Coming Out Themes – Page 15 – Trigger Warning Database

Dreadnought by April Daniels

Dreadnought by April Daniels

Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

It should be the happiest time of her life, but Danny’s first weeks finally living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined. Between her father’s dangerous obsession with “curing” her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and her fellow superheroes arguing over her place in their ranks, Danny feels like she’s in over her head… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language, including the r slur
Transmisia, internalised transmisia & transmisic slurs (theme)
Queermisia & queermisic slurs
Misgendering & deadnaming
Coming out themes & outing
Sexism & misogyny
Physical, emotional & verbal parental abuse
Suicidal ideation
Murder
Bullying
Doxxing

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes (multiple scenes)
Disownment from queermisic parents
Transmisia & misgendering
Homomisia
Ableism & ableist language
Slut-shaming recounted
Suicidal ideation
Physical, emotional & verbal parental abuse
Anxiety & panic attacks, on-page
Depression & depressive episode
Body dysphoria
Alcohol consumption
Prescription drug use discussed
Pregnancy discussed
Emesis

Ironspark by C.M. McGuire

Ironspark by C.M. McGuire

For the past nine years, ever since a bunch of those evil Tinkerbells abducted her mother, cursed her father, and forced her family into hiding, Bryn has devoted herself to learning everything she can about killing the Fae. Now it’s time to put those lessons to use.

Then the Court Fae finally show up, and Bryn realizes she can’t handle this on her own. Thankfully, three friends offer to help: Gwen, a kindhearted water witch; Dom, a new foster kid pulled into her world; and Jasika, a schoolmate with her own grudge against the Fae… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Amisia (challenged)
Coming out themes
Parental abandonment
PTSD
Panic & anxiety attacks
Nightmares
Parent with (implied) schizophrenia & hallucinations
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction
Physical injuries
Hospital
Comas
Scalpels mentioned
Murder & attempted murder
Kidnapping
House fire, fire, and loss of property
Bullying

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn’t dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn’t call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she’s about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her.

She’ll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she’ll do it better than anyone else… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Queermisia & queermisic parents mentioned*
Coming out themes recounted & on-page*
Fat-shaming & body shaming (theme)
Disordered food & weight thoughts discussed, including forced dieting
Verbal & emotional parental abuse
Hospitalisation of a child due to malnutrition mentioned
Bullying
Cyberbullying & cyberharassment

*Context: The love interest comes out as bisexual to the main character and she comes out as bisexual to him. She is closeted from her family for the whole book. Her love interest recounts how his family bribed his ex-boyfriend to break up with him. Side f/f couple talk about being disowned and kicked out of their homes when they came out to their families.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes
Sexual harassment
Sexual assault & attempted rape of a minor, on-page
Sex trafficking & coerced sex work of a minor discussed
Cheating
Pregnancy discussed
Premature childbirth scene & resuscitation of a newborn
Emesis
Cancer mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother from dengue fever recounted
Death of a father & husband (theme)
Death of a sister mentioned
Stalking
Plane crash, off-page but discussed throughout the novel
Poverty themes

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into aeroplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travellers are stranded. Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Coming out themes
Blood & injury depiction including scars and comas
Hospital (setting)
Nonconsensual medical treatment, including surgery & blood tests
Death of a teacher
Murder
Gun violence
Explosions
Car accident
Plane crashes (theme)
Fire
Animal death & dead bodies

Abroad by Liz Jacobs

Nick Melnikov doesn’t know where he belongs. He was just a kid when his Russian-Jewish family immigrated to Michigan. Now he’s in London for university, overwhelmed by unexpected memories. Socially anxious, intensely private, and closeted, Nick doesn’t expect to fall in so quickly with a tight-knit group of students from his college, and it’s both exhilarating and scary. Hanging out with them is a roller coaster of serious awkward and incredible longing, especially when the most intimidating of the group, Dex, looks his way. Dex Cartwell knows exactly who he… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Coming out themes
Transphobia & internalised homophobia
Anxiety & agoraphobia
Alcohol consumption

My Fake Canadian Wife by M Hollis

When Dora receives a letter from the immigration service in Canada saying she will be deported soon, as her visa is expiring, a friend suggests she marry a woman. Since she doesn’t currently have a girlfriend, faking a relationship might be her only option since she can’t muster the desire to return to school for advanced photograph studies. Abby is a reserved librarian who seems enthusiastic about helping with the marriage plan. As the two girls get to know each other through dates in snowy Toronto and meeting Abby’s family for Christmas, Dora starts to wonder how much of this relationship they are faking and how much is real.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableist language
Alcohol consumption
Cancer recounted
Coming out themes
Death of an uncle recounted
Deportation (theme)

Out on Good Behaviour

Out on Good Behaviour by Dahlia Adler

Frankie Bellisario knows she can get anyone she sets her sights on, but just because she can doesn’t mean she should—not when the person she’s eyeing is Samara Kazarian, the daughter of a southern Republican mayor. No matter how badly Frankie wants to test her powers of persuasion, even she recognizes some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. But when Frankie learns she’s been on Samara’s mind too, the idea of hooking up with her grows too strong to resist. Only Sam’s not looking for a hookup; she wants—needs—the real thing, and she’s afraid she’ll never find it as long… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Coming out themes
Slut-shaming

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain — and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life — and all the rules everyone expects her to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Antiziganism (g slur)
Colourism
Coming out themes recounted
Dubious consent scene discussed
Teen pregnancy & motherhood (theme) with mentions of childbirth mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Death of a mother, husband & grandfather recounted
Hurricanes & severe storms recounted
Bullying recounted