Plague, Pandemic & Contagion – Page 8 – Trigger Warning Database

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Plague recounted
Physical injuries, including eyeball trauma & loss of vision
Sex work
Self-harm
Alcohol consumption
Death of a father
Murder
Torture
Fire

Champion by Marie Lu

Champion by Marie Lu

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Plague
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother recounted
Murder & attempted murder
Gun violence
War themes

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Plague
Medical experimentation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a brother
Murder & executions
Gun violence
Torture

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Five prominent biophysicists have warned the United States government that sterilization procedures for returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere. Two years later, a probe satellite falls to the earth and lands in a desolate region of northeastern Arizona. Nearby, in the town of Piedmont, bodies lie heaped and flung across the ground, faces locked in frozen surprise. What could cause such shock and fear? The terror has begun, and there is no telling where it will end.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny
Pandemic
Seizures

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

The Prisoner Healer by Lynette Noni

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom. But no one has ever survived.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape (off-page)
Self harm
Emesis
Plague
Terminal illness
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Knife violence & stabbing
Torture
Whipping
Fire
Near-drowning incident
Imprisonment

The Road to Winter by Mark Smith

The Road to Winter by Mark Smith

Since a deadly virus and the violence that followed wiped out his parents and most of his community, Finn has lived alone on the rugged coast with only his loyal dog Rowdy for company.

He has stayed alive for two winters—hunting and fishing and trading food, and keeping out of sight of the Wilders, an armed and dangerous gang that controls the north, led by a ruthless man named Ramage.

But Finn’s isolation is shattered when a girl runs onto the beach. Rose is a Siley—an asylum seeker—and she has escaped from Ramage, who had enslaved her and her younger sister, Kas. Rose is desperate, sick, and needs Finn’s help. Kas is still missing somewhere out in the bush. And Ramage wants the girls back—at any cost.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Death from childbirth
Pandemic
Death of a parent recounted
Murder
Hunting

Intimations by Zadie Smith

Intimations by Zadie Smith

There will be many books written about the year 2020: historical, analytic, political and comprehensive accounts. This is not any of those—the year isn’t half-way done. What I’ve tried to do is organize some of the feelings and thoughts that events, so far, have provoked in me, in those scraps of time the year itself has allowed. These are above all personal essays: small by definition, short by necessity.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Hate crimes
Suicide & suicidal ideation
Pandemic (COVID-19)
Gun violence
Police brutality

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling

Powerful shipping magnate Evelyn Perdanu lives a tight, contained life, holding herself at a distance from all who would get close to her. Her family is dead, her country is dying, and when something foul comes to the city of Delphinium, the brittle, perilous existence she’s built for herself is strained to breaking.

When one of her ships arrives in dock, she counts herself lucky that it made it through the military blockades slowly strangling her city. But one by one, the crew fall ill with a mysterious sickness: an intense light in their eyes and obsessive behavior, followed by a catatonic stupor… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Blood & gore depiction
Body horror
Emesis
Plague
Drug abuse
Murder
Kidnapping
Loss of autonomy (possession)
Poisoning

This Vicious Cure by Emily Suvada

This Vicious Cure by Emily Suvada

Cat’s hacking skills weren’t enough to keep her from losing everything—her identity, her past, and now her freedom. She’s trapped and alone, but she’s survived this long, and she’s not giving up without a fight.

Though the outbreak has been contained, a new threat has emerged—one that’s taken the world to the brink of a devastating war. With genetic technology that promises not just a cure for the plague, but a way to prevent death itself, both sides will stop at nothing to seize control of humanity’s future.

Facing her smartest, most devastating enemy yet, Cat must race against the clock to protect her friends and save the lives of millions on the planet’s surface. No matter the outcome, humanity will never be the same.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Self-sacrifice
Blood & gore depiction
Graphic physical injuries
Plague
Torture

This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada

This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada

Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she’s working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan’s plan to reprogram humanity. But she’s failing—Cat can’t even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns.

When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they’d thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat’s past that she’s been searching for… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Medical experimentation
Blood & gore depiction
Graphic physical injuries
Plague
Murder & attempted murder