PTSD & Trauma – Page 31 – Trigger Warning Database

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

PTSD (theme)

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Nobody in Beckett’s life seems to be telling the whole story. Her boyfriend Jake keeps hiding texts and might be cheating on her. Her father lied about losing his job before his shocking death. And everyone in school seems to be whispering about her and her family behind her back.

But none of that compares to the day Beckett finds the body of a newborn baby in a gym bag-Jake’s gym bag -on the floor of her high school locker room. As word leaks out, rumors that Beckett’s the mother take off like wildfire in a town all too ready to believe the worst of her. And as the police investigation unfolds, she discovers that everyone has a secret to hide and the truth could alter everything she thought she knew.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Cheating
PTSD & panic attacks
Substance addiction & alcoholism
Alcohol & drug abuse, including overdose
Child pregnancy, childbirth & stillbirth
Physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a father to suicide by a drug & alcohol overdose recounted
Death of an infant*
Bullying & cyberbullying, including death threats

*Note: the book’s plot centres around the protagonist discovering the dead body of a newborn in her school’s gym.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & racial slurs
Ableism & ableist slurs (r slur)
Classism
Conversion therapy
Graphic domestic & parental abuse
Slavery and forced labour
Graphic rape & prison rape
Paedophilia & child sexual assault
Incest
Alcoholism & substance addiction
PTSD
Depression
Suicide & self-harm
Miscarriage & infertility themes
Blood & gore depiction
Graphic physical injuries
Starvation
Nonconsensual psychiatric hospitalisation
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Death of an infant
Police brutality & violence
Murder & executions, including the execution of a child
Death in police custody and in prison
Graphic animal abuse
Homelessness
Poverty themes

Ironspark by C.M. McGuire

Ironspark by C.M. McGuire

For the past nine years, ever since a bunch of those evil Tinkerbells abducted her mother, cursed her father, and forced her family into hiding, Bryn has devoted herself to learning everything she can about killing the Fae. Now it’s time to put those lessons to use.

Then the Court Fae finally show up, and Bryn realizes she can’t handle this on her own. Thankfully, three friends offer to help: Gwen, a kindhearted water witch; Dom, a new foster kid pulled into her world; and Jasika, a schoolmate with her own grudge against the Fae… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Amisia (challenged)
Coming out themes
Parental abandonment
PTSD
Panic & anxiety attacks
Nightmares
Parent with (implied) schizophrenia & hallucinations
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction
Physical injuries
Hospital
Comas
Scalpels mentioned
Murder & attempted murder
Kidnapping
House fire, fire, and loss of property
Bullying

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell

Something happened to Ava. The curving scar on her face is proof. But Ava would rather keep that something hidden—buried deep in her heart and her soul.

She has her best friend Syd, and she has her tattoos—a colorful quilt, like a security blanket, over her whole body—and now, suddenly, she has Hailey. Beautiful, sweet Hailey, who seems to like Ava as much as she likes her. And Ava isn’t letting anything get in the way of finally, finally seeking peace. But in the woods on the outskirts of town, the traces of someone else’s secrets lie frozen, awaiting Ava’s discovery—and what Ava finds threatens to topple the carefully-constructed wall of normalcy that she’s spent years building… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Rape of a child recounted (theme)
PTSD & trauma
Victim blaming discussed
Minor gore depiction and dead body

All the Little Bones by Ellie Marney

All the Little Bones by Ellie Marney

A teenage trapeze artist and an apprentice strongman on the run from a terrible crime…

Seventeen-year-old Sorsha Neary’s life is changed in one night when she defends herself behind the vans of her family circus troupe. Now Sorsha and apprentice strongman Colm Mackay are travelling south, to evade the fallout and escape the long arm of the law. All they have in their favour is talent, an old promise, and slim acquaintance with the crew members and performers of their new home, Klatsch’s Karnival. But the question for Sorsha and Colm isn’t if the police will catch up with them, but when…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Antiziganism (g slur)
Attempted rape
PTSD
Drowning

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Thirteen year old Hayaat is on a mission. She believes a handful of soil from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab’s life. The only problem is that Hayaat and her family live behind the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, and they’re on the wrong side of check points, curfews, and the travel permit system. Plus, Hayaat’s best friend Samy always manages to attract trouble. But luck is on the pair’s side as they undertake the journey to Jerusalem from the Palestinian Territories when Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Death of a friend
War themes