Emotional Abuse & Gaslighting – Page 30

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides she wants out — dissecting living people is a step too far.

But when she tries to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold on the black market in his place — because Nita herself is a supernatural being. Now Nita is on the other side of the bars, and there is no line she won’t cross to escape and make sure no one can ever capture her again.

Nita did a good deed, and it cost her everything. Now she’s going to do a lot of bad deeds to get it all back.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Paedophilia mentioned
Emotional parental abuse
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood and gore depiction
Body horror
Torture
Explosions
Kidnapping
Fire

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow may have defeated her deadly curse, passed the dangerous trials and joined the mystical Wundrous Society, but her journey into Nevermoor has only just begun. And she is fast learning that not all magic is used for good.

Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She’s hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery – but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan’s unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor? Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Alcohol consumption
Emotional & verbal child abuse
Emesis
Blackmail
Kidnapping & captivity
Disappearance of a child
Animal cruelty
Bullying

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Terminal illness*
Animal death
Bullying
Kidnapping
Exile

*Note: The protagonist believes she has a terminal condition.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Everyone has something to hide, especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna. Spencer covets her sister’s boyfriend. Aria’s fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily’s crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they’ve all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished. How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and the dirty secrets they’ve kept. And guess what? I’m telling.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Fatphobia &body shaming
Misogyny, slut-shaming, ableism & racism
Homophobia & lesbophobia
Child emotional abuse & neglect
Teacher-student relationship
Sexual harassment
Infidelity
Eating disorders (bulimia), including disordered food thoughts, binging, and purging (on-page) and discussions of weight loss
Self-harm mentioned
Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
Murder
Stalking & blackmail (theme)
Car accident
Bullying

Perfect by Sara Shepard

Aria can’t resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can’t keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister. Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it’s hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say… or else!

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism, racism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
Fatphobia & body shaming
Lesbophobia
Teacher-student relationship
Child emotional abuse & neglect
Infidelity
Amnesia, memory loss & blackouts
Suicide & attempted suicide recounted
Self-harm recounted
Alcohol consumption
Gun violence recounted
Stalking & blackmail
Bullying

Killer by Sara Shepard

In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystals. But pictures often lie— and so do Rosewood’s four prettiest girls. Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things—things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn’t die with her. Hanna’s on a mission to corrupt Rosewood’s youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria’s snooping into her boyfriend’s past. Spencer’s stealing—

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism, misogyny, & slut-shaming
Homophobia, including mentions of conversion therapy mentioned
Fatphobia & body shaming
Sexual assault & sexual harassment
Child neglect & abuse
Eating disorder, including disordered food thoughts, bingeing & purging
Anxiety attack
Alcohol consumption
Emesis recounted
Attempted murder
Blackmail & stalking (theme)
Forest fire
Car accident recounted

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Slavery
Emotional parental abuse
Suicide & attempted suicide
Self-harm
Blood & gore depiction
Death of a father
Murder
Torture
Hanging
Fire

The Fine Art of Losing Control by Ashley Shepherd

The Fine Art of Losing Control by Ashley Shepherd

Willa Loveridge likes to be in control.

…of everything and everyone.

And when things start to spin out of her control, she only knows how to do one thing: panic.

So she failed her Foundations of Western Art class. Her ex-boyfriend sent her naked pictures to all of his friends. Her roommate hates her. Her mom and stepdad are having a baby. And her estranged father appeared after nineteen years of radio silence for the sole purpose of paying her college tuition. Seriously? He couldn’t even introduce himself first?

But at least this one, she can handle. She can’t change her grades, wipe her pictures from the internet, force her roommate to love her, or stop her mom from replacing her. But the father she’s never met dropping serious cash on her floundering education? A girl can handle that. Or so she thinks.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Revenge pornography
Emotional abuse
Verbal abuse
Abusive relationship
Online harassment

Firstlife by Gena Showalter

Firstlife by Gena Showalter

Tenley “Ten” Lockwood has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. She’s earned her rep as the craziest of crazies, but that doesn’t stop the torture. Ten can leave, but only if she allows her parents to choose where she’ll live—after she dies.

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the boy she’s falling for and the realm she wants to support. Who will she choose? Can she stay alive long enough to make a decision?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape
Psychological abuse
Child abuse
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm
Blood depiction
Torture

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Grace Mae knows madness. She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum. When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism
Paedophilia & child sexual assault
Physical & emotional child abuse
Depression
Attempted suicide
Psychiatric hospitalisation