Emotional Abuse & Gaslighting – Page 26

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act—suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade. Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills. And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other’s help, they can find their way to a better life—but only if they’re strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Queermisia
Sexual, emotional & physical abuse
Teacher-student relationship mentioned
Depression
Bipolar Disorder
Substance addiction
Suicide & attempted suicide (theme)
Self-harm
Abortion mentioned
Psychiatric hospitalisation
Murder

A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchinson

A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchinson

Sixteen-year-old Ophelia Castellan will never be just another girl at Elsinore Academy. Seeing ghosts is not a skill prized in future society wives. Even when she takes her pills, the bean sidhe beckon, reminding her of a promise to her dead mother.

Now, in the wake of the Headmaster’s sudden death, the whole academy is in turmoil, and Ophelia can no longer ignore the fae. Especially once she starts seeing the Headmaster’s ghosts- two of them- on the school grounds… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Abusive relationship
Physical, emotional & verbal domestic abuse
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father
Gun violence
Poisoning

The Vanishing Season by Dot Hutchinson

The Vanishing Season by Dot Hutchinson

A recent abduction becomes an unexpected link to a decades-long spree of unspeakable crimes.

Eight-year-old Brooklyn Mercer has gone missing. And as accustomed as FBI agents Eliza Sterling and Brandon Eddison are to such harrowing cases, this one has struck a nerve. It marks the anniversary of the disappearance of Eddison’s own little sister. Disturbing, too, is the girl’s resemblance to Eliza—so uncanny they could be mother and daughter… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Emotional & verbal abuse
Terminal illness mentioned
Kidnapping

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny & femicide
Rape mentioned
Physical & emotional abuse
Suicidal ideation
Alcoholism
Blood & gore depiction
Murder
Torture

Real by Carol Cujec

Real by Carol Cujec

Charity may have mad math skills and a near-perfect memory, but with a mouth that can’t speak and a body that jumps, rocks, and howls unpredictably, most people incorrectly assume she cannot learn. Charity’s brain works differently from most people’s because of her autism, but she’s still funny, determined, and kind. So why do people treat her like a disease or ignore her like she’s invisible?

When Charity’s parents enroll her in a public junior high school, she faces her greatest fears. Will kids make fun of her? Will her behavior get her kicked out? Will her million thoughts stay locked in her head forever? With the support of teachers and newfound friends, Charity will have to fight to be treated like a real student.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism and ableist language
Child abuse
Emotional abuse
Neglect and abandonment
Bullying

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Forced sex work
Sexual assault
Physical & emotional abuse
Child abuse
Arranged marriage
Murder
Torture

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power – the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape (on-page)
Rape by coercion recounted & discussed
Incest mentioned
Emotional, verbal & physical abuse
Cheating
Arranged & forced marriage
Nightmares
Suicide & suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Nonconsensual drugging
Graphic caesarean childbirth (on-page)
Pregnancy
Blood & physical injury depiction
Dead bodies
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a sibling
Death of a child
Death of a father
Death of a husband
Murder
Torture
Death from a fall
Death by drowning mentioned
Animal death (on-page)
Bestiality mentioned & recounted
Bullying

The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn

The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn

A young woman is making a living, faking it as a cut-price psychic working at Spiritual Palms (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). But then she meets Susan Burke. Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year old stepson Miles. They live in a Victorian house called Carterhook Manor, built in 1893. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home and taking possession of the stepson. She has even found trickles of blood on the wall. The young woman doesn’t believe in exorcism or the supernatural, but she does see an opportunity to make a lot of money. However, when she enters the house for the first time and meets Miles, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time….

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Emotional abuse
Suicide mentioned
Death from childbirth mentioned
Graphic emesis
Dead bodies
Cancer
Death of a father
Murder
Animal abuse mentioned

Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza

Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza

This funny and empowering story weaves together three classic fairytales into one new adventure with an unusual structural twist: Rumaysa is a Muslim girl who lets her hijab down from a tall tower in order to escape. Set in a magical version of South Asia, Rumaysa explores enchanted forests and dragon lairs, teaming up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara along the way to create a strong sense of sisterhood.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Emotional abuse
Death of a parent
Kidnapping

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling

Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he’s the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord’s curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts, a wizarding school brimming with ghosts and enchantments, Harry stumbles upon a sinister mystery when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers which could be valuable, dangerous – or both. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Fatmisia & body shaming
Classism
Racism
Graphic emotional, verbal & physical child abuse
Child neglect
Nightmares
Self-sacrifice
Alcohol consumption
Minor blood depiction & physical injuries
Infirmary
Blood drinking
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father
Murder & attempted murder
Explosion
Car accident mentioned
Genocide and war themes recounted
Animal cruelty
Animal death
Bullying

If you choose to support this novel or author, please reconsider. You can read about the harmful cultural appropriation here, about how she is endangering trans people here, and donate to the queer Indigenous charity Black Rainbow here.