Death of a Parent & Guardian – Page 163

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape mentioned
Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
Sexual harassment
Child abuse
Coerced suicide mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood & physical injury depiction
Death of a mother
Murder
Knife violence
Near-death experience from hypothermia
Animal attack
Animal abuse

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.

But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck’s death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has become shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Paedophilia & child sexual abuse
Child abuse
Domestic abuse
Suicide & suicidal ideation
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent
Torture

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. When she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Misogyny
Bimisia
Homomisia
Lesbomisia
Forced outing
Paedophilia
Rape & statutory rape
Sexual assault & harassment
Child abuse
Domestic abuse
Cheating
Alcoholism, secondary character
Drug use
Suicide & suicidal ideation
Abortion
Miscarriage mentioned
Physical injury
Hospitalisation
Terminal breast cancer
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a partner
Death of a child
Death of a friend
Death of parents in a car accident
Blackmail

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Jersey Cameron has always loved a good storm. Watching the clouds roll in and the wind pick up. Smelling the electricity in the air. Dancing barefoot in the rain. She lives in the Midwest, after all, where the weather is sure to keep you guessing. Jersey knows what to do when the tornado sirens sound. But she never could have prepared for this.

When her town is devastated by a tornado, Jersey loses everything. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she’s sent to live with relatives she hardly knows-family who might as well be strangers. In an unfamiliar place, can Jersey discover that even on the darkest of days, there are some things no tornado can destroy?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abandonment
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Panic attacks
Alcoholism mentioned
Death of a sibling
Death of a parent
Tornado, central theme

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Shay Miller wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is increasingly lonely.

Until Shay meets the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better. Shay would die for them to like her. She may have to.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Fatmisia & body shaming
Rape (on-page)
Trauma & panic attacks
Graphic suicide by train (on-page)
Suicide (theme)
Alcohol consumption
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a friend
Death of a sister
Death of a father recounted
Strangulation
Stalking

*Note: A character is described as having ‘almond-shaped eyes’.

The Possession of Mr Cave of Matt Haig

The Possession of Mr Cave by Matt Haig

Terence Cave, intellectual, music-lover and owner of Cave Antiques, has experienced more than his share of tragedies. His mother’s suicide and his young wife’s death at the hands of burglars left him to bring up his young twins alone. And now one of them has died in a grotesque accident as a result of bullying.

Bryony, the remaining twin, has always been the family’s great hope: a golden teenager, in love with her cello and her pony, clever, sweet and eager to please. Now that she is all Terence has left, he realises that his one duty in life is to keep her safe from the world’s malign forces, whatever that may take. As he starts to follow his grieving daughter’s movements, and enforces a draconian set of rules purely for her own safety, the voices in his head convince him to protect her innocence at any cost.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Suicide
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a wife
Death of a mother

The Dead Fathers Club of Matt Haig

The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig

Eleven-year-old Philip Noble is at his father’s funeral when who should appear but his father’s ghost, who wastes no time in telling Philip that his Uncle Alan, an auto mechanic, tampered with his car, causing the accident that killed him. He warns Philip that Uncle Alan will shortly be tampering with his mother too, because Unctuous Uncle Alan wants the pub that Philip’s father owned.

The solution to this problem, according to Philip’s dad, is that he must kill Uncle Alan. If he doesn’t do it before Dad’s next birthday, 11 weeks away, Dad will be consigned to the Terrors for all eternity. Philip agrees, in principle, but killing someone, especially without getting caught, isn’t easy. But a promise is a promise, so Philip gives it a whirl, in fact, several whirls. Real life interferes in the persons of two school bullies, truly nasty and perverse thugs, who seem ready to kill Philip because they think it’s funny that his father died. Philip also falls in love, and his Ophelia (named Leah) thinks that shoplifting is tons of fun. Poor Philip is in over his head in every way possible.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Death of a father
Murder
Car accident
Bullying

The Midnight Library of Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Depression discussed (protagonist)
Alcoholism
Panic attack
Suicide, suicidal ideation & attempted suicide (protagonist, on-page)
Self-harm mentioned
Drug abuse
Terminal illness & cancer
Emesis
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Car accident
Drowning mentioned
Death of a pet (cat) & animal cruelty mentioned

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child neglect & abandonment
Claustrophobia
Hallucinations & delusions
Nonconsensual administrations of drugs & medical treatment
Blood & gore depiction
Physical injury & illness
Dead bodies
Emesis
Needles
Surgery
Hospital mentioned
Death from starvation
Amputation & loss of limb
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father recounted
Death from a fall
Drowning
Cave disasters
Loss of bodily autonomy

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins

For the most part, Hannah’s life is just how she wants it. She has two supportive parents, she’s popular at school, and she’s been killing it at gymnastics. But when her cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes. Cal tells half-truths and tall tales, pranks Hannah constantly, and seems to be the reason her parents are fighting more and more. Nothing is how it used to be. She knows that Cal went through a lot after his mom died and she is trying to be patient, but most days Hannah just wishes Cal never moved in.

For his part, Cal is trying his hardest to fit in, but not everyone is as appreciative of his unique sense of humor and storytelling gifts as he is. Humor and stories might be his defense mechanism, but if Cal doesn’t let his walls down soon, he might push away the very people who are trying their best to love him.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Domestic abuse & violence
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Alcoholism
Drug abuse
Cancer
Death of a parent