Boy X by Dan Smith

Boy X by Dan Smith

Kidnapped and drugged, Ash wakes up on a remote tropical island. His mum – a genetic scientist – has been imprisoned and infected with a deadly virus. Where is he, and what’s he doing there? He sets out to cross the jungle to find out and rescue his mother. Soon he realises he’s quicker and sharper than before. But there’s something else …why are the animals watching him, and how can he use the jungle to his advantage?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Kidnapping & captivity
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Ebb and Flow by Heather Smith

Ebb & Flow by Heather Smith

One summer,
after a long plane ride
and a rotten bad year
I went to Grandma Jo’s.
It was my mother’s idea.
Jett, what you need is a change of scenery.
I think she needed a change of scenery, too.
One without me.
Because that rotten bad year?
That was my fault.

ast year, Jett and his mother had moved to a new town for a fresh start after his father went to jail. But Jett soon learned that fresh starts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. When he befriended a boy with a difficult home life, Jett found himself in a cycle of bad decisions that culminated in the betrayal of a friend – a shameful secret he still hasn’t forgiven himself for. Will a summer spent with his unconventional grandmother help Jett find his way to redemption?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic violence
  • Child abuse
  • Incarceration of a parent
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

Growing up in the Cinzio Traveling Players circus, Genevieve Flannery is accustomed to a life most teenagers could never imagine. Her mother Delia’s ghostly hallucinations never seemed all that strange . . . until the evening Geni and her mother are performing an aerial routine they’ve done hundreds of times, and Delia falls to her death.

That night, a dark curtain in Geni’s life opens. Everything has changed. As they reel from the tragedy, the Cinzio Traveling Players are also grappling with the circus’s new owner: a generous, mysterious man whose connection to the circus—Geni suspects—has a dark history. And suddenly, Geni is stumbling into a new reality of her own, her life interrupted daily by the terrors only Delia used to see.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language,
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Domestic violence mentioned
  • Graphic physical injuries
  • Death of a mother
  • Murder
  • Torture mentioned
  • Car accident
  • Imprisonment
  • Kidnapping
  • Animal cruelty
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

A Wish in the Dark by Christian Soontornvat

All light in Chattana is created by one man — the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order to the city. For Pong, who was born in Namwon Prison, the magical lights represent freedom, and he dreams of the day he will be able to walk among them. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright orb light, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free. Nok, the prison warden’s… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Building collapse
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Fire
  • Imprisonment
  • Bullying

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

In 1919, Ada Navarra—the intrepid daughter of immigrants—and Corinne Wells—a spunky, devil-may-care heiress—make an unlikely pair. But at the Cast Iron nightclub in Boston, anything and everything is possible. At night, on stage together, the two best friends, whose “afflicted” blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art, weave magic under the employ of Johnny Dervish, the club’s owner and a notorious gangster. By day, Ada and Corinne use these same skills to con the city’s elite in an attempt to keep the club afloat.

When a “job” goes awry and Ada is imprisoned, she realizes they’re on the precipice of danger. Only Corinne—her partner in crime—can break her out of Haversham Asylum. But once Ada is out, they face betrayal at every turn.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Police brutality
  • Imprisonment of a parent
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Thanks a Lot Universe by Chad Lucas

Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas

Brian has always been anxious, whether at home, or in class, or on the basketball court. His dad tries to get him to stand up for himself and his mom helps as much as she can, but after he and his brother are placed in foster care, Brian starts having panic attacks. And he doesn’t know if things will ever be “normal” again . . .

Ezra’s always been popular. He’s friends with most of the kids on his basketball team—even Brian, who usually keeps to himself. But now, some of his friends have been acting differently, and Brian seems to be pulling away. Ezra wants to help, but he worries if he’s too nice to Brian, his friends will realize that he has a crush on him . . .

But when Brian and his brother run away, Ezra has no choice but to take the leap and reach out.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted suicide by overdose
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Hospitalisation
  • Incarceration of a parent
  • Death of a parent from cancer mentioned
  • Bullying
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Block by Ben Oliver

The Block by Ben Oliver

Luka in a prisoner once again. But this time it’s a fate worse than death. In the Block, he must toggle between enduring an Energy Harvest for twelve hours of the day and surviving complete immobilization. The only semblance of relief is the Sane Zone, created to keep prisoners from going completely mad. In this virtual reality, the prisoners live out their fantasies of life outside. But for Luka, it’s different.

Happy is determined to find out the location of his friends, who disappeared after the Battle of Midway Park. But can Luka battle the descent into madness long enough to stop Happy’s manipulation tactics and keep his friends’ location safe?… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide
  • Drug use
  • Imprisonment
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Antigen by RA Steffan

Antigen by R.A. Steffan

Ryder isn’t a stupid woman, and she knows better than to volunteer for things. Volunteering always gets you into trouble. So it’s really no surprise when her undercover operation to retrieve Temple Akenzua from the belly of a Regime prison goes tits-up in fairly short order.

With Ryder stuck on the wrongs side of the bars, the rescue mission has now become a mission of survival. Her only hope—and Temple’s—lies with her comrades in the Shadow Wing. Ryder just needs to stay alive until they come up with a plan.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Death of a child mentioned
  • Imprisonment
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California.

Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Domestic & child physical abuse
  • Stillbirth
  • Starvation
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a child mentioned
  • Murder
  • Imprisonment
  • Graphic animal death
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Amputation recounted
  • Emesis
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Murder
  • Explosion
  • Gun violence
  • Electrocution
  • Torture
  • Poisoning
  • Fire
  • Imprisonment
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com