A Curse So Dark And Lonely is a fantasy retelling of the famous fairy tale Beauty and the Beast set in a modern-day world. The female protagonist Harper, who has Cerebral Palsy, is swept into the parallel fantasy world of Emberfall after witnessing and trying to stop a kidnapping. In this new world, the realm […]

The adventure and comedy movie, belonging to the subcategory of buddy films, is set in the Outerbanks of North Carolina, where Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, has a dream- a dream bigger than living peacefully in a care home with the authorities watching over him. The young boy’s goal is to attend his […]

This award-winning graphic novel tells, or rather shows, the autobiographical coming-of-age story of Craig Thompson. Raised in rural isolation, Craig and his younger brother Phil are both depicted as devout Christians with a knack for art. Through his teen years, however, Craig finds it hard to fit in with his peers and suffers a lot […]

This children’s book is about special educational needs and understanding and raising awareness of different types of intelligence.Chester is the new kid at school and has to sit next to the sloppy, chaotic, and seemingly dumb Joe. Joe is incredibly messy, cannot write properly, and does not understand the ways in which things are explained. […]

This Black Mirror episode is dealing with helicopter parents, surveillance, the issues with surveillance technology, and the importance of stressful experiences. When little Sara gets lost for a while because she was following a cat, her mother Marie takes her to get an “Arkangel”-implant letting Marie not only access Sarah’s location but also see and […]

This Postmodern utopian/dystopian novel is about artificial intelligence, religion, genetic engineering, and coping with death and guilt.Klara is an Artificial Friend sold to the sickly girl to help her cope with the loneliness and help with her daily challenges. Klara narrates the story and has a remarkable observational capability particularly noticing the little things. Because […]

This modern short story focuses on Benjamin Button, who is born looking like a 70-year-old and aging backward. His condition is not immediately diagnosed and it takes 5 years until he engages in adult activities. When he is 20 years of age, he marries Hildegarde and has a son with her. However, while she ages […]

A children’s book about friendship, individualism, and the difference between luxury and simple values. Corduroy is a teddy bear in a department store waiting to be sold. He is discovered by a young girl whose mother, however, refuses to buy the beer who is even missing a button. Hearing this, Corduroy sets out to find […]

This Gothic short story contrasts inner and outer monstrosity, and, going along with that, also focuses on moral values and the view on what is different. The young student Giovanni moves into an apartment in Padua, with windows that are opening to a beautiful garden. Said garden seems to consist of poisonous flowers and is […]

This post-modern autobiographical novel mainly focuses on mental health, addressing suicide and psychological treatments. Esther Greenwood is a young woman in the 1950s aiming for an academic career. When she is almost raped during an internship far away from home, she becomes mentally unstable. Her mental health declines further as she loses her perspective of […]

A Gothic novel of moral depth about mental health, social pressure, belonging and a family dream that turns into a dark nightmare. The birth of Ben, the fifth and rather unusual child of Harriet and David, threatens and disrupts their ordinary and happy family life. Ben’s violent, aggressive and reckless behaviour, which is due to […]

A movie drama about health, sports and honesty. Dr. Omalu came to the USA from Nigeria in order to work as a forensic pathologist. When several former NFL-players commit suicide, Dr. Omalu suspects that repeated concussions suffered during football games are to blame. As was to be expected, the NFL will do everything in its […]

A young adult novel about losing self-control, self-and body image, depression and the presence of winter. This is the story of two best friends Lia and Cassie, albeit with a sad twist: When one develops bulimia, the other one develops anorexia and thus they start a contest, trying to find out which of the two […]

A sombre novel about mental health, desperate teens and a hostage situation: When two teenagers take the customers of a coffee shop hostage, 16-year-old Zach is among the hostages. To make things worse, Zach suffers from schizophrenia and is dependent on his medication. Can he get through to his captors in time or is this […]

Told from several perspectives, this novel is an exploration of empathy and acceptance but also fear and refusal. 10-year-old Auggie was born with a birth defect that lead to a face deformation, which is why he has been homeschooled by his parents. When he eventually attends a ‘real’ school, he is confronted with bullying, peer […]

This epistolary novel tells a timeless coming-of-age story from the perspective of 15-year-old introvert Charlie, who is struggling with highschool life. Whether it is finding his taste in music or finding his first love, it all holds a special challenge for him. Bright days of joy, happiness and empowerment as well as gloomy days of […]

Powerful teenage fiction about how to not give up in life even though you are facing terminal illness. This young adult novel follows 16-year-old cancer patient Hazel. Reluctantly attending a meeting of her cancer support group, she happens to meet Augustus, a boy she soon feels drawn to, even more so when they discover their […]

A young adult novel about otherness and isolation. When 15-year-old Bobby wakes up one day and realizes he’s suddenly invisible, he doesn’t know what to do. Everything around him continues, only he’s not there. Then he meets Alicia, who’s blind, and feels seen again. But he has to find out how to undo his invisibility […]