Tag Archives: Mental Illness

A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin

It’s 2004 and former reality TV star and party girl Maya Miller has just married the most eligible bachelor on the planet: Colin Sterling, of the globally famous Sterling family whose history of aristocratic titles and land holdings rival a British royal and whose media empire is comparable to the Murdochs. To some, Maya represents the American dream. To others, a gold digger. But when Colin’s cousin Arianna, the heiress to the family’s immense fortune, is found murdered, Maya is thrust into the spotlight: first as she is revealed to be the next heiress to the fortune, and then as the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Alcohol consumption & drugging
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Institutionalisation
  • Murder
  • Arson

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Seventh grade is going to be Iveliz’s year. She’s going to make a new friend, help her abuela Mimi get settled after moving from Puerto Rico, and she is not going to get into any more trouble at school.. Except is that what happens? Of course not. Because no matter how hard Iveliz tries, sometimes people say things that just make her so mad. And worse, Mimi keeps saying Iveliz’s medicine is unnecessary–even though it helps Iveliz feel less sad. But how do you explain your feelings to others when you’re not even sure what’s going on yourself?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alzheimer’s Disease & dementia
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Panic attacks
  • Self-harm ideation
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a parent recounted

Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar

Two sisters went missing on their class trip—Grace, the outgoing athlete who is friends with just about everyone, and Maddy, the wallflower wilting in her sister’s shadow who’d rather absorb herself in her journal than talk to her classmates. But when Grace is found—injured, with no memory of what happened—everybody thinks she’s lying. It’s hard not to look guilty with Maddy’s blood on her clothes Desperate to save her sister—and prove her own innocence—Grace must piece together what happened on that school trip with the help of her sister’s notebook and.,.. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Amnesia
  • Bullying

Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

Katie knows there’s stuff that makes her different. She’s homeschooled, she has freckles, and her teeth are really crooked. But none of these things matter to Kacey. They’re best friends forever. But when they go to summer camp, Kacey starts acting weird. And when Katie gets home, she can’t stop worrying. About getting braces. About 6th grade. About friends. She knows tapping three times or opening and closing a drawer won’t make everything better . . . but sometimes it helps stop the worrying. Is something wrong with her? And will anyone want to be friends with her if they find out?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Turning Twelve by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

Katie can’t wait to turn twelve–pool parties! babysitting! friends! But sometimes it feels like there’s so much new stuff she can barely keep up. First Job? (Yes!) Unfair dress codes? (No way!) Make up (Okay?!) Shaving? (Uh…!) Maybe growing up isn’t as much fun as she had expected. But one thing does seem right–her new friend, Grace. Could Katie have a crush on another girl? Katie knows not everyone around her will approve…which is kind of scary. She might not be ready to tell anyone yet, and that’s fine…but can Katie stay true to herself and embrace the person she’s growing up to be?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Anxiety & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

The Other Lola by Ripley Jones

In the months after Cam and Blair broke their small hometown’s legendary missing-girl story and catapulted to accidental fame, they vowed never to do it again. No more mysteries, no more podcasts, and no more sticking their heads where they don’t belong. Until Mattie Brosillard, a freshman at their high school, shows up on their doorstep, begging Cam and Blair for help. Mattie’s sister Lola disappeared mysteriously five years ago. No trace of her was ever found. Now, she’s back–but Mattie is convinced the girl who returned is an impostor. Nobody believes Mattie’s wild story–not Mattie’s brother, not Mattie’s mother, and… Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Adult-minor relationship mentioned
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & panic attack
  • Child abuse
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Catfishing
  • Bullying

The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid

After moving back to his hometown ten years ago, Riley Tuck thought he had left his major league hockey career—and his broken heart—far behind. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, it brings ex-teammate and former best friend with benefits Adam Sheppard back into his life. Coming to the small town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, might have been a mistake. Adam’s not sure he’ll ever win back Riley’s trust after the way they left things—and the attention he’s getting as a huge hockey star isn’t exactly helping. Yet the chemistry that crackles between them is undeniable… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & internalised homophobia
  • Infidelity
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Unplanned pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father recounted

Fan Service by Rosie Danan

The only place small-town outcast Alex Lawson fits in is the online fan forum she built for The Arcane Files, a long-running werewolf detective show. Her dedication to archiving fictional supernatural lore made her Internet-famous, even if she harbors a secret disdain for the show’s star, Devin Ashwood. (Never meet your heroes – sometimes they turn out to be The Worst.) Ever since his show went off the air, Devin and his career have spiralled, but waking up naked in the woods outside his LA home with no memory of the night before is a new low. It must have been a coincidence that the once-in-a-century Wolf Blood… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment & emotional child abuse mentioned
  • Anxiety
  • Endometriosis
  • Heart attack recounted (off-page)
  • Bullying recounted

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions. When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Sexual assault (implied, off-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grandparent with dementia
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy (non-consensual removal of memory)

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer. These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl. Asha conquers each… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Murder