Tag Archives: Imprisonment & Incarceration

One Little Lie by Sam Carrington

One Little Lie by Sam Carrington

Deborah’s son was killed four years ago. Alice’s son is in prison for committing that crime. Deborah would give anything to have her boy back, and Alice would do anything to right her son’s wrongs. Driven by guilt and the need for redemption, Alice has started a support group for parents with troubled children. But as the network begins to grow, she soon finds out just how easy it is for one little lie to spiral out of control. They call it mother’s intuition, but can you ever really know your own child?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a son by murder recounted
  • Filicide by suffocation
  • Imprisonment

The Serial Killer’s Girl by LH Stacey

The Serial Killer’s Girl by L.H. Stacey

Lexi Jakes thought she could run from her past. But when her biological mother is found dead, strangled with a red silk scarf and holding a chess piece, Lexi knows that her worst nightmare has come true. Because the murder has all the hallmarks of her own serial killer father, renown strangler Peter Graves. Now with her own precious daughter’s life in danger, Lexi will do anything to keep her child safe…she is her father’s daughter after all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder of a mother by strangulation
  • Imprisonment of a parent for serial murders
  • Animal abuse

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

To escape the shackles of marriage, Nellie Young purposely ruined her reputation a long time ago. Now she dedicates herself to hedonistic pleasures only, like kissing a handsome stranger in the ocean under the moonlight. To save his estate, the proper Duke of Lockwood must marry the perfect bride–wealthy, with an unblemished reputation. While in New York he’s the perfect gentleman, and no one knows he’s suppressing his darkest desires. The last thing he needs is another scandal. Except Nellie sees through Lockwood’s charade, straight to the real man under… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Period-typical misogyny & slut-shaming
  • Domestic violence, off-page (sc)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Police corruption
  • Imprisonment

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers. But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics. What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Familial disownment
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Death of a spouse mentioned
  • Physical assault
  • Torture
  • Imprisonment
  • Blackmail
  • Earthquake
  • Colonialism

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighbourhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr King to find out. Then comes the day Justuce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up-way up, sparking the fury of a white off… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism (theme)
  • Domestic violence
  • Police brutality & racial profiling
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Incarceration mentioned

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free. Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love. But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Gang violence mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Stalking
  • Animal death

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free. Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love. But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Gang violence mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Stalking
  • Animal death

North to Paradise by Ousman Umar

North to Paradise by Ousman Umar

Ousman Umar is a shaman’s son born in a small village in Ghana. Though his mother died giving birth, he spent a contented childhood working the fields, setting traps in the jungle, and living off the land. Still, as strange and wondrous flying machines crisscrossed the skies overhead, Ousman dreamed of a different life. And so, when he was only twelve years old, he left his village and began what would be a five-year journey to Europe. Every step of the way, as he travelled across the Sahara desert, through the daunting metropolises… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Child abuse (child labour)
  • Death of a parent
  • Police brutality
  • Drowning
  • Imprisonment & confinement
  • Homelessness

Prisoner B3087 by Alan Gratz

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

Survive. At any cost. 10 concentration camps. 10 different places where you are starved, tortured, and worked mercilessly. It’s something no one could imagine surviving. But it is what Yanek Gruener has to face. As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek himself is taken prison, his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087. He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to another, as World War II rages… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antisemitism & Nazism
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a friend
  • Imprisonment in concentration camps (theme)
  • War World Two & the Holocaust

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety and freedom in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe. All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antisemitism
  • Blood depiction
  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation of a parent
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Physical injury
  • Physical assault
  • Police violence
  • Riots
  • Home invasion
  • Bombing
  • Imprisonment in concentration camps
  • War themes
  • Refugee experiences and displacement
  • Animal death