The Midnight Library of Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression discussed (protagonist)
  • Alcoholism
  • Panic attack
  • Suicide, suicidal ideation & attempted suicide (protagonist, on-page)
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Drug abuse
  • Terminal illness & cancer
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a sibling
  • Car accident
  • Drowning mentioned
  • Death of a pet (cat) & animal cruelty mentioned

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained. When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sex work recounted
  • Graphic auditory & visual hallucinations (on-page)
  • Nightmares
  • Suicide & attempted suicide (on-page)
  • Self-injury (on-page) with mentions of intentional self-starvation
  • Physical injuries including burns & scars
  • Death of a friend & lover recounted
  • Death of a sister (on-page)
  • Death of a father from a fever illness (off-page)
  • Multiple graphic scenes of murder & attempted murder (on-page)
  • Mass murder & regicide mentioned
  • Knife & sword violence
  • Explosions
  • Fire including attempted murder by being burnt at the stake
  • Imprisonment
  • War themes including battle scenes, forced conscription & naval warfare
  • Animal death & dead bodies

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

Rosaline Palmer has always lived by the rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show. Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory.  Suave Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Biphobia & classism
  • Infidelity by ex-partner recounted (protagonist)
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Protagonist with anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Unplanned pregnancy recounted with mentions of consideration of an abortion
  • Physical assault (on-page)

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she’d never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary. Kaysen’s memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
  • Suicide, attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Psychiatric hospitalisation

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old – including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire – Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical. (less)

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Coming out themes
  • Homophobia & slurs
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Bullying

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & intrusive thoughts
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Dissociation & derealization
  • Self-harm
  • Death of a parent
  • Car accident
  • Disappearance of a parent

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar chronicles Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that Esther’s insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Graphic attempted rape (multiple)
  • Suicide & attempted suicide discussed
  • Self-harm
  • Depression
  • Death of a father
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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Physical child abuse & domestic abuse mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & nightmares
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use mentioned
  • Teen pregnancy recounted
  • Death of a friend & child (on-page & recounted)
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Gang violence
  • Incarceration recounted
  • Police brutality & violence, including the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teen

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard book cover

Four pretty little liars’ charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily’s been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria’s boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer’s afraid she was involved in Ali’s murder. But Hanna’s fate is far worse: She’s clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. These liars have tried to keep their scandals secret, but the truth is about to rock their pretty little world!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, fatphobia & and body shaming
  • Homophobia & outing mentioned, including parental disownment
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Amnesia & blackouts mentioned
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation for injury & coma
  • Attempted murder
  • Physical assault mentioned
  • Blackmail & stalking (theme)

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard book cover

Everyone has something to hide, especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister’s boyfriend. Aria’s fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily’s crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they’ve all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished. How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and the dirty secrets they’ve kept. And guess what? I’m telling.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia &body shaming
  • Misogyny, slut-shaming, ableism & racism
  • Homophobia & lesbophobia
  • Child emotional abuse & neglect
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Sexual harassment
  • Infidelity
  • Eating disorders (bulimia), including disordered food thoughts, binging, and purging (on-page) and discussions of weight loss
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Murder
  • Stalking & blackmail (theme)
  • Car accident
  • Bullying