Coming Out Themes – Page 9 – Trigger Warning Database

Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert

Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert

Adrian Gottlieb is winning at life. He’s a successful video game designer with everything a man could ask for, including a warm comfy ride to Denver and a date for his sister’s wedding. But he finds himself in need of a total reboot when he’s left stranded at a snowy campground in Utah. Holiday plans? Epic fail.

That is until Noah Walters offers him shelter for the night and a reluctant cross-country ride. Nothing about the ultraconservative geoarchaeologist should attract Adrian, but once he discovers Noah’s hidden love for video games, the two connect on a new level. Soon, a quiet but undeniable chemistry sparks… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Bimisia mentioned
Coming out themes
Alcohol consumption
Family member with a chronic heart condition
Explosion
Death of a pet dog recounted

Status Update by Annabeth Albert

Status Update by Annabeth Albert

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia & internalised homomisia
Coming out themes
Conversion therapy mentioned
Child abuse recounted
Intimate partner violence recounted
Anxiety discussed
Alcohol consumption
Celiac Disease
Death of a parent

The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough

The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough

It’s a hot summer, and life’s going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It’s almost Christmas, school’s out, and he’s hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson’s Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city – but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them… As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret – a secret he thought he’d locked away for good

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & racial slurs
Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
Coming out themes
Outing
Parental abandonment
Physical child abuse recounted
Domestic violence recounted
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Emesis
Minor physical injuries, including broken bones & snake bite
Police violence & racial profiling
Incarceration

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new–the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he’s never really dated before. Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

Kai Sheridan didn’t expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Homomisia
Coming out themes
Outing & public outing
Blackmail
Car accident
Bullying

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

Will Tavares is the dream summer fling―he’s fun, affectionate, kind―but just when Ollie thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairy tale ending, and to complicate the fairy tale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realizes it’s the same school Will goes to…except Ollie finds that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted―and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Fatmisia & body shaming
Misogyny
Slut shaming
Homomisia
Bimisia
Coming out themes
Outing
Dieting & restrictive eating mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Grief & loss depiction
Death of an aunt from cancer
Bullying

If This Gets Out by Rachel Griffin

If This Gets Out by Rachel Griffin

Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he’s feeling smothered by management’s pressure to stay in the closet.

On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Coming out themes
Emotional parental abuse
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use & abuse
Addiction
Eating disorder

Dirty London by Kelley York

Dirty London by Kelley York

All London Noble wanted out of her senior year of high school was anonymity. The complete opposite of Jasmine, her emotionally unstable baby sister, London has worked hard to stay out of the spotlight.

Then she discovers that Wade, one of the most popular guys in school, is gay like her and their new-found closeness based around their shared secret has half the student body convinced they’re hooking up…and a lot of girls aren’t happy about it. Now she’s been dubbed “Dirty London.” Rumors are flying about her inability to keep her clothes on, and London is pretty sure she’s developing a crush on the one girl who sees through it all… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Queermisia
Coming out themes
Slut shaming
Substance addiction
Bullying

It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they’ve been though a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair.

But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens’ band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste’s starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Gina and Celeste step further into the spotlight, Steph disappears completely, and Eva, heartbroken, takes refuge as a songwriter and secret online fangirl…of her own band. That is, until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they’ll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Misogyny
Queermisia
Bimisia
Lesbomisia
Coming out themes
Misgendering
Slut shaming mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Hospital

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there’s only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Misogyny
Racism
Attempted rape
Physical abuse mentioned
Anxiety
Cancer & remission mentioned

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew coming out to his Muslim family would be messy–he just didn’t think it would end in an airport interrogation room. But when faced with a failed relationship, bullies, and blackmail, running away to Rome is his only option. Right?

Soon, late nights with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel start to feel like second nature… until his old life comes knocking on his door. Now, Amir has to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to a U.S. Customs officer, or risk losing his hard-won freedom.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & racial profiling
Islamophobia
Homomisia
Coming out themes, including threatened outing
Blackmail