Contemporary – Page 88 – Trigger Warning Database

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters. That is, without questioning it much – if you don’t count her visits to the Ironton County Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her secret meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her sixty-year-old uncle – who already has six wives – she must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape
Attempted forced adult-minor marriage
Cults

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

Growing up in Africa and Latin America as the children of missionaries, London and Zach were as close as could be. And then Zach dies, and the family is gutted. London’s father is distant. Her mother won’t speak. The days are filled with what-ifs and whispers: Did Zach take his own life? Was it London’s fault? Alone and adrift, London finds herself torn between her brother’s best friend and the handsome new boy in town as she struggles to find herself—and ultimately redemption.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Grief & loss depiction (theme)
Death of a brother

Teach Me to Forget by Erica Chapman

Teach Me to Forget by Erica M. Chapman

Ellery doesn’t want to live anymore. She’s unable to bear the loss of her sister, or face the rest of her broken family. So, she’s made a plan—bought the gun, arranged for her funeral, and picked the day. Everything has fallen into place. Then, on the day she intends to take her own life, she meets Colter, a boy who recognizes her desperation and becomes determined to stop her. Ellery won’t be swayed so easily, but as she struggles with her hopelessness it becomes clear Colter has good reasons for his vigilance—deep, personal reasons. And whether Ellery likes it or not, he can’t let go.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicidal ideation
Grief & loss depiction (theme)
Death of a sister

Not After Everything by Michelle Levy

Not After Everything by Michelle Levy

Tyler has a football scholarship to Stanford, a hot girlfriend, and a reliable army of friends to party with. Then his mom kills herself. And Tyler lets it all go. Now he needs to dodge what his dad is offering (verbal tirades and abuse) and earn what his dad isn’t (money). Tyler finds a job that crashes him into Jordyn, his former childhood friend turned angry-loner goth-girl. She brings Tyler an unexpected reprieve from the never-ending pity party his life has become. How could he not fall for her? But with his dad more brutally unpredictable than ever, Tyler knows he… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a mother from suicide

At First Sight by Hannah Sunderland

At First Sight by Hannah Sunderland

Nell and Charlie feel a spark when they meet by chance in a cafe. But they don’t trade numbers, or surnames, so there’s no way they’ll meet again. But the next day, Nell’s phone rings at work. Somehow, impossibly, Charlie is on the other end. And he needs her help. Nell is about to save a life, fall in love … and risk everything for a perfect stranger.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide

Very Nearly Normal by Hannah Sunderland

Very Nearly Normal by Hannah Sunderland

Matilda ‘Effie’ Heaton has always felt like she’s swimming against the tide. Everyone around her has life sorted, but Effie’s living with her parents and crying into a wine bottle at night. The only thing she loves is her job at a bookshop, where she can lose herself in other people’s stories. But then she meets Theo, who knows only too well that life isn’t something to take for granted. Because Theo has a life-changing secret, and as Effie starts to realise that she’s falling in love instead of falling apart, fate steps in and deals her a new hand. And this time, the stakes are high.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Alcoholism recovery

If You Could Go Anywhere by Paige Toon

If You Could Go Anywhere by Paige Toon

Angie has always wanted to travel. But at 29, she has still never left her small mining town in the Australian outback. When her grandmother passes away, Angie finally feels free to see the world – until she discovers a letter addressed to the father she never knew and is forced to question everything. As Angie sets off on her journey to find the truth – about her family, her past and who she really is – will enigmatic stranger Alessandro help guide the way?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide
PTSD & trauma
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a grandmother

The Girl in Red by John Nicholl

The Girl in Red by John Nicholl

Kathy thought she’d met her soulmate. But Police Inspector Michael Conner’s behaviour changes on the day of their wedding. Showing his true colours for the first time, Conner becomes increasingly manipulative, controlling and cruel as the months’ pass. When Kathy tries to escape, Connor does his best to convince everyone that she is mentally ill. But Anna, Kathy’s identical twin sister, doesn’t believe it. After a tragic event, Kathy decides enough is enough and elicits Anna’s help to rid herself of Connor for good. But will Connor simply let Kathy walk away or have the sisters bitten off more than they can chew?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Domestic violence

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. But as he grows, his imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. The night sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl who appears from the other side of the wires and brings a notebook written by the mother she lost… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Self-harm
Murder
Hunger strike
Refugee experiences

The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon

The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon

Separated, scared and looking after a small child, Esra will do whatever she can to reunite with her friend Miran, who was captured by the police – the police who she mustn’t trust. Hiding in the shadows of the forest, Esra is found by a local boy, a boy with his own story. Together they will create a man out of mud. A man who will come to life and lead them through a dark labyrinth of tunnels until they finally have the courage the step above ground. Until they finally have the courage to speak their story. Until they finally have the courage to be free.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Child abuse
Death of a sibling recounted
Death of a child
Murder