Tag Archives: Suicide & Attempted Suicide

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of suicide and attempted suicide, including ideation and acts of self-immolation and self-sacrifice.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of lifee… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia, ableism & racism
  • Paedophilia & sexual assault of a child recounted
  • Physical child abuse recounted
  • Intimate partner violence*
  • Alcohol consumption, recreational drug use & smoking
  • Abortion (secondary character)
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an aunt in a car accident
  • Death of a friend from suicide (theme)
  • Physical assault (fistfights)

*Context : The protagonist’s sister is physically abused by her boyfriend who she continues to date. The protagonist also accompanies her to have an abortion.

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale. Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape recounted
  • Suicide discussed
  • Drug abuse
  • Drugging mentioned
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Torture mentioned
  • Murder
  • Loss of autonomy (demonic possession)
  • Blackmail
  • Graphic animal death (rabbit)
  • Animal cruelty

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline”Evie” Greene leads a charmed life–until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future–and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Sex slavery mentioned
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Death of mother from illness mentioned

The Memory of Light by Francisco Stork

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

16-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital’s mental ward after a failed suicide attempt. Now she must find a path to recovery – and perhaps rescue some others along the way. When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn’t be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she’s never… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Drug abuse
  • Depression
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Psychiatric hospitalisation
  • 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

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Suicide
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Cancer & terminal illness
  • Hospitalisation
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Gun violence mentioned
  • Animal death & cruelty
  • Animal experimentation

When Stars Come Out by Scarlett St Clair

When Stars Come Out by Scarlett St. Clair

Anora Silby can see the dead and turn spirits into gold coins, two things she would prefer to keep secret as she tries to lead a normal life at her new school. After all, she didn’t change her identity for nothing. Hiding her weirdness is just one of many challenges. By the end of her first day, she’s claimed the soul of a dead girl on campus and lost the coin. Turns out, the coin gives others the ability to steal souls, and when a classmate ends up dead, there’s no mistaking the murder weapon. Navigating the loss of her Poppa, the mistrust of her mother, and Roundtable, an anonymous… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Animal death

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure —a silent companion —-that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition–that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Sexual assault
  • Child abuse
  • Suicide
  • Miscarriage
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Fire
  • Animal death

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance. When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, on-page
  • Child abuse
  • Claustrophobia
  • Anxiety attack, on-page
  • Attempted suicide, on-page
  • Drugging
  • Forced impregnation
  • Infertility mentioned
  • Death of an infant mentioned
  • Murder
  • Car accident
  • Fire

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto. But what… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Panic attack, on-page
  • Self-sacrifice, on-page
  • Suicide of a friend mentioned
  • Suicide by overdose recounted
  • Suicidal ideation, on-page & mentioned
  • Minor self-injury for blood magic
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Gun violence
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Fire
  • Drowning, on-page (two scenes)
  • Battle scenes