Dead Man's Bells, by Nicola Kapron (horror short story, 2023)

[lb_lee]

“I am not dead,” said the voice that wasn’t his own. “You did not kill me. Even like this, you cannot tame me. Raise me, and I will live again.”

Blurb: The younger son of a family that has long captured and taken power from a demon, Liam discovers that maybe he and the demon want the same thing: OUT.

Why is it worth your time?: A short haunting story about getting possessed by a very nonhuman entity who isn't malicious, just very Other.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, nonhumans (forest demon), plural on purpose, switching, voices

Content Warnings: gore (non-graphic descriptions), self-harm.

Access Notes: Available as a $2 ebook from the publisher, Duck Prints Press! (There are also paper zine copies, which is what I got, but you can only get those by being at a con Duck Prints Press is at.)

Misc Notes:

Familiar, by Cyrus (autobio comic, 2023)

[lb_lee]

Submitted by acorn_squash! Thank you, acorn_squash!

My parents always told me to never talk to strangers. But I have been living with one for most of my life.

Blurb: A transmasc cartoonist reflects on the way his relationship with the sometimes-cruel stranger in the mirror has changed over time.

Why is it worth your time? It’s a four-page comic with interesting panel composition, compelling use of colour, and a sweet, hopeful ending.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: intermediate focus (second page only), creator speaks from experience, relationships: enmity

Content Warnings: transphobia (second page only), dysphoria

Accessibility Notes: Included in the anthology The Out Side, which can be found in libraries, including as an ebook (through Hoopla). Not screenreadable, unfortunately.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean (YA thriller, 2007)

[lb_lee]

Submitted by acorn_squash! Thank you, acorn_squash!

[Titus] is anywhere I am. He is inside me, and my brain closes around him like hands around a warm drink. [...] And oh, I am so glad of him.

Even though no one else in the world can reach me now, he is never out of reach. Even though Time is a one-way street and it's not taking me anywhere I want to go, with Titus I can travel to and fro through Time—to the Boer War, the Indian raj, the Curragh Races, Gestingthrope in high summer, Hut Point....There was an Otes at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, you know? (I wonder if he was scared too.) From the windows of Glasstown I can see into the future as well—as far forward as my fifteenth birthday, when Titus has promised to take me to the top of the Eiffel Tower! I can't express how glad I am of him.

American Library Association blurb: Fourteen-year-old Symone's exciting vacation to Antarctica turns into a desperate struggle for survival when her uncle's obsessive quest leads them across the frozen wilderness into danger.

Why is it worth your time?: Symone, who goes by Sym, is accompanied by Titus Oates, an explorer who died in the Antarctic and now lives in her head. He and Sym are in love and he plays a critical role in her survival. Despite several close calls, he is still with Sym at the end of the story.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: high-focus (there's no connection between the plurality and the abuse), people: imaginary friends, people: the dead, otherworld (Glasstown), relationships: romantic, type: nonswitching

Content Warnings: Life-threatening danger. Kidnapping by manipulative adults. Murder. Emotional, financial, and occasionally physical abuse. Deeply creepy matchmaking of Sym and another teenager, Siguard. Pseudoscience. Bullying (emotional, not physical). Sym's father, now deceased, was addicted to alcohol and was violent towards Sym and her mother while not in his right mind; this is discussed occasionally. One of Sym's teenage classmates says she is dating an adult man she met on the Internet, which is also discussed occasionally. Graphic description of animal death. Illness and vomit. Drugging of side characters. Imperialist attitudes. Suicidal self-sacrifice, with some associated ableism. Misogynist character. Transmisogyny, p. 254 (American first edition).

More specific content warnings that include spoilers can be found in the comments.

Accessibility Notes: Can be found at libraries. Available in hardcover, in paperback, as an ebook, and as an audiobook on CD and cassette. Translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Catalan, and Persian.