Category Archives: Science Fiction

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

The enchantment continues . . . The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Hallucinations (protagonist)
  • Forced adoption mentioned
  • Parent with alcohol abuse issues mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction including a global pandemic, needles, surgery, non-consensual medical treatment, and non-consensual body modifications
  • Death of a father from gun violence mentioned
  • Murder including death from a snapped neck
  • Physical assault (fistfights, beating, military training)
  • Mentions of a character having a near-drowning incident in a oil vat after being hit by a crane
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control) including forced self-harm and mentions of a pregnant character dying from suicide after forced sex work
  • Fire recounted

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the Fairest of them all? Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her “glamour” to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story–a story that has never been told… until now.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape by coercion (mind control)
  • Parental infidelity mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Death from childbirth mentioned
  • Non-consensual amputation of both feet mentioned (secondary character)*
  • Murder by gun & knife violence including stabbings & a slit throat
  • Death from poisoning mentioned
  • Presumed death in a fire and discussions of resulting burn scars to the protagonist

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breath-taking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend―the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism discussed (on-page)
  • Sexual assault (forced kiss by coercion)
  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Blood, injury & illness depiction including non-consensual amputation of a finger and biological warfare
  • Murder by gun & knife violence (on-page)
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Near-drowning incident (on-page)
  • Plane crash
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)
  • War themes & battle scenes (on-page)
  • Death of an animal/pet

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker; unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption (on-page)
  • Forced adoption recounted
  • Global pandemic
  • Blood & physical injury depiction including near-death from blood loss, amputation (finger), loss of vision, and discussions of medical experimentation
  • Near-death & halluncations from extreme dehydration
  • Kidnapping & hostage situation (on-page)
  • Physical assault (bar fight)
  • Gun violence
  • Plane crash
  • Kidnapping
  • War themes & battle scenes (on-page)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive if she does. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Global pandemic
  • Physical assault including beatings & illegal fighting rings
  • Disappearance & death of a grandmother
  • Medical experimentation discussed & minor injury depiction & body horror
  • Suicide of a patient at a psychiatric hospitalisation mentioned
  • Imprisonment (on-page)
  • Torture
  • Mentions of a grandparent with alcohol abuse issues

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Coerced suicide (magical manipulation)
  • Global pandemic (on-page)
  • Consensual & non-consensual medical treatment, medical experimentation & needles
  • Death of a father (recounted & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident
  • Fire

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies – humans with extraordinary abilities – who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone… except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice – and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Physical injury (burns)
  • Death of a mother from a fall
  • Murder of a mother, father and baby sister by gun violence recounted
  • Gun violence including fatal shootings, stun guns and tranquilizer guns with poisoned ammunition
  • Fire, poisonous gas and explosions
  • Animal death & cruelty
  • Poverty
  • Bullying
  • War themes recounted & battle scenes (on-page)

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Overdose
  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Cancer
  • Gun violence
  • Near-drowning incident

If you choose to support this author, please consider educating yourself about the Quileute tribe’s plight and support their mission.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn’t leave at all. Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something. Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand. But wisps of smoke on the horizon… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Rape & attempted rape recounted, and forced sex work (off-page)
  • Child abuse & intimate partner violence recounted
  • Suicide (on-page) & suicidal ideation
  • Pregnancy & childbirth (on-page), including stillbirth (on-page)
  • Blood & injury depiction, including dead bodies, graphic physical injuries & illness (cholera, seizures, fever), field surgery, and syringes & needles
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Death of a brother
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & hostage situation
  • Blackmail
  • Fire
  • Drought including death from starvation & dehydration
  • Death from exposure
  • Military deployment recounted
  • Animal death & death of a pet (on-page), including hunting & animal dead bodies
  • Animal cruelty

Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

It’s 1788 and Alice Payne is the notorious highway robber, the Holy Ghost. Aided by her trusty automaton, Laverna, the Holy Ghost is feared by all who own a heavy purse. It’s 1889 and Major Prudence Zuniga is once again attempting to change history―to save history―but seventy attempts later she’s still no closer to her goal. But in 2020 the Farmers and the Guides are locked in battle; time is their battleground, and the world is their prize. Only something new can change the course of the war. Or someone new. Little did they know, but they’ve all been waiting until Alice Payne arrives.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical misogyny
  • Sexual assault of a minor & statutory rape mentioned*
  • Depression mentioned
  • Suicide, suicidal ideation & suicide pacts discussed
  • Minor blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Gun violence
  • War themes, including refugee experiences & displacement

*Context : Mentions of sex between a seventeen-year-old girl and an adult man.