Death of a Parent & Guardian – Page 186

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised–the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa’s necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead–and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer’s magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Classism
Attempted kiss without consent
Substance addiction
Hallucinations and delusions
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Pill addiction, drug abuse, and nonconsensual detox
Graphic blood and gore, and dead bodies
Physical injuries and burns
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a boyfriend (on-page)
Death of a mentor,
Death of a father
Death of a girlfriend
Murder & attempted murder
Strangulation & hanging (mentioned)
Fire

Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert

Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert

Ex-military mountain man Griffin Barrett likes his solitude. It keeps him from falling back into old habits. Bad habits. He’s fought too hard for his sobriety to lose control now. However, his gig as a wildlife guide presents a new kind of temptation in superhot supermodel River Vale. Nothing the Alaskan wilderness has to offer has ever called to Griffin so badly. And that can only lead to trouble… River has his own methods for coping. Chasing adventure means always moving forward. Nobody’s ever made him want to stand still—until Griffin. The rugged bush pilot is the very best kind of distraction, but the emotions he stirs… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism & homophobia
Coerced sexual assault
Eating disorder recovery & disordered eating
Intrusive thoughts
Alcoholism & substance addiction recovery
Substance addiction recovery
Grief depiction and death of mother (recounted)

Arctic Wild by Annabeth Albert

Arctic Wild by Annabeth Albert

Hotshot attorney Reuben Graham has finally agreed to take a vacation, when his plane suddenly plunges into the Alaskan wilderness. Just his luck.

But his frustrations have only begun as he finds himself stranded with the injured, and superhot, pilot, a man who’s endearingly sociable—and much too young for Reuben to be wanting him this badly.

As the sole provider for his sisters and ailing father, Tobias Kooly is devastated to learn his injuries will prevent him from working or even making it back home. So when Reuben insists on giving him a place to recover, not even Toby’s pride can make him refuse. He’s never been tempted by a silver fox before, but something about Reuben is impossible to resist.

Recuperating in Reuben’s care is the last thing Toby expected, yet the closer they become, the more incredibly right it feels, prompting workaholic Reuben to question the life he’s been living. But when the pressure Toby’s under starts closing in, both men will have to decide if there’s room in their hearts for a love they never saw coming.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Physical injuries
Phobia of flying
Death of a parent/s
Plane crash

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

Lost to time, Tuck Morgan and his crew have slept in stasis aboard the USS John Muir for centuries. Their ship harbors a chunk of Earth, which unbeknownst to them, is the last hope for the failing human race.

Laura Cruz is a shipraider searching the galaxy for the history that was scattered to the stars. Once her family locates the John Muir and its precious cargo, they are certain human civilization is saved.

When Tuck’s and Laura’s worlds collide―literally―the two teens must outwit their enemies, evade brutal monsters that kill with sound, and work together to save the John Muir . . . and the whole human race.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Blood and gore depiction
Death of a friend and parent (recounted)

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighbourhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyper-empathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Human trafficking
Slavery
Child sexual assault & abuse
Rape, including statutory rape
Abusive relationship
Adult-minor relationships
Arranged, forced & coerced marriage
Domestic abuse
Estrangement
Physical child abuse & neglect
Addiction
Drug abuse
Blood and gore depiction including dead bodies and body parts
Cannibalism
Physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Death of a friend
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Disappearance of a loved one
Gun & knife violence
Murder
Police brutality
Bushfire
Earthquake
Home invasion
Homelessness
Poverty themes
Hunting

A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo

A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asbedo

Ever since her mother walked out, Trix McCabe has been determined to make it on her own. And with her near-magical gift for pulling valuables off unsuspecting strangers, Trix is confident she has what it takes to survive. Until she’s caught and given a choice: jail time, or go live with her long-lost family in the tiny town of Rocksaw, Kansas.

Trix doesn’t plan to stick around Rocksaw long, but there’s something special about her McCabe relatives that she is drawn to. Her aunt, Mia, bakes pies that seem to cure all ills. Her cousin, Ember, can tell a person’s deepest secret with the touch of a hand. And Trix’s great-aunt takes one look at Trix’s palm and tells her that if she doesn’t put down roots somewhere, she won’t have a future anywhere… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse & neglect
Addiction
Depression
Suicide
Alcohol consumption
Terminal illness mentioned, specifically cancer
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling

One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn

One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn

Sam has always had things going on in his head that no one else understands, even his mum. And now she’s dead, it’s worse than ever.

With nothing but his skateboard and a few belongings in a garbage bag, Sam goes to live with the strangers his mum cut ties with seven years ago: Aunty Lorraine and his cousins Shane and Minty.

Despite the suspicion and hostility emanating from their fibro shack, Sam reverts to his childhood habit of following Minty around and is soon surfing with Minty to cut through the static fuzz in his head. But as the days slowly meld into one another, and ghosts from the past reappear, Sam has to make the ultimate decision … will he sink or will he swim.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Domestic violence mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother (theme)

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

The breathtaking story of five brothers who bring each other up in a world run by their own rules. As the Dunbar boys love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world, they discover the moving secret behind their father’s disappearance.

At the center of the Dunbar family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge—for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle.

The question is, how far is Clay willing to go? And how much can he overcome?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Parental abandonment
Suicidal ideation, and assisted suicide (euthanasia) by asphyxiation by carbon monoxide poisoning
Terminal cancer
Death of a mother & wife
Death of a pet dog (off-page) recounted

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism, including blackface, and antiziganism (g slur)
Anti-semitism and Nazism (theme)
Ableism & ableist language
Parental abandonment & verbal abuse
PTSD & nightmares
Recreational drug use (smoking)
Emesis
Starvation
Gore depiction (dead bodies)
Death of a brother
Death of a child
Death of a father & uncle mentioned
Murder
Explosions, including air raids, and fire
Death by exposure to the cold
War themes* and battle scenes
Poverty themes
Bullying

*Set during WWII and discussed the Holocaust.

Girl Gone Viral by Arvin Ahmadi

Girl Gone Viral by Arvin Ahmadi

For seventeen-year-old Opal Hopper, code is magic. She builds entire worlds from scratch: Mars craters, shimmering lakes, any virtual experience her heart desires.

But she can’t code her dad back into her life. When he disappeared after her tenth birthday, leaving only a cryptic note, Opal tried desperately to find him. And when he never turned up, she enrolled at a boarding school for technical prodigies and tried to forget.

Until now. Because WAVE, the world’s biggest virtual reality platform, has announced a contest where the winner gets to meet its billionaire founder. The same billionaire who worked closely with Opal’s dad. The one she always believed might know where he went. The one who maybe even murdered him.

What begins as a small data hack to win the contest spirals out of control when Opal goes viral, digging her deeper into a hole of lies, hacks, and manipulation. How far will Opal go for the answers–or is it the attention–she’s wanted for years?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Depression and alcoholism
Suicide
Alcohol abuse
Death of a parent
Bullying and cyberbullying