Tag Archives: Mental Illness

The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

Cassie O’Malley has been trying to keep her head above water—literally and metaphorically—since birth. It’s been two and a half years since Cassie’s mother dumped her in a mental institution against her will, and now, at eighteen, Cassie is finally able to reclaim her life and enter the world on her own terms. But freedom is a poor match against a lifetime of psychological damage. As Cassie plumbs the depths of her new surroundings, the startling truths she uncovers about her own family narrative make it impossible to cut the tethers of a tumultuous past. And when the unhealthy… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Rape
  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm
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The Minders by John Marrs

The Minders by John Marrs

In the 21st century information is king. But computers can be hacked, and files can be broken into. So a unique government initiative has been borne. Five ordinary people have been selected to become the latest weapon in thwarting cyber terrorism. A revolutionary medical procedure has turned them into the ultimate secret keepers – the country’s most secretive information has been taken offline and turned into genetic code implanted inside their heads. Together the five know every secret – the truth behind every Government lie conspiracy theory and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Anxiety
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm mentioned

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone…and more tormented. As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation mentioned
  • Suicide attempt & suicide, off-page
  • Hospitalisation
  • Panic attacks
  • Nightmares
  • Flashbacks & blackouts
  • Pica (central theme)
  • Blood depiction
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father & husband from a heart attack recounted
  • Death of a sister recounted
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Vivisepulture (being buried alive), on-page & recounted
  • Physical assault
  • Home invasion & vandalism
  • Death of a pet kitten mentioned
  • Bullying

You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno

You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno

Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother’s life. The day Eryn, Magpie’s sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp’s party. Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won’t speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who’ve all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near. Near is perfect–a place… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Bimisia
  • Transmisia
  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape & date rape
  • Child neglect
  • Cheating
  • Anxiety & anxiety attacks
  • Suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drugging
  • Murder
  • Bullying

Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Lottie Reeves has always struggled with anxiety, and when her beloved Aunt Helen dies, Lottie begins to fear that her own unexpected death might be waiting around every corner. Aunt Helen wasn’t a typical aunt. She was the author of the best–selling Alvin Hatter series, about siblings who discover the elixir of immortality. Her writing inspired a generation of readers. In her will, she leaves one last writing project—just for Lottie. It’s a series of letters, each containing mysterious instructions designed to push Lottie out of her comfort zone. Soon, Lottie’s trying some writing of her own, leaping off cliffs, and even fall… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Queermisia
  • Child abuse
  • Anxiety & panic attacks, on-page
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Terminal cancer
  • Hospital
  • Emesis mentioned
  • Grief & loss depiction (theme)
  • Death of an aunt
  • Death from a fall
  • Drowning mentioned

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

You live and you remember. Me, I live and I forget. But now—now I am remembering. For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Dissociative Identity Disorder (theme)
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation discussed
  • Thwarted attempted suicide by drug overdose, on-page
  • Blood depiction
  • Hospital
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a brother
  • Car accident involving a truck hitting a motorcycle, on-page
  • Death of a pet goldfish mentioned

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno

Frannie and Louis met in an online support group when they were both younger. They have never met face-to-face. They don’t even know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them, exactly. Things just seem to…disappear. They each receive news in the mail that sets them off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all,…Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Self-harm
  • Schizophrenia
  • Amputation
  • Death of a parent

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no…Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Substance addiction
  • Emesis
  • Cancer
  • Hospital
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a partner
  • Car accident
  • Earthquake

Dotted Lines by Devney Perry

Dotted Lines by Devney Perry

Clara Saint-James is completing a journey started by an old friend. She’ll return a Cadillac to California, a place she’s avoided for more than a decade. But it’s time for closure and to put old ghosts to rest. And it’s time to find out if the feelings she’s cherished for the boy from her past are just fanciful memories—or if there’s a chance they are real. Timing was never on her side, especially when it came to Karson Avery. The two of them lived in a junkyard as runaway teens, and though she wanted more than his friendship, he always belonged to another—until that one night… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse of a sibling, off-page
  • Alcoholism mentioned

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin

When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ‘89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before. But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media atten… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homomisia
  • Slut shaming
  • Victim blaming
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse recounted
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent mentioned
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Gun violence