Entries – Page 903 – Trigger Warning Database

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Forced sex work
Sexual assault

The Second Life of Ava Rivers by Faith Gardner

The Second Life of Ava Rivers by Faith Gardner

Ava’s disappearance was the crack in the Rivers family glacier. I wish I could explain to you how we were before, but I can’t, because the before is so filmy and shadowed with the after.

The after is all Vera remembers. When her twin sister, Ava, disappeared one Halloween night, her childhood became a blur of theories, tips, and leads, but never any answers. The case made headlines, shocked Vera’s Northern California community, and turned her family into tragic celebrities.

Now, at eighteen, Vera is counting down the days until she starts her new life at college in Portland, Oregon, far away from the dark cloud she and family have lived under for twelve years. But all that changes when a girl shows up at the local hospital.

Her name is Ava Rivers and she wants to go home.

Ava’s return begins to mend the fractures in the Rivers family. Vera and Ava’s estranged older brother returns. Vera reconnects with Max, the sweet, artistic boy from her childhood. Their parents smile again. But the questions remain: Where was Ava all these years? And who is she now?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child sexual abuse
Child sexual assault
Child rape
Disappearance of a loved one
Kidnapping
Death of a child
Death of a sibling

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

730. That’s how many days I’ve been trapped.
18. That’s how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible….

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister….

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She’s about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window…..

In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Sex work and sex slavery
Sex trafficking
Abuse
Disappearance of a loved one
Kidnapping
Poverty themes

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy has been accused of raping a high school student. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago.

The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny
Victim blaming (discussed in-depth)
Rape culture (theme)
Sexual assault
Sexual harassment
Paedophilia mentioned
Graphic rape & gang rape of a minor discussed
Physical child abuse recounted
PTSD
Panic attacks
Night terrors
Attempted suicide by drowning mentioned
Suicide of a parent by overdose discussed
Addiction mentioned
Drug & alcohol abuse mentioned
Terminal cancer
Hospitalisation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother recounted
Death of a sister & child (off-page)
Murder
Gun violence
Drowning
Hostage situation
Stalking
Car accident & motorcycle accident recounted
Animal injury mentioned (minor)
Bullying & hazing
Grave desecration

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Misogyny, slut-shaming & victim-blaming
Rape, sexual assault, paedophilia & child pornography
Substance addiction
Alcohol consumption
Death of a sister
Murder
Fire (arson)
Animal death
Animal abuse & cruelty

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (theme)
Child pornography
Sex work
Child abandonment & neglect
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Alcoholism
Substance addiction
Disordered eating, mentioned
Attempted suicide
Self-injury (unintentional)
Alcohol & drug abuse
Overdose mentioned
Pregnancy mentioned
Terminal cancer mentioned
Graphic blood depiction
Physical injury & illness
Emesis
Hospitalisation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a sister and child
Death of a grandmother
Death of a husband mentioned
Murder
Knife violence
Physical assault
Fire
Disappearance of a sibling
Hostage situation
Stalking
Car accident
Homelessness
Poverty

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Victim blaming
Statutory rape
Paedophilia
Domestic violence
Adult-minor relationship/s
Depression
Suicide, mentioned
Abortion
Teenage pregnancy
Pregnancy from rape
Mild gore depiction
Emesis
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Murder
Gun violence
Car accident

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Adult incest, mythological and recounted
Intimate partner murder, mythological
Death by gunshot
Police arrest and interrogation
Imprisonment in a labour camp

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

This Nebula Award-winning sequel to Parable of the Sower continues the story of Lauren Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren’s followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Classism
Hate crimes
Victim blaming
Misogyny, sexism and gendered slurs
Racism and racial slurs
White supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
Child sexual assault and rape
Grooming behaviour and paedophilia
Rape and rape by coercion
Sex trafficking and sex slavery
Abuse, neglect and abandonment
Child abuse
Emotional abuse
Physical abuse
Verbal abuse
Family estrangement
Adult-minor relationships
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Suicide and attempted suicide
Infertility themes
Pregnancy
Non-consensual pregnancy
Teenage and child pregnancy
Amnesia
Blood and gore depiction
Body horror
Emesis
Physical injuries and wounds
Scars
Starvation and dehydration depiction
Dead bodies and body parts
Death of a child
Death of a friend
Death of a parent/guardians
Death of a sibling
Death of a partner/spouse
Disappearance of a loved one
Grief and loss depiction
Flogging and whippings
Gun violence
Hanging and lynching
Murder and attempted murder
Torture
Avalanche
Chemical gassing and warfare
Cults
Home invasion
Exile
Indentured servitude
Imprisonment, incarceration and captivity
Kidnapping
Persecution for witchcraft
Police brutality and violence
Religious persecution
Terrorism
War and military themes
Homelessness
Poverty themes

A Dark & Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

A Dark & Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

Choose your player: the “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family; a tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm hellbent on revenge; a dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne; or the prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.

For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.

Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Toxic relationship
Disownment
Addiction & drug use
Depression & PTSD
Suicide recounted (off-page) & suicidal ideation
Blood & gore depiction and minor body horror
Death of a child
Gun violence
Fire (arson)
Human trafficking
Stalking
Poverty themes

See the author’s note on the trigger and content warnings here.