Content Warnings
Shadows From the Sky:
Louise describes her father’s murder, so there’s talk of blood there. There is a kidnapping, anonymous death threat of death or misadventure, and a threat of sexual assault that will probably be over the heads of most younger readers. I’ve read it to my eleven-year-old. It is not as intense as Fighting Words (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley), which is a comp title for Shadows, although the threat of sexual assault is in the same vein as what FW deals with, and is handled with sensitivity. George’s religious identity crisis means he is involved in both Judaism and Christianity throughout most of the book as he makes up his mind what he wants to be. Talk of periods happens too. Louise punches some bullies. George uses the word “bitch” in its proper relation to dogs.
élégie:
There is a very brief wedding night section, but this is Lydia Pearson narrating, and she is Very Veiled and Circumspect. Her remarks about Sam’s brutality make the point in a very few words. He does hit her at one point. There are child deaths described in the influenza section. Her in-laws are jerks to her.
The Summer I Found Home:
This book was originally intended for a middle-grade audience, and even when I decided to market it as an adult book, I preserved the age-appropriateness. The narrator is a ten-year-old boy; there’s no on-page swearing or sex. The main possible trigger is Louise’s stepfather being a brute and beating her; George’s mother is a burnt-out autistic lady dealing with some pretty intense depression.
This Great Wilderness:
To be honest, content warnings for this book are super hard because in a sense the entire book is one big “hey, so Nazis are brutal bullies and here’s what they did to me and why I have PTSD, and oh by the way my teeth and that poker might come in handy for Nazi-punching” but, uh, I’ll… do my best??
I’m not including page numbers for Leni’s depressive episodes because they’re all over the place, so consider this your note that Depressive Episodes Exist in This Book.
(Also, because the ebook version doesn’t have easily definable sections for locating these scenes, these will be only for the paperback.)
Beating as punishment (includes threats of beating, actual beating, or mere allusions thereto) – p 186, 315, 320-322, 334
Bombing raid death (mentioned, not explicitly described) – p 4-5, 107, 192
Burning as punishment (both allusions to and instances of being burned, mostly the former) – p 30-31, 39-40, 95, 98, 104, 164, 166, 187, 262, 268, 293, 298, 311 (these are
Death by poker – p 324
Injury by biting – p 323-324
Forced sterilisation – p 187-190 (the actual event), and p 167, 179-180, 233, 292-293 (allusions thereto)
Murder of a Jewish family – p 140-1
Opiate use/withdrawal – p 30-31, 74-75, 81, 94, 96, 130-131, 148, 190
Pregnancy loss – p 108, 179-180, 187-190, 196, 244, 351
Rape (many are just allusions to; Leni tends to skim over the actual instances of rape without graphic description) – p 30, 50, 156, 162-166, 180-181, 184, 233
Torture (mentioned in passing but not described) – p 181, 185, 188, 287
Depictions of violence rating: Leni pulls no punches talking about her own trauma and is pretty brutally honest about some of it whilst skipping lightly over other parts of it. Overall I’m putting it at a 6 out of 10, because although it’s not constant, it’s there, and when it’s there, it’s harsh.
Sexytimes Intensity™: Antonia and Raymond, 6 out of 10; Leni and Raymond, 4 out of 10.
The War in Our Hearts:
First off: SYLVIE THE CAT DOES NOT DIE nor come to any harm.
Boarding school abuse – p 35, 63-64 in the paperback; sections Memories in Part 2 and Inverness Proper in Part 3 of the ebook.
Death of an adult – p 158-60, 167 in the paperback; sections What God Looks Like and Lucy-O in Part 6 of the ebook.
Death of a child – p 338 in the paperback; section The Farmhouse in Part 12 of the ebook.
Deranged vengeful murder fantasies – p 336-337 in the paperback; section The Farmhouse in Part 12 of the ebook.
Description of a murdered corpse – p 24-25 in the paperback; section The Farmhouse Cellar in Part 2 of the ebook.
Domestic abuse – p 35, 50, 56-57, 151-152, 157, 165, 168-9, 207-8, 262-3, 275 in the paperback; sections The Farmhouse Cellar in Part 2; The Earl’s Sons and The Earl’s Riding Crop in Part 3; The Earl’s Opinions of Music, The Paris Conservatory, Acquainted With Grief, and Lucy-O in Part 5; Preconceived Ideas and a Document in Part 8; and Clearing Clouds Away and No Fear in Part 9 of the ebook.
Marital infidelity allusions – p 49; 121-122; 302; 327-330 in the paperback; sections The Earl’s Sons in Part 3; George in Part 5; The Fisherman’s Son Who Wasn’t in Part 10; and Inescapable George in Part 12 of the ebook.
Rape of minors discussed or alluded to (mostly the latter, and non-gratuitous when the former) – p 20-21; 27-29; 35; 40-42; 54; 56; 89; 194; 208-209; 211-212; 218; 272-273; 300-301; 303 in the paperback; sections The Girl, Aveline, Memories, and Armand in Part 2; French Governesses and The Earl’s Riding Crop in Part 3; Château Blanchard in Part 5; Growing Up, Preconceived Ideas and a Document, and Love Speaks in Part 8; The Thirteenth Earl and His Brother and O Promise Me in Part 9; Memory and The Fisherman’s Son Who Wasn’t in Part 10 of the ebook.
Suicide – p 167-9 in the paperback; section Lucy-O in Part 6 of the ebook.
Depictions of war violence/trench nastiness: 4.5 out of 10.
Jamie and Estelle’s Sexytimes Intensity™: 2.5 out of 10.
Ripples:
Since this is ebook only, I can’t provide page numbers, but in Alice’s section, marital infidelity; in George’s section, attempted suicide and pregnancy loss.
George and Alice’s Sexytimes Intensity™: Consensus among my beta readers places it about a 6 out of 10, and more emotionally sexy than graphically sexy.