby, to seek political office for the first time.

Meet Ruby Young. She thinks her mom has a secret. She’s right.

Meet Embeth Levin. She’s made a career of cleaning up her congressman husband’s messes.

Meet Aviva Grossman. The Internet won’t let her or anyone else forget her past transgressions.

This is the story of five women and the sex sexist scandal that binds them together.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut shaming
  • Fatmisia
  • Ableist & transmisic language
  • Sexual harassment & rape mentioned
  • Depression mentioned
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Cancer
  • Bullying
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Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappai

Eliza & Her Monsters by Franncesca Zappai

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Panic attacks & anxiety
  • Depression
  • Suicide of a parent recounted and suicidal ideation
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Bullying & cyberbullying
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The Golden Tower by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Golden Tower by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

A generation ago, powerful mage Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn’t succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt.

Facing up to what he is, Callum has battled chaos and evil across four years of magical training at the Magisterium, eventually defeating the armies of chaos in an epic battle.

It came at a cost.

Now, triumphant and heartbroken, Callum Hunt has just about had enough, and is ready to complete his training. But the evil Callum faced has not given up just yet…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism, internalised ableism & ableist language
  • Nightmares
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend discussed
  • Death of a mother, wife and son recounted
  • Murder & mass murder
  • Kidnapping recounted & hostage situation
  • Imprisonment recounted
  • Fire
  • War themes & battle scenes
  • Bullying
  • Animal attack
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The Silver Mask by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Silver Mask by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn’t succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt.

Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea.

It is only when he’s broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine’s plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism, internalised ableism & ableist language
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & son recounted
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Imprisonment
  • Fire
  • War themes & battle scenes
  • Bullying
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The Bronze Key by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Bronze Key by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

Magic can save you. Magic can kill you.

Students at the Magisterium are supposed to be safe. Under the watchful eyes of the mages, they are taught to use magic to bring order to a chaotic world.

But now the chaos is fighting back. Call, Tamara, and Aaron should be worrying about things like pop quizzes and magic contests. Instead, after the shocking death of one of their classmates, they must track down a sinister killer… and risk their own lives in the process.

As Call, Tamara, and Aaron discover, magic can only be as good as the person who wields it. In evil hands, it has the capacity to do immeasurable harm, unless it is stopped in time.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism, internalised ableism & ableist language
  • Classism
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • Imprisonment
  • Bullying
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Roam by C. H. Armstrong

Roam by C. H. Armstrong

Roam by C. H. Armstrong book cover

Seventeen year-old Abby Lunde and her family are living on the streets. They had a normal life back in Omaha, but thanks to her mother’s awful mistake, they had to leave what little they had behind for a new start in Rochester. Abby tries to be an average teenager—fitting into school, buoyed by dreams of a boyfriend, college, and a career in music. But Minnesota winters are unforgiving, and so are many teenagers.

Her stepdad promises to put a roof over their heads, but times are tough for everyone and Abby is doing everything she can to keep her shameful secret from her new friends. The divide between rich and poor in high school is painfully obvious, and the stress of never knowing where they’re sleeping or where they’ll find their next meal is taking its toll on the whole family.

As secrets are exposed and the hope for a home fades, Abby knows she must trust those around her to help. But will her friends let her down the same way they did back home, or will they rise to the challenge to help them find a normal life?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racial slurs and slut-shaming
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse (implied)
  • Bullying
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The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson

The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson

The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson book cover

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West–and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing–down to number four.

Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben’s, including give up sleep and comic books–well, maybe not comic books–but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it’s time to declare a champion once and for all.

The war is Trixie’s for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben’s best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben’s cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie’s best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they’re on–and they might not pick the same side.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Bullying
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