Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard book cover

Four pretty little liars’ charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily’s been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria’s boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer’s afraid she was involved in Ali’s murder. But Hanna’s fate is far worse: She’s clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. These liars have tried to keep their scandals secret, but the truth is about to rock their pretty little world!

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, fatphobia & and body shaming
  • Homophobia & outing mentioned, including parental disownment
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Amnesia & blackouts mentioned
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation for injury & coma
  • Attempted murder
  • Physical assault mentioned
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)

The Elizas by Sara Shepard

When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional, isn’t… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol abuse & drugging
  • Brain tumour

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard book cover

Everyone has something to hide, especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister’s boyfriend. Aria’s fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily’s crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they’ve all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished. How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and the dirty secrets they’ve kept. And guess what? I’m telling.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia &body shaming
  • Misogyny, slut-shaming, ableism & racism
  • Homophobia & lesbophobia
  • Child emotional abuse & neglect
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Sexual harassment
  • Infidelity
  • Eating disorders (bulimia), including disordered food thoughts, binging, and purging (on-page) and discussions of weight loss
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Murder
  • Stalking & blackmail (theme)
  • Car accident
  • Bullying

Perfect by Sara Shepard

Perfect by Sara Shepard book cover

Aria can’t resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can’t keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister. Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it’s hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say… or else!

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, racism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Lesbophobia
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Child emotional abuse & neglect
  • Infidelity
  • Amnesia, memory loss & blackouts
  • Suicide & attempted suicide recounted
  • Self-harm recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Stalking & blackmail
  • Bullying

Killer by Sara Shepard

Killer by Sara Shepard book cover

In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystals. But pictures often lie— and so do Rosewood’s four prettiest girls. Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things—things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn’t die with her. Hanna’s on a mission to corrupt Rosewood’s youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria’s snooping into her boyfriend’s past. Spencer’s stealing—

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
  • Homophobia, including mentions of conversion therapy mentioned
  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Sexual assault & sexual harassment
  • Child neglect & abuse
  • Eating disorder, including disordered food thoughts, bingeing & purging
  • Anxiety attack
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emesis recounted
  • Attempted murder
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)
  • Forest fire
  • Car accident recounted

Heartless by Sara Shepard

Heartless by Sara Shepard book cover

Four gorgeous girls are telling very ugly stories. First Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer claimed they found a dead body in the woods behind Spencer’s house, only to have it vanish without a trace. Then, when the same woods went up in flames, they swore they saw someone who’s supposed to be dead rise from the ashes. And even after all that, the pretty little liars are still playing with fire. Call me heartless, but it’s about time someone shut these liars up for good. After all, nobody likes a girl who cries wolf—least of all me.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, racial slurs & misogyny
  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Sexual harassment
  • Parental infidelity mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attacks
  • Eating disorder
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Fire
  • Imprisonment
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)
  • Bullying

Flawless by Sara Shepard

Flawless by Sara Shepard book cover

Spencer stole her sister’s boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna’s obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives. And someone named “A” is threatening to do just that. At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer’s ultra-competitive sister? Or Maya, who wants… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia & body shaming
  • Ableism, racism & misogyny
  • Lesbophobia & outing mentioned
  • Sexual assault/attempted rape & incestuous child sexual abuse
  • Eating disorder (bulimia), including discussions of bingeing &purging
  • Panic attack
  • Suicide & self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Fire
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)
  • Car accident mentioned
  • Bullying

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she’s alone – and far off-trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Parental abandonment
  • Physical child abuse recounted (secondary character)
  • Cheating
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use (off-page)
  • Graphic blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a friend mentioned
  • Physical assault
  • Animal death & dead bodies

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Grace Mae knows madness. She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum. When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Paedophilia & child sexual assault
  • Physical & emotional child abuse
  • Depression
  • Attempted suicide
  • Psychiatric hospitalisation

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Tress Montor knows that her family used to mean something—until she didn’t have a family anymore. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while driving her best friend home, Tress lost everything. She might still be a Montor, but the entire town shuns her now that she lives with her drunken, one-eyed grandfather at what locals refer to as the “White Trash Zoo,” – a wild animal attraction featuring a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a panther, among other things. Felicity Turnado has it all – looks, money, and a secret that she’s kept hidden. She knows that one misstep… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape & dubious consent scenes, implied
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Graphic blood & injury depiction, including influenza epidemic, emesis, and seizures
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & parents
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Death of a pet
  • Animal attack