Tag Archives: Mental Illness

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of mental illness.

See also Anxiety, Panic attacks, Suicide, Self-harm, Phobias, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Addiction.

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone

Shenice Lockwood has her eyes set on the Fastpitch World Series. As team captain, she’d like nothing more than to help her girls take home the trophy and the $10,000 prize money. And as one of the few brown faces on the field, it’d be a personal triumph to show-up her rich, white opponents. But Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her Uncle Jack reveals that a family crime may have been a set-up all along. Shenice will stop at nothing to uncover the past. The closer she gets to the truth, though, the further she gets from her goals for the future.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Dementia
  • Physical injury
  • Hospitalisation
  • Death of a parent from a terminal illness

Far from Home by Lorelie Brown

My name is Rachel. I’m straight . . . I think. I also have a mountain of student loans and a smart mouth. I wasn’t serious when I told Pari Sadashiv I’d marry her. It was only party banter! Except Pari needs a green card, and she’s willing to give me a breather from drowning in debt. My off-the-cuff idea might not be so terrible. We get along as friends. She’s really romantically cautious, which I find heartbreaking. She deserves someone to laugh with. She’s kind. And calm. And gorgeous. A couple of years with her actually sounds pretty good. If some of Pari’s kindness and calmness rub… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Eating disorder (anorexia)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hospitalisation
  • Death of a father from a heart attack mentioned

Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Mira is starting over at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby. Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with mischief glinting in his eye. Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
  • Attempted suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use & abuse

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street. Isabelle Heatherington doesn’t fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers. But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange’s compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won’t let her sweet, gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Postpartum depression recounted

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Gambling addiction mentioned
  • Drug use mentioned
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Death of a child

Falling for Catastrophe by Michelle Hercules

Three years ago, I fell in love with a monster. I barely survived, and now I’ve been given a second chance at Maverick Prep. My plan was to keep my head down and not draw attention to myself. Then Jason Novak came into my life like a thunderstorm. Furious. Devastating. Loud. The devil incarnate, he has a reputation for cruelty that precedes him. Not even his angelic face can hide his black heart. He wants something I’ve earned fair and square, and now he hates me. My survival instincts are telling me to flee. But I’ve… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Dubious consent scenario
  • Anxiety attacks (protagonist)

Fallen Star by Susannah Nix

Scott Deacon was one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood until his drug abuse and out-of-control behavior brought it all crashing down. Four years after flaming out, he’s clean, sober, and trying to revive his career. But what he needs is to warm up the beautiful yet chilly script supervisor who won’t cut him a break. Grace Speer doesn’t think much of Scotty Deacon. He may be sex on wheels, but the man is 100% bad news. Beneath the handsome facade, he’s just another arrogant jackass determined to make her life more difficult. Only the more time they spend… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Substance addiction & recovery
  • Drug abuse

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort by Cassandra Claire and Maureen Johnson

Magnus Bane watches the once-glamorous Hotel Dumort become something else altogether in 1970s New York City. Fifty years after the Jazz Age rise of the Hotel Dumort, immortal warlock Magnus Bane knows the Manhattan landmark is on the decline. The once-beautiful Hotel Dumort has fallen into a decayed thing, a ruin, as dead as a place can be. But the vampires don’t mind…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Drug use & abuse
  • Substance addiction
  • Blood depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Murder

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

In Edinburgh, a secret war rages between humans and fae, and the magic in Aileana Kameron’s blood is all that keeps the most lethal monsters imprisoned beneath the city. But when the creatures she once pursued now hunt her, Aileana has no choice but to ally with Kiaran MacKay – the beautiful fae assassin with his own agenda. The chemistry between them is as incendiary as the battles raging through the streets. And as the body count climbs, Aileana faces a choice: how much is she willing to sacrifice to save her city? Her friends? Herself? Because the fae won’t stop until… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical misogyny & classism
  • Parental neglect
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Near-fatal bout of pneumonia recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted (detailed)
  • Death of a wife
  • Murder & physical assault
  • Sword violence & stabbing
  • Loss of autonomy (compulsion magic)
  • Battle scenes

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does. When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from rape (theme)
  • Self-harm (protagonist, on-page)