Death of a Parent & Guardian – Page 185

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown

A Song of Wraiths & Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Racism and racial slurs
Colonialism themes
Refugee experiences
Riots and stampede
Police brutality
Emotional & physical child abuse
Cheating mentioned
Anxiety
Panic attack, described in detail on-page
Hallucinations
Depersonalisation & derealization
Self-harm & self-harm ideation
Alcohol consumption
Emesis
Blood depiction
Grief & loss depiction (theme)
Death of a father recounted
Death of a mother, on-page
Death of a sister recounted
Death in a fire recounted
Hostage situation
Kidnapping & attempted kidnapping
Knife violence & stabbing
Murder & attempted murder
Regicide
Whipping of feet mentioned
Animal cruelty
Animal death, including animal sacrifice

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Period-typical misogyny & racism
Eugenics
Sexual assault & attempted rape (on-page)
Incest
Forced breeding mentioned
Alcohol consumption & smoking
Drugging
Hallucinations
Infertility & miscarriages mentioned
Medical treatment for tuberculosis discussed
Blood & gore depiction including body horror & cannibalism
Death of an infant mentioned
Death of a father discussed
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn’t happened yet.

Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture – being kept apart, overhearing each other’s anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There’s no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It’s from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that’s about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slut-shaming
Disorder food thoughts & restrictive eating (dieting)
Internalised body shaming
Nightmares & flashbacks
Suicide, on-page
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood depiction & physical injuries, including serious injury of a loved one
Hospital
Needles
Surgery
Comas
Emesis
Grief & loss depiction
Death of both parents
Death of a brother
Death of a friend
Murder & attempted murder
Torture & psychological torture
Gun violence
Kidnapping & hostage situation
Incarceration
Fire

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard’s antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city. Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man?

Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance. Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexism and slut-shaming discussed
Sexual assault
Cheating recounted*
Suicide recounted
Cancer
Death of a sibling recounted
Death of a parent recounted
Building collapse

*Note: The main character has recently broken up with her boyfriend after finding out her cheated on her.

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer — the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic. When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic. But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder-and more… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Arranged marriage
Physical & emotional domestic abuse recounted (chp 29)
Cheating discussed
Attempted sexual assault recounted (chp 19)
Forced sex work recounted
Hallucinations
Suicide (on-page)
Self-harm and self-injury
Alcohol consumption
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father (on-page)
Graphic blood & gore depiction including dead bodies, cannibalism, dismemberment and emesis
Murder & attempted murder
Graphic dental torture (on-page)
Poisoning
Imprisonment
Drowning
War & rebellion themes
Animal abuse & torture (chp 29)

Extra: The author, Adalyn Grace, provided a detailed breakdown of content warnings here.

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother’s country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger. Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander’s past love, Isobel… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Adult-minor relationship*
Slut-shaming
Cheating recounted
Suicide recounted
Death of a child recounted
Death of a mother
Drowning
Murder recounted

*Context: Romantic relationship between a 17-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man who has been dead for 157 years.

Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler

Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler

Lizzie Brandt was valedictorian of her high school class, but at Radleigh University, all she’s acing are partying and hooking up with the wrong guys. But all that changes when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, making her guardian to her two younger brothers. To keep them out of foster care, she’ll have to fix up her image, her life, and her GPA—fast. Too bad the only person on campus she can go to for help is her humorless, pedantic Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson, who isn’t exactly Lizzie’s biggest fan. But Connor surprises her. Not only is he a great tutor, but he’s also a pretty great babysitter. And chauffeur. And listener. And he understands exactly what… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Slut-shaming
Cheating
Teacher-student relationship*
Grief & loss depiction
Death of both parents in a car accident
Blackmail

*Context: Relationship between an 18-year-old girl and a 25-year old-man.

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

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

To regain a throne he never wanted, Prince Yarvi first must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge. Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could. Will the usurped become the usurper?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism, internalised ableism & slurs (theme)
Arranged marriage
Child abuse recounted
Death of a brother, father & husband
Murder
War themes
Bullying

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah

This title is also known as When Michael Met Mina.

Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael. Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart — and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents’ politics seem much more complicated. Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholar… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Islamophobia
Racism
Death of a brother & father