For readers everywhere
This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of child abuse and neglect, including emotional, verbal, psychological and physical abuse, and gaslighting.
For child sexual abuse, see Paedophilia & CSA.
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
Scarlett was always the strong one. Halley was always content to follow in her wake. Then Scarlett’s boyfriend died, and Scarlett learned that she was pregnant. Now Halley has to find the strength to take the lead and help Scarlett get through it. Because true friendship is a promise you keep forever.
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Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Unlock your heart and the rest will follow.
Ruby is used to taking care of herself. But now that she’s living with her sister, she’s got her own room, she’s going to a good school, and her future looks bright. Plus there’s an adorable boy next door.
Can Ruby learn to open her heart and let him in?
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The Dry by Jane Harper
In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier.
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Luke’s death now threatens to bring to the surface.
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The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge
Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma’s cabin and became blind in one eye.
Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor – only to discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her cabin and a terrifying creature is on the loose. Then the spinning wheel starts creaking, books move around and terror creeps in . . .
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Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone in feeling discontent, harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations, where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…
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The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
The Willoughby children—Timothy, twins Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister Jane—are fond all old-fashioned things, but especially old-fashioned adventures. What they aren’t fond of, however, are their parents. Truth be told, their parents aren’t the fondest of them, either, and they’re concocting an evil plan to get rid of their children once and for all!
Both parents and children have plenty of dastardly ideas and tricks up their sleeves. The only thing they don’t have is any idea of what lies between them and a happily-ever-after.
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Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears?
In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, two people—a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy—face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.
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Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Orphaned and physically flawed in a civilization that shuns and discards the weak, Kira faces a frightening uncertain future.
When she is summoned by the Council if Guardians, Kira prepares to fight for her life, but the Council has unexpected plans for her. Now Kira faces new responsibilities. On her quest for truth, she discovers things that will change her life forever.
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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction – at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful – and completely unforgettable
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Lush by Natasha Friend
It’s hard to be a 13-year-old girl. But it’s even harder when your father’s a drunk. It adds an extra layer to everything — your family’s reactions to things, the people you’re willing to bring home, the way you see yourself and the world. For Samantha, it’s something that’s been going on for so long that she’s almost used to it. Only, you never get used to it. Especially when it starts to get worse…
Trigger & Content Warnings:
Trigger Warning Database