Middle Grade & Children’s – Page 33 – Trigger Warning Database

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

When Sunny St. James receives a new heart, she decides to set off on a “New Life Plan”: 1) do awesome amazing things she could never do before; 2) find a new best friend; and 3) kiss a boy for the first time.

Her “New Life Plan” seems to be racing forward, but when she meets her new best friend Quinn, Sunny questions whether she really wants to kiss a boy at all. When the reemergence of her mother, Sunny begins a journey to becoming the new Sunny St. James.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Queermisia
Parent with alcoholism
Heart transplant surgery

Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Hazel knows a lot about the world. That’s because when she’s not hanging with her best friend or helping her two moms care for the goats on their farm, she loves reading through dusty encyclopedias. But even Hazel doesn’t have answers for the questions awaiting her as she enters eighth grade. How can she make friends in a new school where no one seems to understand her? What’s going to happen to one of her moms who’s pregnant again after having two miscarriages? Why does everything have to change when life was already perfectly fine?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Anxiety
Suicidal ideation mentioned
Self-harm recounted
Miscarriage
Hospital
Bullying

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Melly only joined the school band because her best friend, Olivia, begged her to. But to her surprise, quiet Melly loves playing the drums. It’s the only time she doesn’t feel like a mouse. Now, she and Olivia are about to spend the next two weeks at Camp Rockaway, jamming under the stars in the Michigan woods.

But this summer brings big changes for Melly: her parents split up, her best friend ditches her, and Melly finds herself falling for a girl at camp named Adeline. To top it off, Melly’s not sure she has what it takes to be a real rock ‘n’ roll drummer. Will she be able to make music from all the noise in her heart?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableist language
Sexism
Toxic friendship
Parent with Multiple Sclerosis

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman and illustrated by Sarah Watts

Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her family is relocating to San Francisco, home of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger, a game where books are hidden all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. But Emily soon learns that Griswold has been attacked and is in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold and leads to a valuable prize… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Gun violence
Stalking

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, where Marvellers from all around the world come together to practice their cultural arts like brewing Indian spice elixirs, practising Caribbean steel drum hypnosis, and bartering with fussy Irish faeries. Ella knows some people mistrust her Conjuror magic, often deemed “bad and unnatural,” but she’s eager to make a good impression—and, hopefully, some friends… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Blood depiction
Kidnapping
Bullying

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Since as far back as Ben can remember, it’s been him, his devoted dad, and Sunshine–Ben’s little dog, who rarely leaves Ben’s side. It was Mom who did the leaving, and Ben’s about to spend a whole week with his suddenly present mother in the wilds of northern Minnesota. On the remote island she calls home, Ben will learn to camp, canoe, weather the elements, and weigh a burning question: when will she come back to where she belongs?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Physical child abuse recounted
Forest fire

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Joel’s best friend Tony drowns while they are swimming in the forbidden, treacherous Vermilion River. Joel is terrified at having to tell of his disobedience and overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a friend by drowning (theme)

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time… When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends-not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack’s imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It’s up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Scars mentioned
Physical assault
Bullying

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

When Ned and his identical twin brother Tumble from their raft into a raging river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. But when a bandit king comes to steal the magic Ned’s mother, a Witch, is meant to protect, it’s Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community. Meanwhile, across the Enchanted forest that borders Ned’s village lives Aine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the bandit king, who is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: ‘the wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.’… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a mother
Attempted murder
Kidnapping & captivity
Drowning
Animal death (wolf)

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighbourliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Alcohol consumption mentioned
Disappearance of a child
Fire
Animal attack (birds)
Animal abuse & injury*

*Explanation : A dog is blinded by his previous abusive owner.