Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

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

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and once girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Classism & ableism
  • Alcoholism (secondary character)
  • Hallucinations
  • Drugging
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Involuntary medical treatment & procedures, including amputation & needles
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic physical injuries & serious illness of a loved one, including burns, loss of hearing, and discussions of scars
  • Graphic emesis, multiple on-page
  • Cannibalism recounted & discussed
  • Graphic food and water scarcity, including mentions of death from starvation & dehydration
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & child (on-page, multiple)
  • Death of a father & husband recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder by stabbing and strangulation
  • Fire & explosions, on-page & recounted
  • Whipping mentioned
  • Poisoning
  • Avalanche mentioned
  • Police brutality mentioned
  • Poverty
  • Rebellion & war themes
  • Graphic animal death & hunting including graphic description of skinning & butchering
  • Animal attack & death from animal attack, including death from a wasp attack and graphic scene of a child being eaten alive by a wolf
  • Attempted murder of a pet cat recounted