Tag Archives: Death of a Parent & Guardian

Gemini Keeps Capricorn by Anyta Sunday

Gemini Keeps Capricorn by Anyta Sunday

Wesley loves annoying his RA, Lloyd Reynolds. He just can’t help it. Lloyd is focused, decisive, grounded. He has this amusing ability to follow rules. Of course, Wesley wants Lloyd to break one… or three hundred.… It doesn’t stop Wesley teasing again. And again. And again… But damn. Lloyd doesn’t crack easily. He’s full of principles. He’s unshakable. He’s the perfect friend to have when Wesley needs help. Like with his truant brother and his old high school principal. What can he say? It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Cheating
  • Alcoholism
  • Heart failure mentioned
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Stalking

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Enchantments run deep on the magical Isle of Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armour, and the smallest cut of a knife can instil fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that live there find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home, but that mischief turns to malevolence as girls begin to go missing. Adaira, heiress of the east, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, enticing them to return the missing girls. But there’s only one bard capable of drawing the spirits forth by song: her childhood enemy Jack Tamerlaine… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighbourhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Transmisia
  • Islamomisia
  • Hate crimes
  • Sexual assault
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Fire

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks. 1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother (theme)

The Curse of Broken Shadows by Laura Winter

The Curse of Broken Shadows by Laura Winter

Shadow magic is extinct. The Veil Worshippers who honour the shadow god’s wall are hunted for their artifacts, including the Veil shards that break off the wall in Valisea. Brela vows to steal it all back. With the dagger of her people and a Veil shard embedded in her collarbone that has infected her with shadow-cursed magic, she is determined to keep her secrets or suffer a fate worse than death. That was a lot easier when the uptight and infuriatingly handsome Captain Cason Valkip wasn’t hunting her. Cason has spent his entire life hiding from the raids on Valisea, from,… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Abandonment
  • Rape & sexual assault mentioned
  • Physical & emotional child abuse mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & trauma
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder & genocide
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire

Goodreads • The Story Graph

The Boy with the Spider Face by A.J. Franks

The Boy with the Spider Face by A.J. Franks

Jeff Pritchet isn’t much different from other teenage boys, with one exception. His monstrous, spider-like appearance and loner persona make him a target for bullying when all he wants is a friend who sees beyond the surface. Enter transfer student, Aarav Jain. Thoughtful, accepting, and insightful, he sparks an untapped hope in Jeff, transforming his life. But as the boys grow closer, their deepening relationship becomes hijacked by a darkness Aarav can’t escape and a life-altering secret Jeff can barely contain. The unconventional pair find themselves… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Queermisia
  • Child abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse
  • Emesis
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death
  • Bullying

Pretending I Love Lucy by Julie Christianson

Pretending I Love Lucy by Julie Christianson

People think it’s easy being Felix Dodd III. And sure the fortune, legacy, and inheritance aren’t exactly terrible. But the name comes with so many strings, my hands feel permanently tied. ’ve got less than zero interest in marriage, ever since my one attempt at love crashed and burned. But Grams won’t let me access my trust until I’m engaged. Which means I need a fiancée. I’ve got less than zero interest in marriage, ever since my one attempt at love crashed and burned. But Grams won’t let me access my trust until I’m engaged. Which means I need a fiancée. Someone who’s looking for quick cash and a quicker getaway… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of parents recounted

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou

Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family in Pakistan for the summer; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila’s copy on the other side of the planet. Kai’s words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a father recounted

An Indecent Invitation by Laura Trentham

An Indecent Invitation by Laura Trentham

Lady Lily Drummond understands only too well the danger of spy work. Her father, a preeminent master spy, has been missing for months, and her brother barely survived his final mission for the Crown. Lily is still determined to help find her father, no matter how hard her brother and his best friend try to keep her in the dark. Busy trying to untangle the web of deceit surrounding the Earl of Windor’s disappearance, Crown spy Gray Masterson also has to ensure Lily Drummond, the gangly, awkward child who was his constant shadow growing up, doesn’t get herself ruined… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Disappearance of a parent

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi

Most students at Dragonsong Academy spend their days practising spells and wielding wands, but after flunking her sixth-grade standardized tests, Cara Moone is on the fast track to becoming a MOP (a.k.a. Magical Occurrence Purger). See, when a real wizard casts a spell, it leaves behind a residue called spell dust—which can be dangerous if not disposed of properly. It’s a MOP’s job to clean up the mess. And no one makes more of a mess than Dragonsong Academy’s star student, Harlee. Widely believed to be… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent in a car accident recounted
  • Bullying