Kidlit – Page 3 – Trigger Warning Database

This Is Where We Die by Cindy R.X. He

Sadie, Will, Isla, Anthony, Emily, and Charlie are survivors. They were the six (out of eight) to return from a ski holiday turned nightmare two years ago. Although… nobody knows exactly what happened; the details hushed up via the wealth and connections of Sadie’s rich parents. When an exclusive private island with a mansion for rent goes viral on social media, their graduating class persuades Sadie to rent it for the weekend. The six arrive first by helicopter and wait for the rest of their classmates to join them by boat the next day. But nobody ever comes…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Toxic friendships
Self-harm
Alcoholism
Drug use
Miscarriage
Blood depiction, cannibalism & emesis
Murder

Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner

Erin and Max are two trans kids who are just trying to get to California. Max is desperate to finally be able to transition, and Erin is longing to understand why she’s on this trip to begin with, after Max suddenly broke up with her two years earlier. But when they find themselves stranded – and eventually separated – in the creepy woods of rural middle-America, they suddenly have much bigger problems. First, there’s the creature that, according to legend, feeds on girls, hunting them through the shadows. And then there are the locals, who are searching for a female sacrifice… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Transphobia, homophobia & misgendering
Sexual assault
Physical & emotional child abuse
Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation mentioned

The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner

Hunter’s life is at a turning point: After years of fighting his father for it, he’s gotten top surgery. He’s finally starting to feel comfortable in his own skin . . . only to be attacked by a strange creature in his backyard. The encounter should kill him, but his best friend Gabe intervenes, and Hunter is able to walk away from the incident with his life—and new body—mostly intact. Still, something isn’t right. First, his wounds are healing quickly—too quickly. Then there are the feverish nightmares, the sudden return of his period, and his teeth . . . they’re falling out of his head… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Transphobia, including deadnaming & hate crimes
Self-harm & discussions of suicide
Panic attacks (on-page)
Blood & gore depiction and needles
Graphic animal death (birds, coyote)

Hollow by Taylor Grothe

After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends. Problem is that her friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Anxiety & trichotillomania (protagonist)

The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

Hollis Brown is stuck. Born to a Blue-Collar American Dream, Hollis lives in a rotting small town where no one can afford to leave. Hollis’s only bright spots are his two best friends, cool girls Annie and Yulia, and the thrill of fighting his classmates. As if his circumstances couldn’t get worse, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Walt results in a frightening trap. After unknowingly making a deal at the crossroads, Hollis finds himself losing control of his body and mind, falling victim to possession. Walt, the ghost making a home inside him, has a deep and violent history rooted in the town Hollis grew up in and he has unfinish… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Depression & suicidal ideation
Loss of autonomy (possession)

Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron

Meka is used to death. After all, it’s the family business. As a newly certified mortician’s assistant at her parents’ funeral home, her days are not for the faint of heart. Luckily her boyfriend Noah isn’t squeamish, and Meka is finally feeling ready to say the three little words that will change everything. But then tragedy strikes, and Meka’s world is torn apart. Nothing makes sense, especially the strange things start happening. Ravens are circling her home. Strangers are following her. Someone is leaving mysterious items at her door. And worst of all. The dead don’t seem to be… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Night terrors
Graphic blood, gore & injury depiction, including emesis & dead bodies
Kidnapping & hostage situation
Gun violence
Fire
Animal death

Camp Sylvania by Julie Murphy

Magnolia “Maggie” Hagen is determined to be in the spotlight…if she can just get over her stage fright. This summer, though, she has big plans to finally attend Camp Rising Star, the famous performing arts camp she’s been dying to go to for three whole summers. But on the last day of school, her parents break the news: Maggie isn’t going to Camp Rising Star. She’s being shipped off to fat camp—and not just any fat camp. She’s going to Camp Sylvania, run by world-famous wellness influencer Sylvia Sylvania, who is known for her soon-to-be patented Scarlet Diet…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Fatphobia & body-shaming
Dieting & weight discussed
Blood depiction

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev A.C. Rosen

Meet Jack Rothman. He’s seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys – sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, ‘it could be worse’. He doesn’t actually expect that to come true. But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he’s been getting take a turn for the creepy. Jack’s secret admirer knows everything: where he’s hanging out, who he’s sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slut-shaming (theme) & victim-blaming
Homophobia & coming out themes
Hate crimes mentioned
Dubious consent scenarios discussed
Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
Bombings mentioned
Stalking & blackmail
Bullying

A Taste Of Magic by J. Elle

Twelve-year-old Kyana has just discovered she’s a witch! This means classes every Saturday at Park Row Magic Academy, a learning center hidden in the back of the local beauty shop, and Kyana can’t wait to learn spells to help out at home. The only downside is having to keep her magic a secret from her BFF, Nae. But when the magic school loses funding, the students must pay huge fees at the fancy school across town or lose their magic! Determined to help, Kyana enters a baking contest with a big cash prize. Will she be able to keep up her grades while preparing for the competition and without revealing her magic? What about… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Grandparent with Alzheimer’s Disease

Ashes of Gold by J. Elle

Rue has no memory of how she ended up locked in a basement prison without her magic or her allies. But she’s a girl from the East Row. And girls from the East Row don’t give up. Girls from the East Row pick themselves back up when they fall. Girls from the East Row break themselves out. But reuniting with her friends is only half the battle. When she finds them again, Rue makes a vow: she will find a way to return the magic that the Chancellor has stolen from her father’s people. Yet even on Yiyo Peak, Rue is a misfit—with half a foot back in Houston and half a heart… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Self-harm for ritual
Blood depiction
Poisoning
Torture
Battle scenes with physical assault & stabbings