Tag Archives: Racism

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of racism.

See also White supremacy, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and Antiziganism.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son–but Hitler’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper–a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour. Still reeling from war…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Colonialism
  • Antisemitism
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Slut-shaming
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • World War Two (theme)

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski

THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted. You must be younger than twenty-five. You must be willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win. Eighteen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this–the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she is to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe. Cassie is ready … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Amisia
  • Bimisia
  • Racism
  • Claustrophobia
  • Dubious consent (kiss)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Medical procedures
  • Physical injuries
  • Hospitalisation (infirmary)
  • Attempted murder

Tidal Wave by EM Lindsey

Tidal Wave by E.M. Lindsey

Gunner has spent half his life running from his past, and the other half trying to protect himself from ever being vulnerable again. He’s escaped his old club and worked hard to earn the VP patch on his cut after joining the Broken Chains. But his entire life is turned upside down when Gunner’s past comes back to haunt him, and the club’s Deaf delivery guy ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time. When his president asks him to protect the injured man, Gunner wants to say no. After all, he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off Logan since the day they met, and Gunner can’t afford that kind of distraction. But ignoring him is damn… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Misogyny
  • Homomisia
  • Racism
  • Hate crimes
  • Child abuse mentioned
  • Anxiety attacks
  • Drug use
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Kidnapping

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence–both from outside the family, and also, devastatingly, from within. The lush landscape, rich with birdsong, wild fruit, and blazing stars, becomes a kind of refuge for Betty, but when her family’s darkest secrets are brought to light, she has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Rape
  • Incest
  • Attempted suicide
  • Graphic animal abuse & cruelty

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

Moth Hush is starting to settle into her newfound witch heritage and powers, but life at school continues to be rough. Even her best friend, Charlie, doesn’t entirely understand what it’s like for her to always be the one who gets mocked, and things only get worse when Moth’s mom starts dating one of the dorkiest teachers in the school! Then Moth gets hold of a mysterious charm that can unleash another version of herself—one who is confident, cool, and extremely popular. What could possibly go wrong?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Persecution for witchcraft
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)
  • Bullying

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Amidst the whir of city life, a girl from Harlem is drawn into the glittering underworld of Manhattan, where she’s hired to use her knives to strike fear amongst its most dangerous denizens. But the ghosts from her past are always by her side—and history has appeared on her doorstep to threaten the people she loves most. Can one woman ever sacrifice enough to save an entire community?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Racism
  • Rape
  • Death of a child
  • Torture
  • Lynching

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan

Fifteen-year-old Muzna Saleem, who dreams of being a writer, struggles with controlling parents who only care about her studying to be a doctor. Forced to move to a new school in South London after her best friend is shamed in a scandal, Muzna realizes that the bullies will follow her wherever she goes. But deciding to stand and face them instead of fighting her instinct to disappear is harder than it looks when there’s prejudice everywhere you turn. Until the gorgeous and confident Arif shows an interest in her, encouraging Muzna to explore her freedom. But Arif is hiding his own secrets… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Islamomisia
  • Racism
  • Fatmisia

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighbourhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Racism mentioned
  • Ableism (r slur), on-page
  • Sexual assault mentioned (groping)
  • Child abuse and neglect recounted including a mention of child sexual assault
  • Spousal abandonment
  • Abusive relationship (scs)
  • Cheating
  • Sex work, on-page
  • Familial estrangement mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption, on-page
  • Alcohol abuse (implied)
  • Recreational drug use, on-page
  • Chronic leg injury
  • Grief and loss depiction
  • Death of a girlfriend from an oxycontin overdose mentioned
  • Death of a husband and a pet dog in a car accident recounted
  • Death of a sister from drowning recounted
  • Murder by drowning
  • Murder by gun violence
  • Murder by poisoning
  • Stalking
  • Animal dead body mentioned (seagull)

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Parent with Bipolar Disorder including manic and depressive episodes
  • Attempted suicide of a parent by overdose, off-page
  • Bullying

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together. But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Sexual harassment
  • Death of a parent recounted