Tag Archives: Asphyxia

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of asphyxia (in which the body is deprived of oxygen), including strangulation, and suffocation.

See also Hanging & lynching, Garrotting, and Murder & attempted murder.

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

You wake on a beautiful, remote island. Sparkling blue seas, golden sunsets, barely a footprint in the sand. Yet this is no ordinary escape. Next to the wreck of a plane, a stranger paces. Another sharpens a knife, scoring a list of the dead onto a palm tree. Others watch from the shadows of a campfire – all with untold stories, and closely-guarded secrets. This is no ordinary holiday. This is no ordinary island. This is no ordinary beach read….

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Spousal & parental abandonment
  • Attempted rape (on-page)
  • Sexual assault (unwanted non-consensual kiss, on-page)
  • Spousal infidelity discussed
  • Suicidal ideation, including an on-page scene where the protagonist begins an attempt by jumping
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug use and abuse mentioned
  • Parent with alcoholism mentioned
  • Starvation and food scarcity
  • Infertility discussed
  • Blood & gore depiction including physical injuries and dead bodies
  • Death of a lover by shark attack (off-page)
  • Disappearance of a sibling (theme)
  • Murder by drowning in self-defence from attempted rape
  • Attempted murder by strangulation
  • Near-death of an infant from choking
  • Plane crash (theme)
  • Animal hunting & butchering (mostly fish)

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

Sam Sylvester’s not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest. Yet Sam’s life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can’t seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam’s convinced he was murdered–especially since Sam’s investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Transmisia & misgendering
  • Bimisia
  • Homomisia
  • Hate crime
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Strangulation mentioned
  • Stalking
  • Bullying

Choke by Diana López

Choke by Diana López

If she could—if her parents would let her—eighth-grader Windy would change everything about herself. She’d get highlights in her hair, a new wardrobe; she’d wear makeup. But nothing ever changes. The mean girls at school are still mean, and Windy’s best friend Elena is still more interested in making up words than talking about boys. And then one day, Windy gets the change she’s been looking for. New girl Nina—impossibly cool, confident, and not afraid of anyone—starts hanging out with Windy! Nina even wants to be “breath sisters.” Windy isn’t sure what that means… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Graphic self-harm (theme)
  • Attempted suicide
  • Brain injury from repeated self-strangulation
  • Bullying
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Jade War by Fonda Lee

Jade War by Fonda Lee

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racial hate crimes
  • Rape mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug use
  • Abortion
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Gun violence
  • Strangulation
  • Explosion

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite-only, no one over twenty-one allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go? After launching with a showstopping viral marketing campaign, the whole world is watching as the mysterious resort opens its doors to the First Ten, the ten elite influencers specifically chosen to be the first to experience everything Unknown Island… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Queermisia
  • Drug use
  • Overdose
  • Anaphylaxis, including death from good and bee sting allergies
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Poisoning
  • Suffocation
  • Stalking
  • Attempted murder of an animal

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

The multiverse business is booming, but there’s just one catch: no one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying–from diseases, from turf wars, from vendettas they couldn’t outrun. But on this earth, Cara’s survived. And she’s reaping the benefits, thanks to the well-heeled Wiley City scientists who ID’d her as an outlier and plucked her from the dirt. Now she’s got a new job collecting offworld data, a path to citizenship, and a near-perfect Wiley City accent. Now she can pretend… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Child abandonment & neglect mentioned
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death on an infant mentioned
  • Murder
  • Gang violence
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault
  • Drowning
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House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault & attempted rape recounted, on-page
  • Familial estrangement
  • Hallucinations & delusions
  • Self-injury mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Recreational drug use
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Psychiatric hospitalisation of a parent mentioned
  • Graphic body horror
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries, including gunshot wounds
  • Graphic dead bodies
  • Emesis
  • Skinning mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister by drowning recounted
  • Death of a father from suicide mentioned
  • Death of a child, off-page
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping & attempted kidnapping recounted
  • Disappearance of a sister
  • Fire
  • Bullying
  • Animal dead bodies mentioned
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The New Girl by Jesse Sutanto

The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. When she wins a full ride to the prestigious Draycott Academy on a track scholarship, she’s determined to make it work even though she’s never felt more out of place. But on her first day there she witnesses a girl being forcefully carried away by campus security. Her new schoolmates and teachers seem unfazed, but it leaves her unsure of what she’s gotten herself into. As she uncovers the secrets of Draycott, complete with a corrupt teacher, a golden boy who isn’t what he seems, and a blackmailer determined to get her thrown out, she’s not sure if she can trust anyone–especially when the threats against her take a deadly turn.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Classism
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • Overdose
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Eye trauma
  • Strangulation
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A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray

A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray

The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the centre of a cross-dimensional feud since she first travelled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation. Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drugging
  • Substance addiction
  • Teen pregnancy from rape by coercion mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Hospitalisation
  • Medical treatment & procedures
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a daughter
  • Death of a sister
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical assault
  • Gun violence
  • Explosion
  • Strangulation
  • Car accident
  • Hostage situation
  • Loss of autonomy*
  • Blackmail
  • War & rebellion themes

* Context : The use of futuristic technology to ‘take over’ people’s bodies without consent. Sexual conduct in this situation is not consented to by the host.

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Confessions by Kanae Minato

Confessions by Kanae Minato

After calling off her engagement in wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation. But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Parental neglect & abandonment
  • Transphobia mentioned & misgendering
  • Depression
  • HIV/AIDs (theme)*
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father in a car accident mentioned
  • Death of a mother from illness mentioned
  • Murder of a daughter from drowning
  • Attempted murder of a child from electrocution
  • Murder of a teen girl from strangulation
  • Mass death of a family from poisoning discussed (mother, father & child)
  • Explosion, off-page
  • Animal death & cruelty mentioned

*Context: A teacher purposefully infects the two teenage boys who murdered her daughter with HIV/AIDs. The aftereffects of being infected are explored in depth. Mentions of HIV+ stigma and how the teacher’s ex-husband is dying of HIV/AIDs.