Tag Archives: Child Abuse & Neglect

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.

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past. Those who enter the wood do not always return…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Adult-minor relationship (17-year old and an ancient being)
  • Domestic violence & child abuse mentioned
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction and body horror
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Fire

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

Avery West’s newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead. To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle — beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism & homophobia mentioned
  • Attempted rape recounted
  • Forced breeding (implied)
  • Child abuse & parental abandonment
  • Panic attack (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption & smoking
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Miscarriage
  • Blood, gore & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife & gun violence
  • Explosions mentioned
  • Kidnapping, captivity & being held hostage situation at knifepoint
  • Stalking & blackmail
  • Car accident (off-page)
  • Bullying recounted

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

In the late 90s, five queer kids, whose parents want them “fixed,” find themselves thrown together at a secretive “tough love” camp deep in the scorching Utah desert. Tormented and worked to the point of collapse by hardline religious zealots intent on straightening them out, they slowly become aware that something in the mountains north of the camp is speaking to them in their dreams, and that the children who return home to their families have… changed.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & racism
  • Child abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Deadnaming
  • Suicide & self-harm mentioned

Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle

Opening locked doors has a price—even for those who hold a key. After going through the door that called to them both in dreams, Emory and Romie find themselves in the the same verdant world written of in Song of the Drowned Gods, albeit a twisted, rotting version of it. A sinister force has awoken with their arrival, intent on destruction as it spills across realms, and now Emory and Romie must stop it before it reaches their own shores. Meanwhile, Baz and Kai are desperate to follow their friends through the door to other worlds, but a mishap pulls them back in time instead—where they come face to face with Cornus Clover… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Knife, sword & weapon violence including decapitation (monsters)
  • Blood, injury and minor body horror (necromancy, a secondary character being reborn after being buried alive, etc.)
  • Mentions of death from choking, strangulation, drowning, stabbing & explosions
  • Loss of autonomy (demonic possession)
  • Physical beating of a child recounted

Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher

Ellie Sinclair is a hopeless romantic who writes love songs. I’m a struggling workaholic who could inspire a hundred breakup albums. On paper, we have nothing in common except for my son. For eight months, I avoid her until our summer trip. Fourteen days. Two islands. And one nanny I shouldn’t be attracted to. Spending time with Ellie is expected, but enjoying her company?
That isn’t part of our travel plans. After my divorce, I swore to protect my heart at all costs. Even if it means breaking hers in the process. What’s worse than working for a grumpy single dad? Admitting that I… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & neglect recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Divorce recounted
  • Self-harm recounted
  • Compulsive eating due to childhood food insecurity (protagonist)

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver

A rugged mountain town seemed like the perfect escape from a life in shambles. But on day one I ran full tilt into the world’s hottest single dad and now all my plans are ruined. As a chart-topping country singer with a recent streak of bad press it’s hard to find any peace. But I find it in Rose Hill. With a little boy and a little girl who steal my heart just as thoroughly as their dad. Weston Belmont. The man is a shameless flirt. He oozes confidence and masculinity in a way that’s downright distracting. And in bed? He’s addictive. Everything with him is wild and impulsive and I’m desperate to regain some control. But no one has supported… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotional & financial parental abuse
  • Dieting mentioned
  • Anxiety & panic attacks (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death by overdose mentioned (off-page)

Where’s Molly by H.D. Carlton

In my dreams, I never escaped the Oregon woods. Life after death isn’t easy to accept, especially when I still feel like a ghost. Now, I live deep in the mountains of Montana—the paradigm of beauty. But they are also the home of horrors. Horrors that I only unleash at night. When my pigs are allowed to feast.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & neglect including child sexual assault and rape recounted (off-page)
  • Human trafficking
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drug use & alcohol consumption
  • Murder

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.  And they can’t stand each other. Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Physical child abuse & parental neglect recounted
  • Infidelty recounted
  • Panic attack, insomnia & claustrophobia
  • Blood, injury & gore depiction including concussion, gunshot wounds, the use of needles to sew mouths shut, and the removal of fingers and eyes from dead bodies
  • Death of a mother & father mentioned
  • Murder of a father in a home invasion
  • Murder of a terminally ill great-aunt from injection
  • Murder (theme) including the use of a car accident to kill someone
  • Torture
  • Home invasion, stalking & kidnapping discussed
  • Animal attack & injury

*Context : The female protagonist’s ex-partner cheated on her and messaged underage girls. A secondary character is also cheating on his partner with his children’s nanny. The female protagonist is a serial killer her targets rapists and paedophilias; the male protagonist is a contract killer. A dog bites the antagonist and recovers from an injury sustained when the antagonist kicks it in retaliation.

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve. Even though I’m wary of our new neighbour Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chill. the Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia
  • Physical child abuse & domestic violence
  • Death of a child
  • Murder

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity recounted*
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Emotional & verbal child abuse recounted
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Emesis mentioned