Drug Use & Abuse – Page 94 – Trigger Warning Database

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.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. SHOUT speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice– and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Fatphobia & body shaming
Rape & sexual assault (theme)
Child & spousal abuse, including physical abuse & gaslighting
Military service-related PTSD
Alcohol & drug abuse

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny
Sex worker slurs
Racism & racial slurs
Colourism
Segregation discussed
Attempted rape recounted (theme)
Nightmares & flashbacks
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Blood & gore depiction
Emesis
Death of a friend
Death of a sister recounted
Death of a mother & father recounted
Murder
Torture recounted
Gun violence

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Nobody in Beckett’s life seems to be telling the whole story. Her boyfriend Jake keeps hiding texts and might be cheating on her. Her father lied about losing his job before his shocking death. And everyone in school seems to be whispering about her and her family behind her back.

But none of that compares to the day Beckett finds the body of a newborn baby in a gym bag-Jake’s gym bag -on the floor of her high school locker room. As word leaks out, rumors that Beckett’s the mother take off like wildfire in a town all too ready to believe the worst of her. And as the police investigation unfolds, she discovers that everyone has a secret to hide and the truth could alter everything she thought she knew.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cheating
PTSD & panic attacks
Substance addiction & alcoholism
Alcohol & drug abuse, including overdose
Child pregnancy, childbirth & stillbirth
Physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father to suicide by a drug & alcohol overdose recounted
Death of an infant*
Bullying & cyberbullying, including death threats

*Note: the book’s plot centres around the protagonist discovering the dead body of a newborn in her school’s gym.

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic

Neil Josten is out of time. He knew when he came to PSU he wouldn’t survive the year, but with his death right around the corner he’s got more reasons than ever to live.

Befriending the Foxes was inadvisable. Kissing one is unthinkable. Neil should know better than to get involved with anyone this close to the end, but Andrew’s never been the easiest person to walk away from. If they both say it doesn’t mean anything, maybe Neil won’t regret losing it, but the one person Neil can’t lie to is himself.

He’s got promises to keep and a team to get to championships if he can just outrun Riko a little longer, but Riko’s not the only monster in Neil’s life. The truth might get them all killed—or be Neil’s one shot at getting out of this alive.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

The Foxes are a fractured mess, but their latest disaster might be the miracle they’ve always needed to come together as a team. The one person standing in their way is Andrew, and the only one who can break through his personal barriers is Neil.

Except Andrew doesn’t give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don’t have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil’s fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.

Neil’s days are numbered, but he’s learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won’t believe in himself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He’s short, he’s fast, he’s got a ton of potential—and he’s the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher.

Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn’t need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed.

But Neil’s not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil’s new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can’t walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he’s finally found someone and something worth fighting for.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Ableism
Rape
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Physical & emotional abuse
Self-harm
Addiction
Alcohol & drug use, consensual and non-consensual
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries
Knife violence
Bullying

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Summer of Salt by Kartina Leno book cover

A magic passed down through generations . . . Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

An island where strange things happen . . . No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask. No one questions the weather, as moody and erratic as a summer storm… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Slut-shaming
Victim-blaming
Rape, off-page
Alcohol consumption
Childbirth & pregnancy mentioned
Physical illness
Emesis
Hospitals
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father
Attempted murder
Physical assault
Gun violence
Animal cruelty & death, off-page

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism & ableist language
Persecution for ‘witchcraft’ (theme)
Indentured servitude and slavery
Forced underaged sex work recounted
Child abuse recounted
Disownment
Substance and gambling addiction
Nightmares
Coerced suicide (implied)
Alcohol consumption, recreational drug use & non-consensual drugging including forced and coerced drug dependency
Blood, gore & injury depiction including dead bodies, emesis, medical experimentation, plague, eyeball trauma, and non-consensual body modifications
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father & brother recounted
Death of a friend
Murder & attempted murder
Physical assault
Knife and gun violence
Torture
Strangulation
Explosions
Kidnapping and captivity
Incarceration
Drowning
Animal death
Animal attack & death by an animal attack
Bullying

The Weight of the Stars by K Ancrum

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

Ryann Bird dreams of travelling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the wrong side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends. One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship. After a horrific accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the two misfits are brought together despite themselves—and Ryann learns her secret: Alexandria’s mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Classism mentioned
Sexual assault
Parental abandonment discussed
Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
Hospitalisation for physical injuries (off-page)
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother recounted
Bullying