Kidlit – Page 190 – Trigger Warning Database

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Paedophilia
Incest
Cheating
Depression
Suicide
Self harm

The One True Me and You by Remi England

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England

Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend: try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels, wear more masculine-presenting cosplay, and kiss a girl for the first time.

It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Homomisia
Lesbomisia
Public outing
Sexism
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother from suicide recounted
Gender dysphoria
Bullying

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

Pony just wants to fly under the radar during senior year. Tired from all the attention he got at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s looking for a fresh start at Hillcrest High. But it’s hard to live your best life when the threat of exposure lurks down every hallway and in every bathroom.

Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading. She plans on keeping a low profile until graduation…which is why she promised herself that dating was officially a no-go this year.

Then, on the very first day of school, the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes. How is Pony supposed to stay stealth when he wants to get close to a girl like Georgia? How is Georgia supposed to keep her promise when sparks start flying with a boy like Pony?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Acemisia
Homomisia
Lesbomisia, including slurs and internalised
Transmisia, including slurs and internalised
Deadnaming
Misgendering
Graphic assault against trans character, including physical assault
Parental abuse
Suicidal ideation
Forced and pressured outing
Hate crime
Bullying

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism, racism, sexism & slut-shaming
Homophobia & coming out themes
Dubious consent scenarios involving minors discussed, including mentions of nonconsensual voyeurism*
Parental abandonment recounted
Infidelity, recounted & discussed
Alcoholism mentioned
Bipolar Disorder
Suicide & attempted suicide and self-harm
Alcohol consumption & abuse and recreational drug use
Death from anaphylaxis
Cancer mentioned and heart attack
Hospitalisation
Death of a classmate (on-page)
Death of an uncle mentioned
Death of a mother recounted
Murder & attempted murder
School shooting & gun violence discussed
Strangulation
Physical assault
Car accident recounted
Blackmail
Bullying

*Context: Characters under the influence of alcohol recount having sex, and a protagonist recounts coerced ‘consent’ to sex with her boyfriend.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires – the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them. After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia & slut-shaming
Sexual harassment
Teacher-student relationship
Depression & self-harm by cutting (secondary character, on-page)
Alcohol consumption
Blood depiction & blood-drinking (on-page)
Animal death

Charlotte Says by Alex Bell

Following the death of her mother in a terrible fire, Jemima flees to the remote Isle of Skye, to take up a job at a school for girls. There she finds herself tormented by the mystery of what really happened that night. Then Jemima receives a box of Frozen Charlotte dolls from a mystery sender and she begins to remember – a séance with the dolls, a violent argument with her step-father and the inferno that destroyed their home. And when it seems that the dolls are triggering a series of accidents at the school, Jemima realizes she must stop the demonic spirits possessing the dolls – whatever it takes.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Death of a mother in a housefire recounted
Animal cruelty

The Haunting by Alex Bell

Some curses grow stronger with time…People say that all Cornish inns are haunted, but the Waterwitch’s history is particularly chilling. Built from the salvaged timber of a cursed ship, the guest house’s dark secrets go further back than anyone can remember. Emma is permanently confined to a wheelchair after an accident at the Waterwitch which took place when she was ten. Seven years later, she decides to return to the place where the awful event occurred. But the ancient inn still has its ghosts, and one particular spirit is more vengeful than ever…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Domestic violence
Self-harm
Serious physical injury, burns & body horror
Death of a parent & grandparent
Torture recounted
Animal injury

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

When fifteen-year-old Sophie’s best friend dies abruptly under mysterious circumstances, Sophie sets off to stay with her uncle and cousins on the remote Isle of Skye. It’s been years since she last saw her cousins — brooding Cameron with his scarred hand; Piper, who seems too perfect to be real; and peculiar little Lilias with her fear of bones. Sophie knows that in her uncle’s house, there are rules she must follow: Make no mention of Cameron’s accident. Never leave the front gate unlocked. Above all, don’t speak of the girl who’s no longer there, the sister whose room lies… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Blood & gore depiction
Death of a friend
Fire recounted

Dark Room by Tom Becker

When Darla and her feckless dad, Hopper, move to Saffron Hills, Darla hopes it’ll be a new start for the both of them. But she stands no chance of fitting in with the image-obsessed in-crowd at her new school. Then one of her classmates is brutally killed when taking a photo of herself. A murder Darla herself predicted in a bloody vision. When more teens die in a similar fashion it appears that a serial killer is on the loose – the ‘Selfie Slayer’. Darla alone is convinced that the murderer might not be flesh and blood…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Transphobia
Faked suicide by hanging recounted
Blood & gore depiction
Death of a parent recounted
Death of a friend
Murder (serial killer)

*Context: When a young boy was caught murdering a young girls, his father helped him avoid charges & escape the country by faking his suicide; he had so-called ‘gender reassignment surgery’ so he could return and resume killing in ‘disguise’ (as a woman).

What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra

Hayden tried to put the past behind her, and it worked. She’s getting ready for college, living in a Brooklyn apartment, and hanging out with her best friend and roommate Del. But now it’s all catching up with her: her mother’s mysterious disappearance a decade before, her father’s outlandish theories about a lost supernatural race, and Hayden’s own dark dreams of strange symbols and rituals in the Colorado woods where she grew up. As soon as Hayden arrives at her hometown, her friend Del in tow, it begins: Neighbors whisper secrets about Hayden’s mother… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism & ableist language
Child abuse mentioned
Sleep disorders
Graphic self-harm
Graphic consensual & nonconsensual medical treatment and needles
Burns
Physical assault
Hanging mentioned
Captivity mentioned
Bullying recounted