Overdose – Page 15 – Trigger Warning Database

The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

The Closest I’ve Come by Fred Aceves

Marcos Rivas wants to find love. He’s sure as hell not getting it at home, where his mom’s racist boyfriend beats him up. Or from his boys, who aren’t exactly the “hug it out” type. Marcos yearns for love, a working cell phone, and maybe a pair of sneakers that aren’t falling apart. But more than anything, Marcos wants to get out of Maesta, his hood—which seems impossible.

When Marcos is placed in a new after-school program for troubled teens with potential, he meets Zach, a theater geek whose life seems great on the surface, and Amy, a punk girl who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. These new friendships inspire Marcos to open up to his Maesta crew, too, and along the way, Marcos starts to think more about his future and what he has to fight for. Marcos ultimately learns that bravery isn’t about acting tough and being macho; it’s about being true to yourself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexual assault mentioned
Graphic physical & verbal child abuse
Suicide of a gay teenager due to bullying mentioned
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Recreational drug use
Overdose mentioned
Emesis, off-page

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That role brings with it violent throw downs and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but the sixteen-year-old grows weary of the life. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city’s benevolent founder and cross the border in a search for a mysterious gang the Ashé Ryders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles other crews and her own doubts, but the closer she gets to her goal, the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone— she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Self-harm
Substance addiction (theme), including addiction recovery, withdrawal, recreational drug use & abuse, prescription drug abuse & overdose
Alcohol consumption mentioned
Abortion mentioned
Dead bodies mentioned
Physical injury
Car accident

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Overdose

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. Permanently.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Suicidal ideation
Drug abuse
Overdose
Kidnapping of a child

The Hidden Memory of Objects by Danielle Mages Amato

The Hidden Memory of Objects by Danielle Mages Amato

Megan Brown’s brother, Tyler, is dead, but the cops are killing him all over again. They say he died of a drug overdose, potentially suicide—something Megan cannot accept. Determined to figure out what happened in the months before Tyler’s death, Megan turns to the things he left behind. After all, she understands the stories objects can tell—at fifteen, she is a gifted collage artist with a flair for creating found-object pieces. However, she now realizes that her artistic talent has developed into something more: she can see memories attached to some of Tyler’s belongings—and those memories reveal a brother she never knew.

Enlisting the help of an artifact detective who shares her ability and specializes in murderabilia—objects tainted by violence or the deaths of their owners… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother to suicide by drug overdose (theme)

Danced Close by Annabeth Albert

Danced Close by Annabeth Albert

Newly clean and sober, Todd’s taken a shine to his job at Portland’s most talked about bakery. It’s not just the delicious desserts they sell, but the tasty treats who keep walking through the door. That certainly includes Kendall Rose, a wedding planner. Todd doesn’t try to hide his attraction to Kendall’s elegant confidence, even as he worries about exposing the secrets of his past.

For Kendall, the attention is just part of the anything-goes Portland he’s grown to love. But he’s still looking for that special someone who will embrace all of him—including his gender fluidity. So he takes a chance and asks Todd to be his partner in a dance class leading to a fundraiser. When the music starts and he takes Todd in his arms, Kendall is shocked at how good it feels.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Addiction recovery (theme)
Drug abuse
Death of a friend from an overdose
Homelessness mentioned

Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert

Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert

Vic Degrassi is a baker on the rise, and it’s all thanks to his rare ability to make—and keep—his New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s losing weight, giving up smoking, or graduating from culinary school, Vic goes after what he wants—and gets it. This year? He wants Robin Dawson, the sweet-hearted hottie who volunteers with him at the local homeless shelter.

When he learns that Robin is suddenly single after being unceremoniously dumped, Vic is more than happy to offer a shoulder to cry on. But it’s been a long time since Vic’s gone on a date, and he’s nervous about risking his friendship with Robin. So when their flirtation turns into a steamy night together, Vic and Robin have to figure out if they’re friends with benefits or lovers in the making, and if Robin is ready for something more than just a rebound, there’s only one way to find out…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Body image issues
Weight loss & dietary restriction discussed
Lap band surgery recounted
Drug abuse
Death from a drug overdose, on-page
Homelessness

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star glass and cedar palace on an island in British Columbia. Jonathan Alkaitis works in finance and owns the hotel. When he passes Vincent his card with a tip, it’s the beginning of their life together. That same day, Vincent’s half-brother, Paul, scrawls a note on the windowed wall of the hotel: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” Leon Prevant, a shipping executive for a company called Neptune Logistics, sees the note from the hotel bar and is shaken to his core. Thirteen years later Vincent mysteriously disappears from the deck of the Neptune Cumberland.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Heroin addiction
Alcohol consumption
Drug use
Overdose
Drowning
Imprisonment

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Attempted suicide
Depression
Heroin addiction
Death by overdose

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

Sophie Breeze is a brilliant bridesmaid. So brilliant, in fact, that she’s made it her full-time job.

As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is hired by London brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding and ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. When she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann––a former model and “It Girl” of 1970’s London; now the Marchioness of Meade––for the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Drug overdose
Bullying