Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly. Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, & out for his blood.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Winner takes the loser’s heart. Literally.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Classism
  • Persecution for witchcraft (theme)
  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Child abuse
  • Arranged marriage
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Alcohol abuse & alcoholism recounted
  • Graphic blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Cannibalism
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a sister
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Death of a child mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Explosions
  • Fire
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy (mind control)
  • Death from a fall mentioned
  • War themes (central theme)
  • Animal death and dead bodies
  • Death by animal attack mentioned
  • Bullying
  • Poverty themes
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Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Body shaming
  • Emotional abuse & gaslighting
  • Rape culture (theme)
  • Sexual assault, on- & off-page
  • Sexual harassment
  • Rape of a minor, implied
  • PTSD & trauma
  • Nightmares & flashbacks
  • Dieting & food-shaming
  • Drugging
  • Alchol consumption
  • Infertility mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Body horror
  • Physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Consensual & non-consensual medical treatment
  • Human medical experimentation
  • Graphic needles
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Graphic torture
  • Knife violence
  • Strangulation
  • Physical assault
  • Loss of autonomy (memory & mind manipulation)
  • Disappearance of a friend
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The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black book cover

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body shaming
  • Slut-shaming
  • Slavery
  • Physical & psychological child abuse
  • Cheating
  • Disownment
  • Nightmares mentioned
  • Suicide, on-page
  • Coerced self-harm
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug use & drugging
  • Self-harm (mithridatism)
  • Death of a pregnant character mentioned*
  • Blood and gore depiction, including dead bodies & emesis
  • Graphic physical injuries
  • Decapitation & dismemberment mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of mother and father, on-page
  • Death of friend
  • Death of a sister & brother
  • Death by a fall mentioned
  • Drowning
  • Murder and attempted murder
  • Knife and sword violence & stabbing
  • Strangulation
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Loss of autonomy (glamour magic)
  • War themes discussed
  • Bullying

*Context: The father of an unborn child poisons his pregnant consort in an attempt to murder her and the unborn child.

The Burning by Laura Bates

The Burning by Laura Bates

The Burning by Laura Bates book cover

What happens when you can’t run or hide from a mistake that goes viral?

This powerful young adult novel by the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project is a necessary book every young adult needs.

A rumor is like fire. And a fire that spreads online… is impossible to extinguish.

New school. Check.
New town. Check.
New last name. Check.
Social media profiles? Deleted.

Anna and her mother have moved hundreds of miles to put the past behind them. Anna hopes to make a fresh start and escape the harassment she’s been subjected to. But then rumors and whispers start, and Anna tries to ignore what is happening by immersing herself in learning about Maggie, a local woman accused of witchcraft in the seventeenth century. A woman who was shamed. Silenced. And whose story has unsettling parallels to Anna’s own.

From Laura Bates, internationally renowned feminist and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, comes a realistic fiction story for the #metoo era. It’s a powerful call to action, reminding all readers of the implications of sexism and the role we can each play in ending it.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny, body-shaming and slut-shaming
  • Persecution of witchcraft
  • Sexual assault, sexual harassment and revenge plot
  • Abortion (mentioned)
  • Death of a parent (recounted)
  • Fire
  • Bullying
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Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo book cover

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Body shaming
  • Suicide attempt by self-sacrifice
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood and gore depiction, including dead bodies
  • Physical injuries
  • Emesis
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Physical and psychological torture
  • Knife violence
  • Gun violence
  • Explosions & bombings
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Hostage situation
  • Airship accident
  • War themes
  • Animal death
  • Animal dead bodies & body parts
  • Hunting
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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo book cover

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Classism
  • Ableist language
  • Fatmisia
  • Slavery (mentioned)
  • Kiss without consent
  • Blood and gore depiction, dead bodies and physical injuries
  • Death of a friend and parents (recounted)
  • Murder and attempted murder
  • Kidnapping, hostage situation and blackmail
  • War themes
  • Graphic animal death
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Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout book cover

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all – popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it’s one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took “mean girl” to a whole new level, and it’s clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She’s getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she’s falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the truth about what happened to her that night isn’t just buried deep inside of Sam’s memory – someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia and body shaming, ableism, racism and homomisia
  • Amnesia and hallucinations
  • Death and loss
  • Disappearance of a loved one
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The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag

As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, lit by an unwavering moon. Here, in this shadowland of Everwhere, the four half-sisters connected by blood and magic, began to nurture their elemental powers together. But at thirteen, the sisters were ripped from Everwhere and separated. Now, five years later, they search for one another and yearn to rediscover their unique and supernatural strengths. Goldie (earth) manipulates plants and gives life. Liyana (water) controls rivers and rain. Scarlet (fire) has electricity at her fingertips. Bea (air) can fly.

To realize their full potential, the blood sisters must return to the land of their childhood dreams. But Everwhere can only be accessed through certain gates at 3:33 A.M. on the night of a new moon. As Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are beset with the challenges of their earthly lives, they must prepare for a battle that lies ahead. On their eighteenth birthday, they will be subjected to a gladiatorial fight with their father’s soldiers. If they survive, they will face their father who will let them live only if they turn dark. Which would be fair, if only the sisters knew what was coming.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatphobia and body shaming
  • Slut shaming
  • Racism
  • Child abuse
  • Adult-minor relationship*
  • Sexual abuse and sexual assault
  • Incest
  • Depression & suicidal ideation
  • Self harm
  • Blood depiction and physical injuries
  • Dementia

*Relationships between a 17-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man.

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In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado book cover

For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Body-shaming
  • Intimate partner violence, domestic abuse/violence, toxic relationship/s, cheating and emotional abuse
  • Sexual assault, sexual abuse and adult-minor relationship
  • Recreational marijuana use
  • Emesis
  • Suicidal ideation
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Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Undead Girl Gang by Lil Anderson book cover

Mila Flores and her best friend Riley have always been inseparable. There’s not much excitement in their small town of Cross Creek, so Mila and Riley make their own fun, devoting most of their time to Riley’s favorite activity: amateur witchcraft.

So when Riley and two Fairmont Academy mean girls die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone’s explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body-shaming
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Cheating
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Blood and gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Physical injuries
  • Grief depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a sister
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a girlfriend
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Hanging
  • Drowning
  • Fire
  • Home invasion
  • Animal death and animal sacrifice
  • Bullying
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