Contemporary – Page 117 – Trigger Warning Database

Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia & homomisic slurs

The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

Five years ago, Michael Graham betrayed the only person who ever really knew him. Since then, he’s made an art of hiding his sexuality from everyone. Including himself.

So it’s a shock when his past strolls right into the Harkness College locker room, sporting a bag of hockey gear and the same slow smile that had always rendered Graham defenceless. For Graham, there is only one possible reaction: total, debilitating panic. With one loose word, the team’s new left-wing could… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia
Hate crimes
Disownment
Hospitalisation

The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.

Across the hall, in the other accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league. Also, he’s taken… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Misogyny
Child neglect
Substance addiction mentioned
Paralysis

Pretending by Holly Bourne

Pretending by Holly Bourne

April is kind, pretty and relatively normal—yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that what men are really looking for is Gretel.

Gretel is perfect—beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She’s your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Victim blaming
Rape
Sexual assault
Catfishing

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

Audrey is over romance. While dealing with her parents’ contentious divorce, a breakup of her own, and shifting friendship dynamics, she has every reason to feel cynical. But then she meets Harry, her fellow coworker at the local cinema. He’s brash, impulsive, and a major flirt. And even though Audrey tries to resist, she finds herself falling for his charms. But in this funny, insightful, and ultimately empowering novel, love—and life—isn’t what it’s like in the movies.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Depression
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Recreational drug use

How Do You Like Me Now by Holly Bourne

How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne

Everyone wants to be Tori Bailey. A straight-talking, bestselling author, she’s inspired millions of women around the world with her self-help memoir and uplifting Instagram posts. What’s more, her perfect relationship with her long-term boyfriend is the envy of all their friends. But Tori isn’t being honest.

While everyone around her is getting engaged and having babies, Tori’s boyfriend will barely look at her, let along talk about marriage. And when her best friend Dee unexpectedly falls in love, suddenly Tori’s in danger of being left behind.Tori’s built a career out of telling women how to live their best life. But is she brave enough to admit that her own isn’t working?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Fatmisia
Emotionally abusive relationship & gaslighting

What’s a Girl Gotta Do by Holly Bourne

What’s a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne

Lottie is starting a supersonic feminist experiment. For one month she’s going to call out every instance of sexism she sees. But when her project hits the headlines, the trolls come out to play – and they are VICIOUS. Lottie’s not a quitter, but best friends Evie and Amber are worried. What if Lottie’s heading for burnout…or worse?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misogyny
Slut shaming
Sexual assault, implied
Sexual harassment
Alcohol consumption

How Hard Can Love Be by Holly Bourne

How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even before she moved to California, got remarried and had a personality transplant. But Amber’s hoping that spending the summer with her can change all that.

And then there’s prom king Kyle, the guy all the girls want. Can he really be interested in anti-cheerleader Amber? Even with best friends Evie and Lottie’s advice, there’s no escaping the fact: love is hard.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parent with alcoholism
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Emesis

The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting by Holly Bourne

Bree is by no means popular. Most of the time, she hates her life, her school, her never-there-parents. So she writes.

But when Bree is told she needs to stop shutting the world out and start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting is born. A manifesto that will change everything… but the question is, at what cost?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut shaming
Teacher-student relationship
Revenge pornography
Self harm
Alcohol consumption
Emesis

Bruised by Tanya Boteju

Bruised by Tanya Boteju

To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart.

So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked. Yes, the rules are confusing and the sport seems to require the kind of teamwork and human interaction Daya generally avoids… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Self-harm
Death of a parent
Car accident