Tag Archives: Abandonment

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of abandonment, including spousal and parental abandonment.

Saint Iggy by K.L. Going

When Iggy Corso gets kicked out of high school, there’s no one for him to tell. His mother has gone off, his father is stoned on the couch, and the phone’s been disconnected, so even the social worker can’t get through. Leaving his public housing behind, Iggy ventures into the world to make something of his life. It’s not easy when you’re sixteen, have no skills, and your only friend is mixed up with the dealer who got your mom hooked. But Iggy is . . . Iggy, and he has the kind of wisdom that lets him see what no one else can.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & neglect
  • Infidelity
  • Parent with substance addiction
  • Alcohol consumption and recreational drug use & abuse
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she’ll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee’s fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life. When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom–a moment Aimee has never remembered before–she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment (theme)
  • Pregnancy & abortion

Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan

Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing. When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success—without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth. With both her heart and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abandonment & neglect
  • Anxiety & depression (protagonist)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted

Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder

It’s been a decade since Merritt Valentine’s peak as a celebrated singer-songwriter… and her subsequent career-ending mental breakdown. Since then, she’s abandoned the glitz of Los Angeles to move in with her sister, Olivia, in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, hoping to heal her lingering emotional wounds of the spotlight. Life in Crested Peak would be uncomplicated if not for Merritt’s inconvenient crush on the local contractor and handyman, Nikolaos Petrakis. Niko is disarmingly handsome and too kind-hearted to ever be right for the complex and prickly… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slut-shaming & mentions of homophobia (secondary characters)
  • Minor fatphobia & mention of weight gain
  • Parental abandonment & familial estrangement
  • Statutory rape recounted (protagonist was 14-years-old and her sibling’s brother was ~roughly~ 19-years-old)
  • Workplace sexual harassment of a teen mentioned
  • Divorce & infidelity recounted (the protagonist’s ex-husband cheated on her, and she cheated in previous relationships)
  • Panic attacks recounted
  • Dissociation, Borderline Personality Disorder & Complex PTSD (protqagonist)
  • Protagonist in recovery for substance and alcohol addictions after an attempted suicide by overdose in the past, including on-page & recounted drug use & abuse and alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Unplanned teen pregnancy recounted & mentions of a pregnant secondary character
  • Emesis
  • Death of a father mentioned
  • Animal death mentioned (pet cat)

Alaskan Christmas Redemption by Belle Calhoune

Returning to Owl Creek after years away, Braden North’s determined to help his best friend, Piper Miller, save her failing diner. But as they work to revitalize her business, Braden’s convinced he must hide the truth about a tragedy from their past…or risk losing Piper for good. If he can find the courage, might telling her everything make this Christmas a time for healing and forgiveness?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Heart attack mentioned
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Kidnapping mentioned

Affiliations, Aliens, and Other Profitable Pursuits by Lyn Gala

A desire for status has brought Ondry and Liam to a human world to trade, but dealing with humans has brought up all the old pain in Liam’s heart. Even though Ondry would do anything to protect his beloved palteia, he doesn’t know how to protect Liam from himself. Worse, Ondry isn’t sure how to shield Liam from the shifting politics on the Rownt ship where the Calti Grandmothers are nothing like the ones they left behind on the planet.With everything in their lives changing, Ondry and Liam have only each other… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Rape (off-page) & child sexual abuse recounted
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & trauma
  • Death of a parent (off-page)
  • War themes
  • Animal attack (off-page)

Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

Labor and delivery nurse Penelope is an expert at her job but a complete mess when it comes to her personal life. After her boyfriend dumps her in favor of saving his marriage, Penelope discovers she’s pregnant. Now Penelope must face motherhood, her greatest fear, or consider the alternatives. Jesenia, a first-generation American, made her mark as a model then quit the business in favor of a nine-to-five and wedded bliss. After three years of fertility treatments and pressure from her family, trying to become a mother is her full-time job. But when her past mistakes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abandonment
  • Schizophrenia
  • Self-harm & suicidal ideation
  • Drug use & overdose
  • School shooting mentioned

Would You Rather by Allison Ashley

Noah and Mia have always been best friends, and their friendship is the most important thing to them. Life is going great for Noah and he’s up for a promotion in a job he loves. But Mia’s life is on hold as she awaits a kidney transplant. She’s stuck in a dead-end job and, never wanting to be a burden, has sworn off all romance. So when the chance of a lifetime comes to go back to school and pursue her dream, it’s especially painful to pass up. She can’t quit her job or she’ll lose the medical insurance she so desperate… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & familial estrangement
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Hospitalisation and medical treatment & procedures including needles and organ transplant surgery (kidney)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother in a car accident recounted
  • Blackmail

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her co-worker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can. Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Infidelity (ex-partner)
  • Disordered eating & body dysmorphia, including mentions of past dieting & calorie counting
  • Panic attack
  • Emesis
  • Death of parents in a car accident (off-page)
  • Loved one with terminal heart condition
  • Hurricane mentioned
  • Cyberbullying & harassment

The Wicked Betrayal by Marion Blackwood

After the events surrounding the Dagger of Orias, Kenna believes that her circumstances could not possibly get any worse. But fortune is a cruel mistress. Unexpected betrayal throws her life into turmoil, and while she is still trying to recover from the shock, she also has to somehow come up with a plan to save her life. The idea is simple. And dangerous beyond belief. In order to get out of the desperate situation she has ended up in, Kenna is going to take on Mordren Darkbringer. But the Prince of Shadows is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Classism
  • Slut-shaming & victim-blaming
  • Parental abandonment & neglect
  • Depression & suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption & drugging
  • Gambling
  • Blood & injury depiction, including dead bodies
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Attempted kidnapping & captivity
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Strangulation
  • Poisoning
  • Home invasion
  • Blackmail
  • Building collapse
  • Fire
  • Conscription
  • Homelessness