Sex Work & Sex Slavery – Page 16 – Trigger Warning Database

Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Will Trent is a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent whose latest case has him posing as Bill Black, a scary ex-con who rides a motorcycle around Macon, Georgia, and trails an air of violence wherever he goes. The cover has worked and he has caught the eye of a wiry little drug dealer who thinks he might be a useful ally. But undercover and cut off from the support of the woman he loves, Sara Linton, Will finds his demons catching up with him.

Although she has no idea where Will has gone, or why, Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Child abuse
Forced sex work
Sex trafficking
Paedophilia
Rape mentioned
Suicide
Drug abuse
Miscarriage
Blood depiction
Emesis
Death of a spouse recounted
Murder
Gun violence

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

The enchantment continues . . . The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Hallucinations (protagonist)
Forced adoption mentioned
Parent with alcohol abuse issues mentioned
Blood & injury depiction including a global pandemic, needles, surgery, non-consensual medical treatment, and non-consensual body modifications
Death of a father from gun violence mentioned
Murder including death from a snapped neck
Physical assault (fistfights, beating, military training)
Mentions of a character having a near-drowning incident in a oil vat after being hit by a crane
Loss of autonomy (mind control) including forced self-harm and mentions of a pregnant character dying from suicide after forced sex work
Fire recounted

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins

In Tricks, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.

And now, in Traffick, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Disownment
Sexual assault
Sex trafficking
Forced sex work
Substance addiction
Gambling addiction
Gun violence

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family—on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that’s where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she’s the misplaced focus of Daddy’s love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites—and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it’s obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is—who?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Graphic paedophilia & child sexual abuse (on-page)
Incest
Rape & sexual assault (on-page)
Forced modelling for child pornorgraphy recounted
Cheating
Physical child abuse
Self-harm
Depression
Alcoholism
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Recreational drug use & abuse
Blood depiction
Emesis
Car accident

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexual assault
Forced sex work
Starvation
Dead bodies
Recreational drug use (smoking)
Alcohol consumption
Gun violence
Deportation
Forced labour in work camps
World War Two (theme)

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained. When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sex work recounted
Graphic auditory & visual hallucinations, on-page
Nightmares
Suicide & attempted suicide, on-page
Intentional self-starvation mentioned
Self-injury, on-page
Physical injuries including burns & scars
Death of a friend recounted
Death of a lover recounted
Death of a sister, on-page
Death of a father from a fever illness, off-page)
Multiple graphic scenes of murder & attempted murder, on-page
Mass murder mentioned
Regicide mentioned
Knife & sword violence
Explosions
Fire including attempted murder by being burnt at the stake
Imprisonment
Forced conscription
War themes including battle scenes & naval warfare
Animal death & dead bodies

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she flees Kenettra with her sister to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good when her very existence depends on darkness?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slavery
Rape
Child sex slavery
Child abuse recounted
Hallucinations
Murder recounted
Knife violence & stabbing
Torture
Shipwreck
War & rebellion themes

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

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Forced servitude & slavery
Misogyny
Classism
Persecution for witchcraft
Rape mentioned
Forced sex work
Child abuse recounted
Cheating mentioned
Trauma & nightmares
Attempted suicide (on-page)
Suicidal ideation
Alcohol consumption
Graphic blood & gore depiction
Emesis
Dead bodies
Decapitation
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a boyfriend recounted
Death of an mother & father recounted
Death of a friend
Murder & attempted murder
Imprisonment

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin’s Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas – together in one edition for the first time – Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn’s orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord	• Alcohol consumption • Blood & gore depiction • Physical injuries • Murder • Knifer violence • Physical assault • Imprisonment • Blackmail • Building collapse
The Assassin and the Healer	• Victim blaming • Rape mentioned • Sexual harassment • Alcohol consumption • Blood depiction • Physical injury • Emesis • Death of a mother • Murder • Knife violence & stabbing • Physical assault • Hostage situation
The Assassin and the Desert	• Adult-minor relationship • Alcohol consumption • Nonconsensual drugging • Murder • Torture • Hostage situation • Fire
The Assassin and the Underworld	• Misogyny • Slavery • Slut-shaming • Forced sex work • Suicide • Murder & attempted murder • Torture • Poisoning • Fire • Drowning
The Assassin and the Empire	• Threats of rape • Emesis • Murder • Torture