Child Abuse & Neglect – Page 81 – Trigger Warning Database

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse
Forced institutionalisation
Animal death & cruelty

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Lesbomisia mentioned
Slut shaming
Child abuse recounted
Teen pregnancy
Adoption (theme)
Alcoholism & alcohol abuse

The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

When Lyse MacAllister’s great-aunt Eleanora, the woman who raised her, becomes deathly ill, Lyse puts her comfortable life in Georgia on hold to rush back to Los Angeles. And once she returns to Echo Park, Lyse discovers her great-aunt has been keeping secrets—extraordinary secrets—from her. Not only is Lyse heir to Eleanora’s Victorian estate; she is also expected to take her great-aunt’s place in the Echo Park coven of witches. But to accept her destiny means to place herself in deadly peril—for the world of magic is under siege, and the battle the witches now fight may be their last…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child abuse by a grandmother (on-page)
Nightmares
Seizures
Great-aunt & guardian with terminal cancer

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape
Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
Sexual assault
Emotional & verbal child abuse
PTSD & trauma

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

Remy Tsai used to know how her story would turn out. But now, she doesn’t even know what tomorrow will look like. She was happy once. Remy had her boyfriend Jack, and Elise, her best friend—her soulmate—who understood her better than anyone else in the world. But now Jack is dead, shot through the chest—

And it was Elise who pulled the trigger… Was it self-defense? Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Physical & emotional child abuse
Cheating
Divorce
Suicidal ideation
Alcohol consumption
Smoking
Death of a friend
Murder
Arson

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Since as far back as Ben can remember, it’s been him, his devoted dad, and Sunshine–Ben’s little dog, who rarely leaves Ben’s side. It was Mom who did the leaving, and Ben’s about to spend a whole week with his suddenly present mother in the wilds of northern Minnesota. On the remote island she calls home, Ben will learn to camp, canoe, weather the elements, and weigh a burning question: when will she come back to where she belongs?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Physical child abuse recounted
Forest fire

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours. But this version of 1950’s America is characterized by a significant event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales and talons, left a trail of fiery destruction in their path, and took to the skies. Seemingly for good. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved Aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of, even more so than her crush on Sonja, her schoolmate… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Misogyny (theme)
Parental abandonment
Emotional & physical child abuse
ALcoholism
Panic attack
Death of a father, off-page
Death of a mother from cancer, on-page
Fire mentioned
Animal cruelty & death

The Night Burns Bright by Ross Barkan

The Night Burns Bright by Ross Barkan

Lucien has everything he needs: a loving mama, a library full of books, and House of Earth, a private school nestled safely in the woods of upstate New York. It’s where Lucien is taught the importance of living in harmony with nature and building a peaceful and sustainable future. But when his youthful curiosity draws him into town and to Gabrielle, a public-school student living a life wholly different from his own, Lucien’s inquisitiveness about life beyond the commune and questions regarding the events of 9/11 threaten to unbalance everything he thought he knew… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse & neglect
Parental abandonment
Dead bodies
Starvation
Branding
Murder

The Blood Witch by Ivy Asher

The Blood Witch by Ivy Asher

I never saw it coming: the bones, the magic, the betrayal. It’s no longer a question of who I can trust—the answer is no one. Now, it’s about survival. I’m in the heart of the Order, trying to solve a series of mysterious disappearances while doing everything that I can not to become bait. Enemies are circling, and they can’t seem to decide if they see me as a pawn or as a threat. Oh, and there’s that little issue of being tethered to Rogan, who I now want to kill. Enemies are circling, and they can’t seem to decide if they see me as a pawn or as a threat. Oh, and there’s that little issue of being tethered to Rogan, who I now want to kill… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abuse & neglect
Panic attack
Nightmares
Drugging
Physical injuries
Dead bodies
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent
Death of friend
Death of sibling
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence & stabbing
Torture
Explosions
Physical assault
Fire
Incarceration
Disappearance of a loved one
Loss of autonomy (mind control)
War themes & military violence

Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews

Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews

Dinner date after a hard workday should be heavenly. Of course, dates between the Beast Lord and Kate Daniels don’t always go as planned. Undead run amok, heads are chopped off, lawyers are deployed with extreme prejudice, and drunk vikings call people out.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child neglect, implied