Death of a Parent & Guardian – Page 140

Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared after speaking out against government corruption, she escaped danger the only way she knew how. She agreed to marry her childhood friend, Vladimir, and move to the United States, where he is a professional hockey player in Nashville.

Vlad, aka The Russian, thought he could be content with his marriage of convenience. But after four years, it’s become too difficult to continue in a one-sided relationship. He joined the Bromance Book Club to learn how to make his wife love him, but all he’s learned is that he deserves more. He’s ready to create his own sweeping romance – both on and off the page… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Human & sex trafficking mentioned
Child neglect recounted
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent recounted
Kidnapping
Car accident

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the 70s to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she’s forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Gang rape
Sex work
Abortion
Death of a father
Torture

Arab, Australian, Other edited by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Sara Saleh

Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity edited by Randa Abdel-Fattah & Sara M. Saleh

Although there are 22 separate Arab nationalities representing an enormous variety of cultural backgrounds and experiences, the portrayal of Arabs in Australia tends to range from homogenising (at best) to racist pop-culture caricatures.

This collection explores the experience of living as a member of the Arab diaspora in Australia with contributions from Paula Abood, Nokomi Achkar, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Rooan Al Kalmashi, Ryan Al-Natour, Rawah Arja, Hana Assafiri, Sarah Ayoub, Omar Bensaidi, Sara El Sayed, Asma Fahmi, Farid Farid, Ruby Hamad, Abdulrahaman Hammoud, Lamisse Hamouda, Amani Haydar, Miran Hosny, Lora Inak, Elias Jahshan, Nicola Joseph, Huna Amweero, Zainab Kadhim, Mohammad Awad, Wafa Kazal and Yassir Morsi

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Islamophobia
Gang rape discussed
Child abuse
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father & mother
Murder
Gang violence
War themes
Deportation & displacement
Bullying

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church’s double standards and their own needs and passions

Goodreads • The Sto r y Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Body shaming
Racism
Misogyny
Infidelity
Domestic abuse
Child abuse mentioned
Paedophilia mentioned
Emotional and physical abuse
Adult-minor relationship
Dementia
Abortion
Religious bigotry
Death of a child
Death of a parent

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia
Rape, paedophilia & child sexual abuse
Physical & emotional child abuse
Domestic abuse
Alcoholism
Infidelity
Death of a parent

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slavery mentioned
Misogyny
Amisia
Racism
Forced marriage
Alcoholism mentioned
Drug abuse
Blood depiction
Medical procedures & surgery
Death of a parent mentioned
Gun violence
Physical assault
Kidnapping & hostage situation
Explosion
Colonialism

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Bimisia
Homomisia
Racism
Misogyny
Slut shaming
Child abuse
Anxiety attacks
Suicidal ideation
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Blood & physical injury depiction
Epilepsy
Needles
Medical procedures
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother recounted
Murder
Gun violence
Torture mentioned
Physical assault
Kidnapping & hostage situation

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Forced marriage
Attempted suicide
Miscarriage
Death of a parent

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape & sexual assault
Drug use
Death of parent
Refugee experiences

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Sooner or later the dead catch up. When Judas Coyne heard someone was selling a ghost on the internet, there was no question. It was perfect for his collection of the macabre: the cannibal’s cookbook, the witch’s confession, the authentic snuff movie. As an ageing death-metal rock-god, buying a poltergeist almost qualifies as a business expense.

Besides, Jude thinks he knows all about ghosts. Jude has been haunted for years… by the spirits of bandmates dead and gone, the spectre of the abusive father he fled as a child, and the memory of the suicidal girl he abandoned. But this ghost, delivered to his doorstep in a black heart-shaped box, is different. It makes the house feel cold. It makes the dogs bark. And it means to chase Jude from his home and make him run for his life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape of a child
Death of a parent
Animal death (dog)