Kidlit – Page 77 – Trigger Warning Database

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl. Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn’t seem so stifling anymore… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Coming out themes
Outing
Near drowning

Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail

Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail

Niki Ames can’t wait to start eighth grade, that all-important year before high school. She and her best friend Ava have shared so many plans for the coming year. But then the unthinkable happens: at gym class pair-up, Ava chooses someone else to be her partner. Niki is devastated. It’s clear that Ava wants to be part of the popular group, leaving Niki behind. Niki has to decide who her real friends should be, where her real interests lie. Meanwhile, life at home is complicated. Niki’s nine-year-old brother Danny continues to act out more and more publicly. Their mother refuses to admit that Danny is somewhere on the autism… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Sexual assault discussed

A Clash of Steel by CB Lee

A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee

1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewellery… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Alcohol consumption
Blood & injury depiction
Death of a parent
Murder
Gun & sword violence
Physical assault

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale

The Blood Bell tolls, marking the death of the pirate king and the start of the Trials—a heart-stopping competition where the reward is the Bone Crown. Only one contender can claim the coveted island throne; each will gamble life and limb to win. Csilla Abado yearns to prove her strength to the seasoned pirates who balk at her youth and to her elder sister who has always craved Csilla’s captainship. She will risk everything to become the first pirate queen, no matter the cost. Kane Blackwater wants to leave… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother, on-page and recounted
Blood & gore depiction
Eye trauma & loss of vision
Murder
Torture
Explosion
Drowning
Fire

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.. At least, that’s what he thinks. In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Forced drug dependency
Suicidal ideation
Torture
War themes
Animal cruelty

Beast by Lisa Jensen

Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen

They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier’s cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wise woman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into a monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape
Attempted suicide

The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee

The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee

Welcome back to New York, 2119. A skyscraper city, fueled by impossible dreams, where the lives of five teenagers have become intertwined in ways that no one could have imagined. Leda just wants to move on from what happened in Dubai. Until a new investigation forces her to seek help—from the person she’s spent all year trying to forget. Rylin is back in her old life, reunited with an old flame. But when she starts seeing Cord again, she finds herself torn: between two worlds, and two very different boys. Rylin is back in her old life, reunited with an old flame. But when she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Substance addiction recovery
Alcohol consumption mentioned
Death of a friend recounted
Murder
Drowning

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

When Dean raced out the door to catch the school bus, he didn’t realize it would be the last time he’d ever see his mom. After a freak hailstorm sends the bus crashing into a superstore, Dean and a group of students of all ages are left to fend for themselves. They soon realize the hailstorm and the crash are the least of their worries. After seeing a series of environmental and chemical disasters ravage the outside world, they realize they’re trapped inside the store. Unable to communicate with the ones they love, the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Attempted rape
Child abuse

When You Look Like Us by Pamela Harris

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris

When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—people think you’re trouble. No one looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister, Nicole, got too caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she’s been gone too long now. If I hadn’t hung up on her that night, she’d be spending time with our grandma. If I was a better brother, she’d be finishing senior year instead of being another name on a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Substance addiction
Parent with alcoholism
Death of a husband recounted
Murder
Physical assault

The Assignment by Liza Wiemer

The Assignment by Liza M. Wiemer

When an assignment given by a favourite teacher instructs a group of students to argue for the Final Solution, a euphemism used to describe the Nazi plan for the genocide of the Jewish people, Logan March and Cade Crawford are horrified. Their teacher cannot seriously expect anyone to complete an assignment that fuels intolerance and discrimination. Logan and Cade decide they must take a stand. As the school administration addressed the teens’ refusal to participate in the appalling debate, the student body, their parents, and the larger community… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antisemitism
Racism
Homomisia
Cyberbullying