Tag Archives: Queerphobia

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

In Samsboro, Kentucky, Kalyn Spence’s name is inseparable from the brutal murder her father committed when he was a teenager. Forced to return to town, Kalyn must attend school under a pseudonym . . . or face the lingering anger of Samsboro’s citizens, who refuse to forget the crime.

Gus Peake has never had the luxury of redefining himself. A Samsboro native, he’s either known as the “disabled kid” because of his cerebral palsy, or as the kid whose dad was murdered. Gus just wants to be known as himself.

When Gus meets Kalyn, her frankness is refreshing, and they form a deep friendship. Until their families’ pasts emerge. And when the accepted version of the truth is questioned, Kalyn and Gus are caught in the center of a national uproar. Can they break free from a legacy of inherited lies and chart their own paths forward?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist slurs (r slur)
  • Classism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Queermisia (f & d slur)
  • Transmisia
  • Conversion therapy
  • Child abuse
  • Recreational drug use
  • Descriptions of dead bodies
  • Murder
  • Incarceration of a parent
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The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Mermaid, the Witch & the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, as the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Slavery & human trafficking
  • Misogyny
  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Forced arranged marriage
  • Alcoholism & alcohol abuse
  • Starvation
  • Blood depiction & physical injury
  • Emesis
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture (on-page)
  • Whipping
  • Hanging mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Poverty themes
  • Homelessness
  • War & colonialism themes
  • Animal abuse & death

Liberté by Gita Trelease

Liberté by Gita Trelease

Also known as Everything That Burns.

Camille Durbonne gambled everything she had to keep herself and her sister safe. But as the people of Paris starve and mobs riot, safety may no longer be possible…

Not when Camille lives for the rebellion. In the pamphlets she prints, she tells the stories of girls living at society’s margins. But as her writings captivate the public, she begins to suspect a dark magic she can’t control lies at the heart of her success. Then Louis XVI declares magic a crime and all magicians traitors to France. As bonfires incinerate enchanted books and special police prowl the city, the time for magic—and those who work it—is running out.

In this new Paris where allegiances shift and violence erupts, the answers Camille seeks set her on a perilous path, one that may cost her the boy she loves―even her life. If she can discover who she truly is before vengeful forces unmask her, she may still win this deadly game of revolution.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexism
  • Classism
  • Attempted sexual assault

Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Also known as All That Glitters.

Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries—and magicians…

When smallpox kills her parents, Camille Durbonne must find a way to provide for her frail, naive sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on petty magic—la magie ordinaire—Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy the food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille must pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Sex work shaming
  • Racism
  • Physical, emotional & verbal abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Alcohol abuse & alcoholism
  • Gambling addiction
  • Death of a parent recounted

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.

One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, “None of what’s going to happen is your fault”. Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: “Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world.”

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisic & homomisic slurs
  • Hate crimes recounted
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Plague
  • Home invasion
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Floods & tsunami
  • Earthquake
  • Plane crash
  • Death of a child

Children of the Whales, Vol. 10 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 10 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

The promised land of Amonlogia has turned out to be a nightmare for the people of the Mud Whale. Suou and the Unmarked are being held hostage, and in order to save them, Ouni and Chakuro agree to serve the duke as soldiers. Orca’s forces and an inevitable bloody battle draw ever closer, but the duke has a far darker mission in mind for Ouni—one that will rock the very foundations of Amonlogia! 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Hostage situation
  • War themes & military violence
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 9 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 9 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

The Mud Whale has finally reached the shores of Amonlogia, but it quickly becomes clear that Sir Rochalízo wasn’t being entirely up-front when he said the people of the Mud Whale would all be welcome. His father the duke has placed harsh conditions on their citizenship, and they only have three days to agree…or face the consequences!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicidal ideation
  • Gun violence
  • Torture mentioned
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 8 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 8 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

The promised haven of Amonlogia is closer than ever, but the dark history of the Mud Whale still poses a terrible threat to its people. Somehow, learning the truth about the past has freed Ouni’s thymia from all constraints, and he is forced to lock himself away to avoid hurting the others. But even with that precaution, his very presence is a danger to his people as imperial forces prepare to capture the daímonas and kill everyone else on the island!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 5 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 5 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

The people of the Mud Whale have fought off the forces of the Allied Empire—for now—and their only hope for continued survival is to find an ally from beyond the Sea of Sand. So when the bombastic Captain Rochalízo sails his ship alongside their island, Mayor Suou is ready and eager to befriend the stranger. But even if Rochalízo can offer asylum, they have no way to navigate. That is, until the mysterious Aíma begins unlocking the Mud Whale’s secrets for Chakuro… 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Gun violence
  • War themes & military violence
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Children of the Whales, Vol. 4 by Abi Umeda

Children of the Whales, Vol. 4 by Abi Umeda

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, cut off from its own history by the shadows of the past.

The battle for the Mud Whale has become a deadly rout as the Marked fight to protect their home and their comrades from the invading apátheia soldiers. Meanwhile, Chakuro and the rest of the boarding party have made it safely onto the imperial battleship Skyros, but their mission turns bloody when they reach the thymia-shielded chamber at the heart of the ship. How will they destroy the enemy Nous and save the Mud Whale without access to their power? 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Self-harm
  • Mass murder
  • Military violence
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