When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

All Beth wants is for her tight-knit circle of friends — Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and Jason Tsou — to stay together. With her family splintered and her future a question mark, these friends are all she has — even if she sometimes wonders if she truly fits in with them. Besides, she’s certain she’ll never be able to tell Jason how she really feels about him, so friendship will have to be enough.

Then Beth witnesses a private act of violence in Jason’s home, and the whole group is shaken. Beth and her friends make a pact to do whatever it takes to protect Jason, no matter the sacrifice. But when even their fierce loyalty isn’t enough to stop Jason from making a life-altering choice, Beth must decide how far she’s willing to go for him—and how much of herself she’s willing to give up.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Child abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Panic attacks
  • Suicide attempt
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On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Homomisia, including internalised homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Rape recounted
  • Parental abuse
  • Domestic abuse mentioned
  • Substance addiction
  • Recreational drug use & abuse
  • Cancer
  • Death of a grandparent
  • Vietnam War discussed
  • Animal abuse
  • Bullying
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It by Stephen King

It by Stephen King

Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Hate crimes
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Suicide
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries, including broken bones & amputation
  • Dead bodies
  • Decapitation
  • Hospitalisation
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a father
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Bullying
  • Animal death
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Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara’s beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged.

When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it’s too late.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Slut shaming
  • Child pornography
  • Adult-minor relationship mentioned
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Nightmares, flashbacks & trauma
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Physical injury
  • Hospitalisation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a grandmother recounted
  • Death of a sister & child
  • Car accident
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Death from a fall mentioned
  • Kidnapping mentioned
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Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—”Cupid Day”—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is … until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia
  • Homomisia & homomisia slurs
  • Slut shaming
  • Ableist slurs
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use mentioned
  • Death of a friend in a car accident
  • Gun violence
  • Bullying
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I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

At first, Jude and her twin brother Noah, are inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.

Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways… but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Forced outing
  • Homomisia
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The One True Me and You by Remi England

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England 

Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend: try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels, wear more masculine-presenting cosplay, and kiss a girl for the first time.

It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Transmisia
  • Homomisia
  • Lesbomisia
  • Public outing
  • Sexism
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother from suicide recounted
  • Gender dysphoria
  • Bullying
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Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis-Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Body shaming & fatmisia
  • Classism
  • Colourism
  • Lesbomisia
  • Homomisia
  • Sexism & misogyny
  • Racism & racial slurs, including misogynoir
  • Sex worker shaming & slurs
  • Slut-shaming
  • Transmisia
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape, including by coercion, statutory & gang rape
  • Sexual abuse & assault, including child sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment, including in the workplace
  • Incest
  • Paedophilia & grooming
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Emotional abuse
  • Verbal abuse
  • Parental abuse, neglect & abandonement
  • Estrangement & disownment
  • Disordered weight & body thoughts
  • Disfigurmisia
  • Anxiety disorder & anxiety attacks
  • Depression
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Memory disorder, specifically dementia
  • Self harm, including self-immolation
  • Drug use
  • Hospitals & hospitalisation
  • Physical assault
  • Sex work & trafficking
  • Drowning
  • Outing
  • Gentrification
  • Displacement
  • Animal death
  • Blackmail
  • Gaslighting
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Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

Stay Gold by Toby McSmith

Pony just wants to fly under the radar during senior year. Tired from all the attention he got at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s looking for a fresh start at Hillcrest High. But it’s hard to live your best life when the threat of exposure lurks down every hallway and in every bathroom.

Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading. She plans on keeping a low profile until graduation…which is why she promised herself that dating was officially a no-go this year.

Then, on the very first day of school, the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes. How is Pony supposed to stay stealth when he wants to get close to a girl like Georgia? How is Georgia supposed to keep her promise when sparks start flying with a boy like Pony?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Acemisia
  • Homomisia
  • Lesbomisia, including slurs and internalised
  • Transmisia, including slurs and internalised
  • Deadnaming
  • Misgendering
  • Graphic assault against trans character, including physical assault
  • Parental abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Forced and pressured outing
  • Hate crime
  • Bullying
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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?

GoodreadsThe 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.

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