Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park

Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park

Melody Joo is thrilled to land her dream job as a video game producer, but her new position comes with challenges: an insufferable CEO; sexist male coworkers; and an infuriating—yet distractingly handsome—intern, Nolan MacKenzie, aka “the guy who got hired because his uncle is the boss.”

Just when Melody thinks she’s made the worst career move of her life, her luck changes. While joking with a friend, she creates a mobile game that has male strippers fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Suddenly Melody’s “joke” is her studio’s most high-profile project—and Melody’s running the show.

When Nolan is assigned to Melody’s team, she’s sure he’ll be useless. As their attraction deepens, she knows it’s time to pump the brakes, even with her Korean parents breathing down her neck to hurry up and find a man.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Rape mentioned
  • Blackmail
  • Stalking
  • Cyber harassment
  • Doxxing

Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park

Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park

Sunny Song’s Big Summer Goals:
1) Make Rafael Kim my boyfriend (finally!)
2) Hit 100K followers (almost there…)
3) Have the best last summer of high school ever

Not on Sunny’s list: accidentally filming a PG-13 cooking video that goes viral (#browniegate). Extremely not on her list: being shipped off to a digital detox farm camp in Iowa (IOWA??) for a whole month. She’s traded in her WiFi connection for a butter churn, and if she wants any shot at growing her social media platform this summer, she’ll need to find a way back online.

But between some unexpected friendships and an alarmingly cute farm boy, Sunny might be surprised by the connections she makes when she’s forced to disconnect.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
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Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Killers of Flower Moon by David Grann

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Murder
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Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.

In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Bullying
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I Love You so Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

I Love You so Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

Kimi Nakamura loves a good fashion statement. She’s obsessed with transforming everyday ephemera into Kimi Originals: bold outfits that make her feel like the Ultimate versions of themselves. But her mother disapproves, and when they get into an explosive fight, Kimi’s entire future seems on the verge of falling apart. So when a surprise letter comes in the mail from Kimi’s estranged grandparents, inviting her to Kyoto for spring break, she seizes the opportunity to get away from the disaster of her life.

When she arrives in Japan, she’s met with a culture both familiar and completely foreign to her. She loses herself in the city’s outdoor markets and meets Akira, a cute aspiring med student who moonlights as a costumed mochi mascot. And what begins as a trip to escape her problems quickly becomes a way for Kimi to figure out where her own heart lies.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Estrangement discussed
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a grandmother recounted
  • Death of an aunt recounted
  • Internment camps mentioned
  • Bullying recounted
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From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn

From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn

If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale–being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business–she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn’t quite fit the princess mold.

All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness–searching for clues about her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo’s hidden treasures with a cute actor, and maybe…finally finding a sense of belonging… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Panic attack
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A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Cultural appropriation
  • Vietnam War mentioned
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V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd

Set in an imagined future England that has given itself over to fascism, this groundbreaking story captures both the suffocating nature of life in an authoritarian police state and the redemptive power of the human spirit which rebels against it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Homomisia & homomisic slurs
  • Antisemitism
  • Paedophilia
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Domestic violence & abuse
  • Recreational drug use
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Medical experimentation
  • Dead bodies
  • Dismemberment
  • Torture
  • Imprisonment
  • Concentration camps
  • Riots
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Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland

For the first time the Joker’s origin is revealed in this tale of insanity and human perseverance. Looking to prove that any man can be pushed past his breaking point and go mad, the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane.

After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl), the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man.

But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Sexual assault
  • Paralysis
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
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The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils … Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Racism
  • Rape
  • Paedophilia & incest mentioned
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic abuse
  • Graphic suicide
  • Self-harm
  • Recreational drug use
  • Bullying
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