Kidlit – Page 135 – Trigger Warning Database

Falling Under by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Falling Under by Danielle Younge-Ullman

After surviving a turbulent childhood, Mara Foster has finally gained independence and success as a painter. Now in her late twenties, she lives alone, still burdened by a troubled past involving a teenage affair with an older man and the tragic loss of her college boyfriend. But when Mara meets Hugo, the walls she has built around herself begin to crumble. Despite herself, she starts to fall in love and realizes she must either confront her dark secrets or be consumed by them. And either way, she risks losing Hugo and her second chance at happiness

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Anxiety
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a boyfriend recounted

Star Child by Ibi Zoboi

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Sexism
Miscarriage mentioned
Poverty

The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

For Fin, it’s just like any other day – racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it’s not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated. When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold, and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power, and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learned in school could have prepared him for this. With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother Max must find a way to survive all on their own.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Nuclear disaster

When We Are Invisible by Claire Zorn

When We Are Invisible by Claire Zorn

In the midst of a nuclear winter, Lucy, Fin and Max flee the chaos of Sydney with blood on their clothes, a gun and handwritten directions to safety. When they reach Wattlewood, it seems like their struggle to survive might be over. There is food, warmth and adults in charge. So why can’t Lucy shake the feeling they’re still in danger? Lucy’s survived the apocalypse, but can she escape a more insidious threat?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape, off-page
Eating disorders
Nuclear disaster

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with. But that’s tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It’s even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties–and no playmates that stick around for more than a day… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Death of a sibling
Death of a parent

Riley’s Ghost by John David Anderson

Riley’s Ghost by John David Anderson

Riley Flynn is alone. It feels like she’s been on her own since sixth grade, when her best friend, Emily, ditched her for the cool girls. Girls who don’t like Riley. Girls who decide one day to lock her in the science closet after hours, after everyone else has gone home.

When Riley is finally able to escape, however, she finds that her horror story is only just beginning. All the school doors are locked, the windows won’t budge, the phones are dead, and the lights aren’t working. Through halls lit only by the narrow beam of her flashlight, Riley roams the building, seeking a way out, an answer, an explanation. And as she does, she starts to suspect she isn’t alone after all… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Bullying

Stowaway by John David Anderson

Stowaway by John David Anderson

When scientists discover a rare and mysterious mineral buried in the Earth’s crust, they have no idea that it just happens to be the most valuable substance in the entire universe. It’s not long before aliens show up to our little corner of the galaxy offering a promise of protection, some fabulous new technology, and entry into their intergalactic coalition—all in exchange for this precious resource. A material so precious that other alien forces are willing to start a war over it. A war that soon makes its way to Earth.

Leo knows this all too well. His father, a Coalition scientist, decides it would be best for them to leave Earth behind. It’s on this expedition… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Nightmares
Death of a mother recounted
War themes & battle scenes
Bullying recounted

Darling by K Ancrum

Darling by K. Ancrum

On Wendy Darling’s first night in Chicago, a boy called Peter appears at her window. He’s dizzying, captivating, beautiful—so she agrees to join him for a night on the town.

Wendy thinks they’re heading to a party, but instead they’re soon running in the city’s underground. She makes friends—a punk girl named Tinkerbelle and the lost boys Peter watches over. And she makes enemies—the terrifying Detective Hook, and maybe Peter himself, as his sinister secrets start coming to light. Can Wendy find the courage to survive this night—and make sure everyone else does, too?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Adult-minor relationships
Grooming
Child abuse & neglect
Anxiety
Panic attacks
PTSD & trauma
Alcohol consumption
Blood depiction
Death of a parent
Death of a child
Murder, off-page
Gun violence
Police brutality
Stalking
Kidnapping

One Carefree Day by Whitney Amazeen

One Carefree Day by Whitney Amazeen

For eighteen-year-old Willow Bates, anxiety is just a part of life. With her every decision ruled by intrusive thoughts, she’s worried she sometimes seems a little odd. Despite Willow’s efforts to hide her OCD from those around her, it isn’t always possible. Her rituals are her coping mechanism, and Willow’s past has left her with a lot to cope with.

But when Willow takes things too far, her mother breaks and gives her an ultimatum: Willow must finally start taking meds to treat her obsessive-compulsive disorder, or she’ll have to move out within three months… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse mentioned
Domestic violence mentioned
Suicide mentioned
Pregnancy loss mentioned

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

In Gap Mountain, California, everyone knows about fire season. And no one is more vigilant than 18-year-old Hannah Warner, the sheriff’s daughter and aspiring FBI agent. That is until this summer. When Hannah and her best friends accidentally spark an enormous and deadly wildfire, their instinct is to lie to the police and the fire investigators.

But as the blaze roars through their rural town and towards Yosemite National Park, Hannah’s friends begin to crack and she finds herself going to extreme lengths to protect their secret. Because sometimes good people do bad things. And if there’s one thing people hate, it’s liars.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Stalking
Wildfires