Starvation, Food Scarcity & Famine – Page 5

Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara Larson

Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world–including their Paladin father the night Inara was born. On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out–leaving Zuhra virtually alone with… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse
Self harm
Suicidal ideation
Starvation
Death of a parent

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

You wake on a beautiful, remote island. Sparkling blue seas, golden sunsets, barely a footprint in the sand. Yet this is no ordinary escape. Next to the wreck of a plane, a stranger paces. Another sharpens a knife, scoring a list of the dead onto a palm tree. Others watch from the shadows of a campfire – all with untold stories, and closely-guarded secrets. This is no ordinary holiday. This is no ordinary island. This is no ordinary beach read….

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Spousal & parental abandonment
Attempted rape (on-page)
Sexual assault (unwanted non-consensual kiss, on-page)
Spousal infidelity discussed
Suicidal ideation, including an on-page scene where the protagonist begins an attempt by jumping
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Drug use and abuse mentioned
Parent with alcoholism mentioned
Starvation and food scarcity
Infertility discussed
Blood & gore depiction including physical injuries and dead bodies
Death of a lover by shark attack (off-page)
Disappearance of a sibling (theme)
Murder by drowning in self-defence from attempted rape
Attempted murder by strangulation
Near-death of an infant from choking
Plane crash (theme)
Animal hunting & butchering (mostly fish)

Burning Roses by SL Huang

Burning Roses by S.L. Huang

Rosa, also known as Red Riding Hood, is done with wolves and woods. Hou Yi the Archer is tired, and knows she’s past her prime. They would both rather just be retired, but that’s not what the world has ready for them. When deadly sunbirds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they’ve both grown to love, the two must join forces. Now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, they begin a quest that’s a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Smoking
Starvation
Burn scars mentioned
Murder of a grandmother mentioned
Gun violence
Fire, on-page
Animal attack
Animal death

Empress of All Seasons by Holly Miller

Empress of All Seasons by Holly Miller

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren’t hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Rape
Child abuse
Parental abandonment
Self-injury
Childbirth
Forced adoption
Exile
Death by starvation
Murder
Poisoning
Explosions
Fire
Cyclones
Animal attack
Animal cruelty & death
Bullying

My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter

My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter

Behind the white-washed walls of the Arizona compound, life was simple. Follow the rules, “live in the light,” and all would be well. Zylynn was excited to turn thirteen and begin the work of bringing others into the light, to save them from the liars and the darkness of the outside world. But when she is taken away by a man who claims to be her father, she is confused and desperate to return home. Zylynn resists her new life—until she finds small comforts, like shampoo, the color pink, and strawberries. But as her thirteenth birthday approaches, Zylynn must make a difficult… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse & neglect
Starvation
Cults

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work. Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts. Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Classism
Amisia
Blood & gore depiction
Graphic physical injuries
Body horror
Medical procedures & treatment
Beheading
Starvation & food insecurity mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a sibling, on- & off-page
Execution
Drowning mentioned
War & military themes

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Classism
Indentured servitude of children, discussed in-depth
Sexual assault, on-page
Child abuse
Forced arranged marriage
Gambling addiction recovery & relapse (theme)
Suicide mentioned
Alcohol consumption & abuse, recounted & discussed
Drugging
Blood & gore depiction,
Dead bodies & body parts
Needles
Terminal illness (plague-like), recounted & on-page
Depiction of starvation
Cannibalism mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & father recounted
Death of children, on-page
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence & stabbing
Torture recounted
Whipping recounted
Hanging mentioned
Kidnapping & captivity
Blackmail
Death by a fall recounted
Near-drowning incident
War themes discussed
Poverty themes & debt collection (theme)

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her–and who won’t make it out of the woods? It’s been exactly one year since Sara’s sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn’t know whether her former friends no longer like her…or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to “play the game” and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Physical child abuse, off-page
Amnesia
Suicide
Eye trauma
Starvation discussed
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a sister
Death of a friend
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence
Disappearance of a sibling (theme)
Drowning, on-page
Animal attack

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon. Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Memory loss
Pregnancy
Physical injuries
Grief & loss depiction
Murder of a mother recounted
Murder & attempted murder
Torture, including sensory deprivation, food depravity & mind invasion

Tarnished Empire by Danielle Jensen

Tarnished Empire by Danielle L. Jensen

A siege is laid against the last resistance to the Senate’s rule. As the battle rages, a commander, a soldier, and a rebel will decide how far they are willing to go for victory. Marcus is forced to choose between destroying the rebel forces and liberating his legion. He must face the true cost of being a leader. And an oppressor. Marcus is forced to choose between destroying the rebel forces and liberating his legion. He must face the true cost of being a leader. And an… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Starvation
Sword violence
War themes & battle scenes