Mental Illness – Page 157 – Trigger Warning Database

Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

It’s 1788 and Alice Payne is the notorious highway robber, the Holy Ghost. Aided by her trusty automaton, Laverna, the Holy Ghost is feared by all who own a heavy purse. It’s 1889 and Major Prudence Zuniga is once again attempting to change history―to save history―but seventy attempts later she’s still no closer to her goal. But in 2020 the Farmers and the Guides are locked in battle; time is their battleground, and the world is their prize. Only something new can change the course of the war. Or someone new. Little did they know, but they’ve all been waiting until Alice Payne arrives.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Period-typical misogyny
Sexual assault of a minor & statutory rape mentioned*
Depression mentioned
Suicide, suicidal ideation & suicide pacts discussed
Minor blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
Gun violence
War themes, including refugee experiences & displacement

*Context : Mentions of sex between a seventeen-year-old girl and an adult man.

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews

Can two broken boys find their perfect home?

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism and ableist language
Child abuse
Physical and verbal abuse
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use mentioned
Blood depiction
Physical injuries
Serious injury to a loved ones
Physical assault
Bullying
Homelessness
Incarceration of a parent

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under. Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into. Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableist language
Misogyny & slut-shaming
Persecution for witchcraft
Dubious consent scenes & sexual assault (non-consensual kiss) (on-page)
Suicide & self-sacrifice (on-page, discussed)
Alcohol consumption
Injury & gore depiction including dead bodies
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother
Death of a father & husband
Death of a fiancé
Murder & kidnapping
Drowning (multiple scenes, on-page & recounted)
Fire

Context : The protagonist lies to her love interest about her identity and they have sex (on-page).

The Disasters by M. K. England

The Disasters by M. K. England

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia recounted
Ableism recounted
Child abuse
Anxiety
Anxiety/panic attacks, on-page
Nightmares
Suicide mentioned
Suicidal ideation
Nonconsensual drugging
Blood depiction
Physical injuries
Serious injury to a loved one
Hospital
Death of a mother recounted
Death of a father recounted
Murder and attempted murder
Gun violence
Plane crash
Car crash
Wrongful imprisonment
Colonialism themes

Spellhacker by M. K. England

Spellhacker by M. K. England

In Kyrkarta, magic—known as maz—was once a freely available natural resource. Then an earthquake released a magical plague, killing thousands and opening the door for a greedy corporation to make maz a commodity that’s tightly controlled—and, of course, outrageously expensive.

Which is why Diz and her three best friends run a highly lucrative, highly illegal maz siphoning gig on the side. Their next job is supposed to be their last heist ever.

But when their plan turns up a powerful new strain of maz that (literally) blows up in their faces, they’re driven to unravel a conspiracy at the very center of the spellplague—and possibly save the world.

No pressure.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Panic attacks
Drug use
Attempted murder

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a troubled baby and a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents, Saul and Saachi, successfully prayed her into existence, but as she grows into a volatile and splintered child, it becomes clear that something went terribly awry. When Ada comes of age and moves to America for college, the group of selves within her grows in power and agency. A traumatic assault leads to a crystallization of her alternate selves: Asụghara and Saint Vincent. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these selves–now protective, now hedonistic–move into control, Ada’s life spirals in a dark and dangerous direction.

Narrated by the various selves within Ada and based in the author’s realities, Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace, heralding the arrival of a fierce new literary voice.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape
Sexual abuse
Eating disorder/s
Suicide
Self-harm
Substance abuse

World After by Susan Ee

World After by Susan Ee

When a group of people capture Penryn’s sister Paige, thinking she’s a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken. Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels’ secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go. Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can’t rejoin the angels, can’t take his rightful place as… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism, on-page
Sexism
Parent with paranoid schizophrenia
Hallucinations & delusions mentioned
Graphic blood & gore depiction
Body horror
Dead bodies
Involuntary body modifications
Medical experimentations
Cannibalism
Torture & psychological torture, on-page
Murder & attempted murder
Gun & sword violence
Physical assault
Imprisonment
Kidnapping & captivity
Explosions
Building collapse recounted

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Misogyny
Slut-shaming
Sexual harassment
Sex work, implied
Parental abandonment recounted
Parent with paranoid schizophrenia
Delusions and hallucinations mentioned
Nightmares
Alcohol consumption
Graphic blood and gore depiction
Dead bodies and body parts
Cannibalism
Nonconsensual body modification (theme)
Graphic physical injuries
Dismemberment
Graphic human experimentation
Graphic scars
Death of children discussed
Murder and attempted murder
Knife & gun violence
Physical assault
Torture
Poisoning
Kidnapping and captivity
War themes
Animal attack

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself – but first she has to make it there, alive.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & colourism
Panic attack (on-page)
Nonconsensual body modifications
Blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
Death of a friend
Mass murder
Animal death mentioned
War themes
Bullying

One by One by Ruth Ware

One by One by Ruth Ware

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Panic attack & flashback
Sexual assault recounted (described)
Suicide by overdose discussed
Alcohol consumption
Minor blood & gore depiction, including dead bodies
Physical injuries
Emesis mentioned
Death of a brother recounted
Death of a friend & colleague (multiple, on-page)
Murder & attempted murder
Asphyxia (suffocation)
Poisoning
Death from a fall (off-page)
Disappearance of a friend & colleague
Avalanche (on-page & recounted, theme)
Bullying recounted