Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

Love on the Lake by Helena Hunting

Teagan Firestone has always been the dutiful daughter, especially since her mom died. But as her father finally begins to move on, it’s her turn to do the same. Her destination: Pearl Lake, a close-knit community with an entrepreneurial spirit and secrets of its own.

One of them is Aaron Saunders, who dropped out of college to work construction for Pearl Lake’s upper class. He’s a mystery and has a playboy reputation—that is, until he meets Teagan. Neither of them is looking for love, but in a town this small, it’s hard not to let your heart get involved… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Substance addiction
  • Death of a mother recounted

I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

What happened to Amanda Holmes? Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime. Now, after their parents’ sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn’t made up her mind. Mary believes in leaving well enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of parents in a train accident
  • Physical assault recounted

Fire and Ice by Shannon Hale

Strange things are happening at the frozen edge of the world. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan have crisscrossed Erdas in their quest to stop the ruthless Conquerors. Only the four of them, supported by the gifts of their legendary spirit animals, have the power to defeat an evil takeover. While chasing down a lead in the cold north, the heroes arrive at a quiet village where not everything is as it seems. Rooting the truth out of this deceptively beautiful place won’t be easy – and the team is already out of time. The Conquerors are right behind them.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Grandparent with alcoholism mentioned
  • Physical injury & illness including frostbite
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Death from a fall
  • Knife, sword and arrow violence
  • Fire
  • Animal attack
  • Animal death & hunting (seal)

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Imprisoned in a remote tower after Lady Saren refuses to marry the man her father has chosen, the maid and the lady have almost nothing in common. But the loyalty that grows between the two, the man they love in different ways for different reasons, and the lies they tell because of and in spite of each other, combine to evoke the deepest bonds, transcend the loneliest landscapes, and erupt in a conclusion so romantic, so clever, and so right that no reader will be left dry-eyed.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Child abuse
  • Death of a parent
  • Forced confinement & isolation
  • Animal death

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her? Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Abortion including death from an attempted abortion
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a guardian from cancer
  • Stalking
  • Cult

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Lucky St. James, a Métis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy. Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transmisia & deadnaming
  • Coming out scene
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Dementia
  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Smoking
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Murder
  • Home invasion

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it’s been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening. Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother’s past or background. But when Ruth’s desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racial slur
  • Sexual assault of a minor
  • Parental abandonment
  • Child abuse
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Alcoholism
  • Unplanned teen pregnancy
  • Terminal illness
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 5 by Nagabe

What Teacher feared most if true – the child Shiva has been afflicted with the curse of the Outsiders. Yet somehow, even touched by that blight, she remains human. How can it be possible? And what of the Insiders, and the revelation from their Holy Father? His divine words portend trouble for Shiva and Teacher alike…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Death of an adopted mother
  • Attempted murder
  • Sword violence

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 6 by Nagabe

Pursued by soldiers, Teacher and Shiva left their home and searched for a new one in a distant hamlet. They thought to hide away there, but fate was not so kind to them. The cursed soldiers… The Insiders’ plans… Even Teacher himself. The mysteries surrounding them slowly begin coming to light…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Abandonment
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an adopted mother recounted

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened but the police are highly suspicious of her. Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death of a child
  • Murder of a mother
  • Lightning strike recounted