Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe

Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before she turns thirteen years old. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it’s a simple enough test: 1) Help your town, do good all around, 2) Live there for one moon, don’t leave too soon, and 3) Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.

The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets a sunburn instead of calling down rain. And to add insult to injury, whenever she overuses her magic, she falls asleep.

When she lands on the tranquil coastal town of Auteri, the residents expect a powerful witch, not a semi-magical girl… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Bullying
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Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Erin is looking forward to Schoolies, at least she thinks she is. But things are not going to plan. Life is getting messy, and for Erin, who is autistic, that’s a big problem. She’s lost her job at Surf Zone after an incident that clearly was not her fault. Her driving test went badly even though she followed the instructions perfectly. Her boyfriend is not turning out to be the romantic type. And she’s missing her brother, Rudy, who left almost a year ago.

But now that she’s writing letters to him, some things are beginning to make just a tiny bit of sense.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sibling
  • Drowning
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When It Drops by Alex Dyson

When It Drops by Alex Dyson

Caleb Clifford has earbuds, not real buds. And he prefers it that way. They always give him what he wants to hear, he can adjust the volume, and if things get tangled, it’s relatively easy to straighten them out again …

Sixteen-year-old songwriter and aspiring social outcast Caleb Clifford fills his world with music, but – like most things – keeps his songs to himself. That is until his little brother leaks Caleb’s most personal track online; a track that’s quite obviously about his secret crush. Having his innermost feelings (accompanied by a funky bassline) go viral is not Caleb’s idea of a good time. But is this the end of everything, or the start?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Cancer
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Bullying recounted
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Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them is a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a septuagenarian business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. And then, tragically, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.

Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisic slurs
  • Miscarriage
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Plane crash
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Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.

The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Emotional & physical abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Medical treatment & surgery
  • Chronic illness
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping
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Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

When eleven-year-old Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he’s landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn’t speak English, and he’s often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.

To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she’s at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they’ll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Bullying
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The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. Unable to cope with the misery that fills their days, they commit one last act together and die in loving relief.

But when Nick wakes up, he soon realizes that death isn’t the gentle darkness he expected. Panicked and horrified, he struggles to understand the twisted abominations and hellish world he’s now trapped in… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Graphic rape
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Torture
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Extra Whip by LA Witt

Extra Whip by L.A. Witt

Will and Aaron Taylor have a perfectly imperfect marriage. For twenty years, even when their desires haven’t quite matched, they’ve always found ways to adapt…until now. When Aaron’s needs push past his Dom’s limits, their best hope for compromise is finding a unicorn—a third person who checks both men’s boxes.

After his estranged father wills him a house he doesn’t want in a town he doesn’t know, Kelly Griffith is itching to find his place in this unfamiliar new world. When he finds an ad from a couple looking for a sub like him, he jumps at the opportunity. A chance to be what someone needs and wants instead of being a perpetual disappointment? Yes, please… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Parental emotional abuse
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
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Back in the Burbs by Tracy Wolff and Avery Flynn

Back in the Burbs by Tracy Wolff & Avery Flynn

Ever have one of those days where life just plain sucks? Welcome to my last three months—ever since I caught my can’t-be-soon-enough ex-husband cheating with his paralegal. I’m thirty-five years old, and I’ve lost my NYC apartment, my job, my money, and frankly, my dignity.

But the final heartache in the suck sandwich of my life? My great-aunt Maggie died. The only family member who’s ever gotten me. Even after death, though, she’s helping me get back up. She’s willed me the keys to a house in the burbs, of all places, and dared me to grab life by the family jewels. Well, I’ve got the vise grips already in hand (my ex should take note) and I’m ready to fight for my life again… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Cheating recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an aunt
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Heartbreak for Hire by Lauren Layne

Heartbreak for Hire by Lauren Layne

Brinkley Saunders has a secret. To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother’s footsteps, she’s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency—or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Cheating
  • Emotional abuse & gaslighting
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