Tag Archives: Grief & Loss Depiction

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Kristen Petersen doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Infertility themes
  • Character on life support
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Stalking
  • Motorcycle accident
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The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her — her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Blood depiction
  • Dismemberment
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Classism
  • Hallucinations & delusions
  • Substance addiction
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Hospital
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a sister
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence and stabbing
  • Explosions
  • Strangulation
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Building collapse
  • War & rebellion themes
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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Classism
  • Forced sex work
  • Child abuse
  • Substance addiction
  • Trauma & nightmares
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Graphic physical injuries, including burns
  • Needles
  • Starvation & dehydration
  • Emesis (off-page)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Death of a father & husband recounted
  • Death of a friend (on-page)
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Knife violence and stabbing
  • Gun violence
  • Explosions
  • Drowning
  • Whipping mentioned
  • Blackmail
  • War & rebellion themes, including riots
  • Animal death
  • Hunting
  • Poverty themes
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Dark times have come to Hogwarts. After the Dementors’ attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry Potter knows that Voldemort will stop at nothing to find him. There are many who deny the Dark Lord’s return, but Harry is not alone: a secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces. Harry must allow Professor Snape to teach him how to protect himself from Voldemort’s savage assaults on his mind. But they are growing stronger by the day and Harry is running out of time…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Racism
  • Classism
  • Slavery
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Trauma & nightmares
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Death of a sibling recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Kidnapping recounted
  • Torture
  • 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.

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.

Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam

Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam

Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career. She’s made a fresh start in Washington DC, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her. With a Post-it note.

The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. Their chemistry is still scorching, but he’s desperately trying to save his family restaurant from gentrifying developers. The solution? Partnering with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop-up shop for hungry and horny clients.

Thanks to their steamy truce, both businesses start to sizzle and their red-hot desire soon reignites deeper feelings. But when Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will pride ruin their second chance at happiness?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Grief & depiction
  • Death of a mother from cancer mentioned
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The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father
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One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

When Ruby’s mother dies, she’s dragged three thousand miles away from her gorgeous boyfriend, Ray, to live in LA with her father, who she’s only ever seen in movies. He’s a mega-famous actor who divorced her mom before Ruby was even born, and while the rest of the world may love him, Ruby definitely does not.

But as time passes and pages turn, Ruby comes to understand that circumstances are far more complicated than they seem, and sometimes forgiveness is found where you least expect it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Coming out themes*
  • Parental abandonment
  • Cheating
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother

*Note: Coming out is used as a plot twist.

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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
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