Contemporary – Page 171 – Trigger Warning Database

You Must Be Layla by Randa Abdel-Fattah

You Must Be Layla by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Layla’s mind goes a million miles a minute, so does her mouth – unfortunately, her better judgement can take a while to catch up! Although she believes she was justified for doing what she did, a suspension certainly isn’t the way she would have wished to begin her time at her fancy new high school. Despite the setback, Layla’s determined to show everyone that she does deserve her scholarship and sets her sights on winning a big invention competition. But where to begin?

Looking outside and in, Layla will need to come to terms with who she is and who she wants to be if she has any chance of succeeding.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Islamophobia
Racism
Coming out themes
Emesis
Physical assault
Bullying

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed? … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slut-shaming
Fatmisia & body shaming
Adult-minor relationship
Student-teacher relationship
Paedophilia, grooming & child sexual abuse
Rape, including statutory rape
Sexual assault
Child pornography
Emotional abuse & gaslighting
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Dissociation
Suicide
Substance addiction
Alcoholism
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Recreational drug use
Disordered eating
Death of a dog

Too Late by Colleen Hoover

Too Late by Colleen Hoover

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does, every single day. After finding herself stuck in a relationship with the dangerous and morally corrupt Asa Jackson, Sloan will do whatever it takes to get by until she’s able to find a way out. Nothing will get in her way. Nothing except Carter.

Sloan is the best thing to ever happen to Asa. And if you ask Asa he’d say he’s the best thing to ever… Read more

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape, on-page
Abusive relationship (theme)
Intimate partner abuse & violence
Substance addiction
Schizophrenia
Murder
Drug use & abuse

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiogr… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Attempted self-abortion
Death of a child
Death of a parent
Murder
Attempted murder of a newborn
Car accident

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape
Parental abandonment
Domestic abuse (theme)
Intimate partner violence
Suicide mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Death of a parent
Homelessness

Nothing by Annie Barrows

Nothing by Annie Barrows

Nothing ever happens to Charlotte and Frankie. Their lives are nothing like the lives of the girls they read about in their YA novels. They don’t have flowing red hair and hot romantic encounters never happen—let alone meeting a true soul mate. They just go to high school and live at home with their parents, who are pretty normal, all things considered. But when Charlotte decides to write down everything that happens during their sophomore year to prove that nothing happens and there is no plot or character development in real life, she’s surprised to find that being… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Sexual assault
Alcohol consumption & drug use
September 11 attacks mentioned

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R Austin

Gilda, a twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she’s there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace. In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism
Homophobia & slurs
Anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares & intrusive thoughts
Depression & dissociation (protagonist)
Disordered eating including binging and purging
Suicidal ideation & attempted suicide
Sibling with alcoholism
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Emesis (multiple, on-page)
Death of a husband from cancer mentioned (secondary character)
Death of an estranged uncle by overdose mentioned
Housefire
Car accident resulting in injury (broken arm)
Animal death (rabbit, recounted & discussed)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favourite people are there: Susannah, her mother’s best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah, Belly’s heart belongs to Conrad. Will this be the summer that changes everything?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slut-shaming
Alcohol consumption
Parent with terminal cancer (secondary character)

The Dare by Elle Kennedy

College was supposed to be my chance to get over my ugly-duckling complex and spread my wings. Instead, I wound up in a sorority full of mean girls. I already have a hard time fitting in, so when my Kappa Chi sisters issue the challenge, I can’t say no. The dare: seduce the hottest new hockey player in the junior class. Conor Edwards is a regular at Greek Row parties…and in Greek Row sorority beds. He’s the one you fall for before you learn that guys like him don’t give girls like me a second glance. Except Mr. Popular throws me for a loop—rather than laughing in my face, he does me a solid by letting me take him upstairs to pretend… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Body-shaming & weight gain discussed
Homophobia discussed
Blackmail & revenge pornography
Bullying

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism
Transphobia & misgendering
Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
Rape & rape of a child
Physical & emotional child abuse
Child neglect & abandonment
Intimate partner violence & abuse
Eating disorder
Graphic attempted suicide, suicidal ideation & self-harm
Drug abuse
Graphic death of a child