Emotional Abuse & Gaslighting – Page 27

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.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power by virtue of the prophecies of the elder seers. After the last infallible prophecy came to pass, growing unrest led to murders and an eventual rebellion that raged for more than a decade.

In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council, which governs Eldra from behind the walls of the citadel. Her only allies are no-nonsense Alys, easygoing Evander, and perpetually underestimated Newt, and Cassa struggles to come to terms with the legacy of rebellion her dead parents have left her — and the fear that she may be inadequate to shoulder the burden. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Physical & emotional child abuse
Anxiety & panic attacks
Memory loss
Suicide (on-page)
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father recounted
Death of a friend
Physical injuries depiction
Medical experimentation
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
Knife violence & stabbing
Fire recounted
Blackmail
Poisoning
Poverty themes

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life. Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Forced coming out
Emotional, physical & psychological parental abuse
Parental abandonment
Depression
Suicidal ideation
Death of a parent mentioned
Bullying

A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier

A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier

Some people knit socks by the fire at night. Gyssha Blackbone made monsters. But the old witch is dead now, and somehow it’s Elodie’s job to clean up the mess. When she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, Elodie had no idea she’d find herself working for a witch; and her acid-tongued new mistress, Aleida, was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep.

Gyssha’s final curse left Aleida practically dead on her feet, and now, with huge monsters roaming the woods, a demonic tree lurking in the orchard and an angry warlock demanding repayment of a debt, Aleida needs Elodie’s help, whether she likes it or not. And no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it’s still better than going back home.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Graphic verbal & emotional child abuse
Physical child abuse mentioned
Domestic violence mentioned
Misogyny
Dissociation
Suicide
Blood depiction
Physical injuries
Emesis
Death of a father
Death of a child mentioned
Death of a friend recounted
Murder mentioned
Kidnapping mentioned
Strangulation
Poisoning
Loss of autonomy (possession)

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

Also known as The Last Girl.

New girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as one of the few scholarship kids, Rachel struggles to fit in, and when she gets caught up in a prank gone awry, she ends up with more enemies than friends.

To her surprise, however, the prank attracts the attention of the Mary Shelley Club, a secret club of students with one objective: come up with the scariest prank to orchestrate real fear. But as the pranks escalate, the competition turns cutthroat and takes on a life of its own.

When the tables are turned and someone targets the club itself, Rachel must track down the real-life monster in their midst . . . even if it means finally confronting the dark secrets from her past.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Emotional abuse & gaslighting
Coulrophobia
Panic attacks
Nightmares
Suicide discussed
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood & gore depiction
Physical injury, including scarring
Hospitalisation
Death of a friend
Death from a fall
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence
Home invasion
Stalking
Kidnapping & captivity
Bullying

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Milk and honey’ is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. ‘milk and honey’ takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableist language
Misogyny
Racism
Rape
Sexual assault
Paedophilia
Incest
Emotional abuse
Neglect
Parent with substance addiction

Brothersong by T. J. Klune

Brothersong by T. J. Klune

In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it—he—was gone. Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity.

But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin. Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone. What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin’s history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter’s father, Thomas Bennett.

And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Physical abuse mentioned
Emotional abuse mentioned
Murder
Torture mentioned