Coming Out Themes – Page 9 – Trigger Warning Database

Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He’s trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won’t get into college. He’s trying to keep his brother’s business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He’s trying to keep the secret of where he’s going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel – or he fears he’ll lose his family. And he’s trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his ‘girlfriend’s’ partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Coming out themes
Parent with alcoholism
Grief & loss depiction

Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.

They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Outing recounted
Homomisia
Sexual assault, on-page
Bullying

Alone in Space by Tillie Walden

Alone in Space by Tillie Walden

Alone In Space compiles award-winning cartoonist Tillie Walden’s short comics into a stunning and comprehensive collection of the early work which shot her to fame.

We start with Tillie’s first published comic The End of Summer, in which Lars battles illness in a secluded castle at the start of an endless winter with a giant cat to keep him company amid mounting family tensions. Also featured are I Love This Part – Tillie’s bittersweet breakout story of small-town teen romance, and A City Inside – a study of growth and adulthood through a surreal and poetic recounting of one woman’s life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes
Internalised lesbomisia
Terminal illness
Graphic death of a pet cat

You Must Be Layla by Randa Abdel-Fattah

You Must Be Layla by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Layla’s mind goes a million miles a minute, so does her mouth – unfortunately, her better judgement can take a while to catch up! Although she believes she was justified for doing what she did, a suspension certainly isn’t the way she would have wished to begin her time at her fancy new high school. Despite the setback, Layla’s determined to show everyone that she does deserve her scholarship and sets her sights on winning a big invention competition. But where to begin?

Looking outside and in, Layla will need to come to terms with who she is and who she wants to be if she has any chance of succeeding.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Islamophobia
Racism
Coming out themes
Emesis
Physical assault
Bullying

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity… Read more.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia, internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
Bimisia
Religious bigotry
Coming out (central theme)
Conversion therapy discussed
Death of a father during military service mentioned
Ex-communication from Mormon community mentioned

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Racism
Sexism
Slut shaming
Homomisia & homomisia slurs
Coming out themes
Dubious consent scenario*
Nonconsensual voyeurism mentioned
Parental abandonment recounted
Cheating, recounted & discussed
Alcoholism mentioned
Bipolar Disorder
Suicide & attempted suicide
Self harm
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Recreational drug use
Death from anaphylaxis
Cancer mentioned
Heart attack
Hospital
Death of a classmate, on-page
Death of an uncle
Death of a mother recounted
Murder & attempted murder
School shooting & gun violence discussed
Strangulation
Physical assault
Car accident recounted
Blackmail
Bullying

* Note : Characters under the influence of alcohol recount having sex, and a protagonist recounts coerced ‘consent’ to sex with her boyfriend.

Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow

Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow

Would-be amusement park aficionado Dalia only has two items on her summer bucket list: (1) finally ride a roller coaster and (2) figure out how to make a new best friend. But when her dad suddenly announces that he’s engaged, Dalia’s schemes come to a screeching halt. With Dalia’s future stepsister Alexa heading back to college soon, the grown-ups want the girls to spend the last weeks of summer bonding–meaning Alexa has to cancel the amusement park road trip she’s been planning for months.

Luckily Dalia comes up with a new plan: If she joins Alexa on her trip and brings Rani, the new girl from her swim team, along maybe she can have the perfect summer after all. But what starts out as a week of funnel cakes and Lazy River rides goes off the rails when Dalia discovers that Alexa’s girlfriend is joining the trip.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Forced outing

One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite

When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered. One of the good ones.

Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?—Happi and her sister Genny embark on a journey to honor Kezi in their own way, using an heirloom copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. But there’s a twist to Kezi’s story that no one could’ve ever expected—one that will change everything all over again.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes
Racism
Queermisia
Nonconsensual drugging
Grief & loss depiction
Murder
Police brutality & violence
Hanging & lynching
Fire & arson
Kidnapping & confinement

Giant Days Vol 10 by John Allison and Max Sarin

Giant Days, Vol. 10 by John Allison and Max Sarin

Daisy, Esther, and Susan’s last year at university is getting a bumpy start, with everything strange after Ed’s declaration of love followed by grievous injury, Daisy with nowhere to live, and McGraw and Susan at odds over their new flat!

The final year of university is about to start for best mates Daisy, Esther, and Susan, and everything is going completely off the rails. From finding somewhere to live at the last minute, to broken bones, to the looming terror of the adult world, this semester is one you won’t want to miss.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes
Forced outing
Bimisia
Alcohol consumption

Giant Days Vol 11 by John Allison and Max Sarin

Giant Days, Vol. 11 by John Allison and Max Sarin

It’s Daisy, Esther and Susan’s third year at university, and with that comes new beaus, new jobs, and new adventures.

The third (and final!) year of university is finally here, and BFFs Daisy, Esther, and Susan are in for some surprising upsets in their first semester. Between Halloween run-ins with Daisy’s dreaded (dreadful) ex, part time gigs at a shady pop-up Christmas market, Esther dating a tech-bro and Susan attempting to be…romantic, there’s still plenty to learn and more than enough misadventure to squeeze in before it’s time to don caps and gowns!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Forced outing to a relative recounted
Alcohol consumption