Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of death of a parent or guardian.

See also Death of a mother, Death of a father, and Grief & loss depiction.

The Half Sister by Sandie Jones

Kate and Lauren meet for Sunday lunch every week without fail, especially after the loss of their father–but a knock at the door is about to change everything. A young woman by the name of Jess holds a note with the results of a DNA test, claiming to be their half sister. As the fallout starts, it’s clear that they are all hiding secrets, and perhaps this family isn’t as perfect as it appears.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental infidelity discussed
  • Abusive relationship
  • Death of a father recounted

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Injury depiction & medical content

Cruel King by Rina Kent

Levi Here, little princess. I’m your king. You have three rules. Bow. Break. Bend the knee. Fight me all you want, but soon enough, you’ll be chanting long live the king. Astrid One day I’m Royal Elite School’s small fly, the next I’m hunted and left to die. He doesn’t only shred my life to parts, but he’s also coming after my heart. He thinks he broke me, but the new princess will bring the king to his knees.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Threats of rape
  • Cheating*
  • Dubious consent scenes
  • Drugging
  • Death of a parent (off-page)
  • Car accident (hit-and-run)
  • Bullying

*Context: The heroine catches the hero about to have oral sex with her step-sister; whether or not the characters were already in a relationship is left to the reader’s discretion. In an on-page sex scene, the hero refuses to stop or ‘pull out’ when the heroine asks repeatedly.

The Wedding Forecast by Nina Kenwood

Anna was never going to have an easy time at her best friend’s wedding. She’s the bridesmaid; her ex, Joel, is a groomsman. But she’s determined to get through the festivities with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that Joel is bringing his new partner, Bianca. Despite the fact she’s stuck sharing a house with the newly in-love couple. And despite the fact Anna has just turned thirty and her life is not exactly where she thought it would be by now. Anna has all her feelings completely under control—right up until the moment Joel drops a bombshell that rocks her to her core… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Pregnancy
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen. Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction including broken bones (secondary character)
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Murder of a grandfather mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical assault
  • Fatal animal attack mentioned (bees)

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Seventh grade is going to be Iveliz’s year. She’s going to make a new friend, help her abuela Mimi get settled after moving from Puerto Rico, and she is not going to get into any more trouble at school.. Except is that what happens? Of course not. Because no matter how hard Iveliz tries, sometimes people say things that just make her so mad. And worse, Mimi keeps saying Iveliz’s medicine is unnecessary–even though it helps Iveliz feel less sad. But how do you explain your feelings to others when you’re not even sure what’s going on yourself?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alzheimer’s Disease & dementia
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attacks
  • Self-harm ideation
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted

Break to You by Neal Shusterman, Debra Young and Michelle Knowlden

Adriana knows that if she can manage to keep her head down for the next seven months, she might be able to get through her sentence in the Compass juvenile detention center. Thankfully, she’s allowed to keep her journal, where she writes down her most private thoughts when her feelings get too big. Until the day she opens her journal and discovers that her thoughts are no longer so private. Someone has read her writings—and has written back. A boy who lives on the other side of the gender-divided detention center. A boy who sparks a fire in her to write back… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Hospitalisation
  • Death of a parent
  • Poisoning
  • Incarceration (juvenile detention)
  • Bullying

Monster Tree by Sarah Allen

Linus used to be an artist, like his dad. Then his father died and Linus’s mom moved them to the other side of the city, hoping for a fresh start. Maybe, for the first time since losing Dad, Linus will even start drawing again. But there’s something unusual about their new neighbor Maude, and something wrong with the grotesque tree in her backyard. At night Linus sees it moving, changing, growing. When increasingly bizarre events plague the neighborhood—massive claw marks, missing pets, sightings of a red-eyed creature—he suspects Maude and her tree are to blame… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Asthma
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father in a car accident discussed
  • Kidnapping

The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud

Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn’t know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent from terminal illness

Stay Dead by April Henry

In the aftermath of a car accident that claimed the life of her senator father, sixteen-year-old Milan finds herself adrift, expelled from her third boarding school. Milan’s mother, who has assumed the senate seat, diverts her private plane to pick up her daughter. But on their way home, a bomb rips off a wing and the plane crashes in the mountains. In her final moments, Milan’s mother entrusts her with a key. She reveals it will unlock the evidence that so many people have already died for—including Milan’s father. The only way Milan can survive, her mom tells her, is to let everyone believe she died with the other passengers.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Cancer
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a father in a car accident
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Plane crash
  • Animal death