Parachutes

Parents need to know that Kelly Yang's Parachutes -- titled after the term for wealthy Chinese teens who move alone to the United States while their parents stay in Asia -- is a powerful tale about immigration, privilege, rape culture, and the importance of consent, and is based on her own experience with sexual assault. The author includes a content warning at the beginning of the book that notes that there are scenes depicting sexual harassment and rape. A high school teacher sexually harasses his student by putting his hand on her leg and telling her he'd date her if he was a teen. A girl is raped by her boyfriend. While he has her pinned to the bed, she screams and begs for him to stop, but he doesn't. Bullying is also a significant part of the story. Lockers are vandalized, and characters are called things like "ungrateful piece of American trash," "piece of white trash," and "c--k tease." Characters use variations of "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "ass," "whore," "bastard," "hoes," "d--k," "dammit," and more. Many characters kiss, make out, lose their virginity, and engage in sexting. One character finds a couple in bed and is asked if she wants to join. There are mentions of condoms, birth control, and the morning after pill, plus scenes of underage drinking and mentions of rosé, champagne, beer, Grey Goose, and more.