The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean book cover

“Sometimes I have trouble filling out tests when the name part feels like a test too. . . . When I write letters, I love that you have to read all of my thoughts and stories before I say any name at all. You have to make it to the very end to know.”

Rowan has too many secrets to write down in the pages of a diary. And if he did, he wouldn’t want anyone he knows to discover them. He understands who he is and what he likes, but it’s not safe for others to know. Now, the kids at school say he’s too different to spend time with. He’s not the “right kind” of girl, and he’s not the “right kind” of boy. His mom ignores him. And at night, his dad hurts him in ways he’s not ready to talk about yet.

But Rowan discovers another way to share his secrets: letters. Letters he attaches to balloons and releases into the universe, hoping someone new will read them and understand. But when he befriends a classmate who knows what it’s like to be lonely and scared, even at home, Rowan realizes that there might already be a person he can trust right by his side.

Tender and wise, The Ship We Built is about the bravery it takes to stand up for yourself–even to those you love–and the power of finding someone who treasures you for everything you are.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Transmisia and transmisic language
  • Misgendering and deadnaming
  • Paedophilia
  • Child sexual assault and grooming
  • Bullying
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Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat

Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat

Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape, including statutory rape
  • Sexual abuse and sex slavery
  • Dubious consent
  • Paedophilia, specifically pederasty
  • Animal cruelty
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Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape – but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it’s up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy’s loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can’t decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her… 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape (ch. 11)
  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder
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Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. 

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape of a child by foster parent described
  • PTSD
  • Self-harm
  • Abortion
  • Cancer
  • Kidnapping
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White Oleander by Janet Fitch

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Astrid has been raised by her mother, a beautiful, headstrong poet. Astrid forgives her everything as her world revolves around this beautiful creature until Ingrid murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life. Astrid’s fierce determination to survive and be loved makes her an unforgettable figure.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Graphic child sexual abuse
  • Domestic abuse
  • Cheating
  • Suicide
  • Alcoholism
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Incarceration
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Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

After a Vampire Tracker Marks her with a crescent moon on her forehead, 16-year-old Zoey Redbird enters the House of Night and learns that she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx and has affinities for all five elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends (or Nerd Herd, as Aphrodite calls them).

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Incestuous child sexual abuse (father-daughter) mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction, including blood-drinking
  • Physical injuries
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Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben’s innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother’s? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day… especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisic language
  • Paedophilia
  • Child abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use
  • Murder
  • Animal cruelty & abuse
  • Animal death (dog)
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The Spite Game by Anna Snoekstra

The Spite Game by Anna Snoekstra

Mercilessly bullied in high school, Ava knows she needs to put the past behind her and move on, but she can’t—not until she’s exacted precise, catastrophic revenge on the people who hurt her the most.

First, she watches Saanvi. Saanvi has it all together on the surface but everyone does bad things when they think no one is watching and Ava only wants what’s fair—to destroy Saanvi’s life the way her own was destroyed. Next, she watches Cass. She’s there as Cass tries on wedding dresses, she’s there when Cass betrays her fiancé. She’s the reason Cass’s entire future comes crashing down.

Finally, Ava watches Mel. Mel was always the ringleader and if anyone has to pay, it’s her. But one tiny slipup and Ava realizes the truth: Mel knows she’s being watched, and she’s ready to play Ava’s games to the bitter end.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Paedophilia
  • Recreational drug use
  • Seizures
  • Bullying
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The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones

The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones

Luke has been away for two endless years, but he’s finally returning today. Lily was only twelve when he left. But now, at fourteen, she feels transformed. She can’t wait to see how Luke will react when he sees the new her. And when her mother tells her that Luke will be staying with them for a while, in the bedroom right next to hers, her heart nearly stops.

Having Luke back is better than Lily could have ever dreamed. His lingering looks set Lily on fire. Is she just imagining them? But then, when they’re alone, he kisses her. Then he kisses her again. Lily’s friends think anyone his age who wants to be with a fourteen-year-old must be really messed up. Maybe even dangerous. But Luke would never do anything to hurt her…would he?

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Victim blaming
  • Paedophilia, grooming & child sexual abuse
  • Graphic rape by coercion (on-page)
  • Child abuse
  • Abusive relationship
  • Dissociation
  • Alcohol consumption, including forced alcohol consumption
  • Emesis
  • Death of a mother & father recounted
  • Death of a brother recounted
  • Stalking
  • Car accident recounted
  • Animal attack & death mentioned
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Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier

Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier

Sierra has a despised and forbidden gift — she raises power from the suffering of others. Enslaved by the King’s Torturer, Sierra escapes, barely keeping ahead of Rasten, the man sent to hunt her down. Then she falls in with dangerous company: the fugitive Prince Cammarian and his crippled foster-brother, Isidro.

But Rasten is not the only enemy hunting them in the frozen north and as Sierra’s new allies struggle to identify friend from foe, Rasten approaches her with a plan to kill the master they both abhor. Sierra is forced to decide what price she is willing to pay for her freedom and her life …

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism
  • Slavery
  • Graphic rape
  • Paedophilia
  • Dismemberment
  • Chronic pain
  • Graphic torture
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