Entries – Page 420 – Trigger Warning Database

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity; the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children’s advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for. Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends’ couches and moving in and out of cheap,… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse

* Context : The protagonist, a social worker and child advocate, accidentally leaves her infant locked in a hot car.

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover–movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences. Later that night, Cora Landry is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora–and why? In an… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Psychosis
Hallucinations & delusions
Attempted suicide
Self-harm
Physical injuries, including stab wounds
Bullying

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Murder
Gun violence

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

Sang Ly lives at Cambodia’s largest city dump, earning a living for her family by sifting through the trash for recyclables and things that can be repaired and sold. On a good day, she can earn enough to buy food for her family. She needs enough good days to pay the Rent Collector, Sopeap—a grumpy old woman who is willing to evict any tenant who can’t pay their rent on time. When Sang Ly is unable to pay her rent, she fears her family will have to leave their shanty home—a place where her only possessions can be carried in two hands. But when Sopeap sees a discarded children’s book lying on Sang Ly’s cardboard bed, her mood… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Human trafficking mentioned
Physical injuries & illnesses mentioned
Death of a parent
Gang violence
Physical assault
Poverty (theme)

The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale

The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale

Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she’s a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer’s block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub. Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi’s love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Toxic friendship
Alcohol consumption
Death of a mother mentioned
Cyberharassment

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you. This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in American these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can you hold close? In a world of danger, what makes you feel safe? From a poem written in the form of a syllabus, to another about the time his grandmother literally saved his life, Johnson’s creative expression is constantly enacting the feminist mantra, “the personal is political.”

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slur
Cancer
Murder
Police brutality & violence
Gun violence

Hitting the Wall by Cate Wells

Hitting the Wall by Cate C. Wells

Shay. Six years ago, the good, upstanding men of Stonecut County ran me off. I took a secret with me. An inconvenient truth they wanted buried. Actions have consequences. Their perfect golden boy maybe wasn’t so perfect after all. Then life hands me one too many lemons. I’m forced to go back, and in Stonecut, nothing ever changes. Kellum Wall is still golden. I’m still unwanted. And falling for his cocksure smile will most certainly ruin my life all over again. Kellum
I believe there are still good men left in this world, and I strive to be one. I was raised to live by a code. God and country. Protect and serve. I always do the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Rape & statutory rape recounted
Intimate partner violence
Parent with alcoholism mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Teen pregnancy recounted
Emesis
Death of a grandparent mentioned
Attempted infanticide by drowning mentioned
Physical assault
Police corruption & abuse of power
Accidental death of a pet horse mentioned
Animal hunting
Poverty

Vanished by EE Cooper

Vanished by E.E. Cooper

Kalah knows better than to fall for Beth Taylor . . . but that doesn’t stop her from falling hard and falling fast, heart first into a sea of complications. Then Beth vanishes. She skips town on her eighteenth birthday, leaving behind a flurry of rumours and a string of broken hearts. Not even Beth’s best friend, Britney, knows where she went. Beth didn’t even tell Kalah goodbye. One of the rumours links Beth to Britney’s boyfriend, and Kalah doesn’t want to believe the betrayal. But Brit clearly believes it—and before Kalah can sort out the truth, Britney is dead… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Ableism
Suicide

The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman

The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman

Though the Beast is seemingly subdued for now, a new threat looms in Four Paths: a corruption seeping from the Gray into the forest. And with the other Founders preoccupied by their tangled alliances and fraying relationships, only May Hawthorne seems to realize the danger. But saving the town she loves means seeking aid from the person her family despises most–her and Justin’s father. May’s father isn’t the only newcomer in town–Isaac Sullivan’s older brother has also returned, seeking forgiveness for the role he played in Isaac’s troubled past. But Isaac isn’t ready to let… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Coming out themes, on-page
Emotional & physical child abuse
Parental abandonment
Domestic violence recounted
Memory loss (memory manipulation magic)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Graphic body horror
Physical injury & illness
Emesis
Scars
Death of a mother, off-page
Death of a brother & sister recounted
Murder & attempted murder
Attempted filicide recounted
Knife violence, including the attempted murder of a child by slitting his throat
Strangulation, on-page & recounted
Imprisonment mentioned

Even If I Fall by Abigail Johnson

Even If I Fall by Abigail Johnson

A year ago, Brooke Covington lost everything when her beloved older brother, Jason, confessed to the murder of his best friend, Calvin. Brooke and her family became social pariahs, broken and unable to console one another. Brooke’s only solace remains the ice-skating rink, where she works but no longer lets herself dream about a future skating professionally. When Brooke encounters Calvin’s younger brother, Heath, on the side of the road and offers him a ride, everything changes. She needs someone to talk to…and so does Heath. No one else understands what it’s like. Her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Depression
Grief & loss depiction
Murder
Bullying