The Ash House by Angharad Walker

The Ash House by Angharad Walker

The Ash House by Angharad Walker

When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.

The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn’t he? At least he did before he walked through those gates…

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Medical experimentation
  • Blood depiction
  • Physical injury & illness
  • Chronic pain
  • Kidnapping implied
  • Captivity implied
  • Animal attack

Five ​Dark Fates by Kendare Blake 

Five ​Dark Fates by Kendare Blake

After the grim confrontation with Queen Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, and it is up to Arsinoe to find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist lies heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Katharine’s reign remains intact—for now. When Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce, Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share. But as the two circle each other, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Suicide
  • Self harm mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Amputation
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Sword violence
  • Poisoning
  • Imprisonment
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • Death of newborns by drowning mentioned
  • Animal attack

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake 

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder
  • Strangulation
  • Poisoning
  • Animal attack

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake 

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Poisoning
  • Animal attack

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Our story begins in 1902, at The Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it The Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, The Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Sexual assault
  • Suicide
  • Overdose
  • Unwanted pregnancy
  • Animal attack

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Murder
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Gun violence
  • Animal attack

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government’s emergency protocols are faltering.

Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Pregnancy
  • Medical procedures
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction
  • Death of a partner
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Home invasion
  • Animal injury
  • Animal death
  • Animal attack

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
 
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as a courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbours, one false move can have dire consequences… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Antisemitism
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Forced incest
  • Child abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Attempted suicide
  • Self harm mentioned
  • Starvation
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Medical experimentation
  • Eugenics
  • Explosion & bombings
  • Gun violence
  • Whipping
  • Genocide
  • World War Two
  • Concentration & labour camps
  • Death by animal attack

The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Parental abuse
  • Domestic abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Self harm
  • Death of a parent

The Blacksmith Queen by GA Aiken

The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

With the demise of the Old King, there’s a prophesy that a queen will ascend to the throne of the Black Hills. Bad news for the king’s sons, who are prepared to defend their birthright against all comers. But for blacksmith Keeley Smythe, war is great for business. Until it looks like the chosen queen will be Beatrix, her younger sister. Now it’s all Keeley can do to protect her family from the enraged royals. 
 
Luckily, Keeley doesn’t have to fight alone. Because thundering to her aid comes a clan of kilt-wearing mountain warriors called the Amichai. Not the most socially adept group, but soldiers have never bothered Keeley, and rough, gruff Caid, actually seems to respect her. A good thing because the fierce warrior will be by her side for a much longer ride than any prophecy ever envisioned …

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Sexual harassment mentioned
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic decapitation
  • Dead bodies & body parts
  • Death of a cousin, on-page
  • Death of a brother, off-page
  • Death of a child, off-page
  • Graphic murder & attempted murder
  • Genocide & mass murder
  • Graphic sword, hammer & knife violence
  • Fire & arson
  • Attempted hanging, on-page
  • Poisoning
  • Regicide mentioned
  • War themes & battle scenes
  • Volcanic eruption
  • Animal abuse
  • Death from an animal attack
  • Graphic animal death