rachel @ typed truths

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cheating mentioned
Child abuse, off-page
Graphic rape & attempted rape
Sexual assault
Intimate partner abuse
Suicide
Suicidal ideation
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence
Poisoning
Torture
Animal attack

The Martian by Andy Weir

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to… Read more.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Physical injury
Explosion, on-page
Car accident (rover)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel

Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel’s memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Antisemitism
Death of a parent
Death of a friend
Auschwitz & the Holocaust

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cannibalism
Murder
Animal death

Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace… Read more.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Alcohol consumption
Drugging
Seppuku*
Decapitation
Murder & attempted murder
Knife & sword violence
Poisoning
Fire
Battle scenes

* Note : Ritual samurai suicide.

Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate affair, Ana explores her own dark desires.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Victim blaming
Sexual assault, on-page
Sexual harassment
Statutory rape recounted
Adult-minor relationship recounted
Alcohol consumption
Stalking

Not Your All-American Girl by Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg

Not Your All-American Girl by Wendy Wan-Long Shang & Madelyn Rosenberg

Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together. So when they don’t have any classes together in sixth grade, it’s disastrous. The solution? Trying out for the school play. Lauren, who loves to sing, wonders if maybe, just maybe, she will be the star instead of Tara this time.

But when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn’t look the part of the all-American girl. What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA?

From amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. But when she can’t bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexism
Racism
Hate crimes*

*Note: This book is set in the 1980s and discusses the murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man who was beaten to death by white auto workers who mistakenly believed he was Japanese and blaming him for the loss of auto jobs in Detroit.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find… Read more.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Panic attacks
Suicide
Suicidal ideation mentioned
Self harm
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Overdose
Graphic blood & gore depiction
Coma mentioned
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Explosion mentioned
Strangulation
Imprisonment recounted
Death from exposure to the cold
Drowning
Hit-and-run car accident
Kidnapping
Vivisepulture (buried alive)
Psychological torture
Electrocution
Graphic animal death & death of a pet

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last… Read more.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Suicide
Alcohol consumption
Pregnancy loss
Death of a mother
Sword violence
Hanging mentioned
Fire
Animal death

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family.

Goo d reads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Animal death
Animal injury