Child Abuse & Neglect – Page 120 – Trigger Warning Database

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question — How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Coming out themes mentioned
Child sexual abuse (central theme, not on-page or described)
Child abuse
Surgery mentioned
Hormone replacement therapy mentioned

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa–a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past. Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks–alone, except for her fox companion–searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers. But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Smoking mentioned
Malaria & fevers
Dead bodies
Body horror
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother
Death of a mother & father, off-page
Death of a grandmother mentioned
Death of a child in a pedestrian-car accident, on- & off-page
Murder & attempted murder
Mass death
Gun violence
Physical assault
Stoning
Carjacking mentioned
Animal death (insects, repeated scenes)

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

When she stumbles across the advert, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious ‘smart’ home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare – one that will end with a child dead and her in a cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she’s made mistakes. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty – at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexual harassment
Dubious consent scenario*
Physical, emotional & verbal child abuse
Child neglect
Cheating
Panic attack (on-page)
Suicide & self-harm mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Blood depiction and physical injuries
Death of a child
Death of a sister
Murder
Poisoning (on- & off-page)
Death from a fall
Drowning mentioned
Incarceration

*Note: A fade-to-black sex scene where the protagonist is under the influence of alcohol.

The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Sex work discussed
Child abuse recounted
Disownment & familial estrangement
Cheating
Anxiety & panic attacks
PTSD
Alcohol consumption
Alcohol abuse recounted
Dubious consent to medication
Teen pregnancy
Miscarriage & abortion mentioned
Infertility mentioned
Emesis
Hospital
Minor blood & gore depiction and physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father
Death of a grandmother
Death of a sister
Murder & attempted murder
Strangulation
Car accident
Disappearance of a loved one
Blackmail
Captivity recounted
Poverty themes & eviction

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

If I could have a fiddle made of Daddy’s bones, I’d play it. I’d learn all the secrets he kept.

Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness.

But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets.

In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Attempted rape recounted (chp. 23)
Child abuse recounted, including being locked in the attics for extended periods of tie
Agoraphobia
Panic attack (chp. 24)
Death of a mother to suicide recounted
Recreational drug use (on-page in chp. 5 & mentioned otherwise)
Hospital (chp. 5 & 24)
Grief & loss (theme)
Death of a father recounted
Death of a stepfather (off-page)
Death of a sister recounted
Gun violence (chp. 28)
Police violence (chp. 28)
Hanging mentioned (chp. 9)
Near-drowning incident
Car accident (on-page, chp. 23-24)
Death of a child to a wasp attack recounted

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and dea… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism, misogyny & fatphobia
Racism & racial slurs
Sexual harassment
Rape of a minor & sexual assault (on-page)
Cheating recounted
Child abuse & neglect mentioned
Substance addiction discussed
Nightmares
Suicide by gunshot to the head (on-page)
Alcohol consumption
Drug use & abuse (theme) with mentions of overdose
Teen pregnancy recounted
Grandparent recovering from a stroke
Physical injuries, including nerve damage & chronic shoulder injury
Hospitalisation for internalised bleeding & liver damage with mentions of surgery
Emesis
Grief & loss depiction
Death of an uncle & father
Murder of a friend & teenager by gun violence (on-page)
Car accident (on- & off-page)
Bullying

On the Fence by Kasie West

On the Fence by Kasie West

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbour and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game. To cope with the stress of faking… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child abuse
Death of a mother from suicide by car accident

Maybe This Time by Kasie West

Maybe This Time by Kasie West

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love? Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas. Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism mentioned
Parental abandonment & emotional child abuse
Minor blood & injury depiction
Death of a family friend

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism mentioned
Parental abandonment
Parental emotional abuse
Minor blood depiction & physical injury
Death of a family friend

Educated by Tara Westover

Educated by Tara Westover

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racial slurs (n slur)
Emotional & physical domestic abuse
Child neglect
Blood depiction
Car accident

Toffee by Sarah Crossan

Toffee by Sarah Crossan

Also known as Being Toffee.

One is trying to forget. The other is trying to remember.

After running away from an abusive home, Allison finds herself taking shelter in a shed behind an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty after all; an elderly woman named Marla, who suffers from dementia, lives there. And rather than turn her away, Marla welcomes her – she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be, so she decides to play along. But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real companion, Allison begins to waver. They both deserve a home, a safe place, and a family – but at what cost?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexism
Slut shaming
Sexual harassment
Physical, verbal & emotional child abuse (theme)
Domestic violence and physical & emotional abuse
Elder abuse
Cheating mentioned
Depersonalisation
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use (smoking)
Death from childbirth & traumatic childbirth mentioned
Dementia (theme)
Minor blood depiction & physical injuries, including burns
Emesis
Hospital
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & wife recounted
Homelessness
Animal death
Death of a pet dog mentioned
Animal attack mentioned