Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

122 reviews

snleck's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Body horror, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Transphobia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Outing, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Deadnaming, Bullying, Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Torture, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Abortion

queersubtext's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Abortion, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Transphobia, Murder, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Pedophilia and Miscarriage

paxalotile's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Deadnaming, Body horror, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Dysphoria, Bullying, Abortion, Blood, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Self harm, Hate crime, Murder, and Lesbophobia

manulss's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

“Id vitium nulli per saecula longa notatum quid non sentit amor?” She translates: this defect was noticed by no one through the long generations—but what does love not sense?

mi rivedo forse fin troppo in silas onestamente. ho amato questo libro dalla prima all'ultima parola e non mi ha stancato un attimo. l'ho letto pensando di rimanere terrificata dagli avvenimenti, silas fa un parto cesareo improvvisato, questo libro rappresenta molto più. parla di trovare sé stessi, esserlo anche davanti agli altri e cercare di farsi accettare nonostante il periodo storico in cui ci troviamo. silas all'inizio non aveva casa, famiglia o amici ed alla fine ha trovato tutto questo e molto altro ancora. 

l'unica cosa che non mi è piaciuta è quel cazzo di "un anno dopo" perchè??? non ha senso il libro era completo anche senza.

ps. silas is literally "who's afraid of little old me?" by taylor swift coded.✨️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Ableism, Self harm, Blood, Pregnancy, Gore, Hate crime, Medical content, Sexism, Violence, Body horror, Miscarriage, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

hey yall remember when i said during my review for [book:Hell Followed With Us|57911600] where i was like "i wanted to like this but i didn't.... lets hope this was an issue with the plot and not with the writer because god i wanted to like it"
I WAS RIGHT!! I LOVE ANDREW JOSEPH WHITE!!
i think the biggest differences for me regarding this book & hfwu were the plot itself & the worldbuilding! 
with hfwu, it was hard for me to understand as i grew up in a very agnostic household... i think ive been to a church once in my entire life. so grasping the undertones, backstory & context were hard for me! they weren't necessary for me to get cuz tbh i still had a blast but it did damper my experience. also, the worldbuilding felt lacking there.
NOT IN THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the worldbuilding here is phenomenal!!! i was a bit worried at the beginning cuz i was like "ohh... ummmm idk whats happening with the speaker society". but because the 'big bad' concept was a lot easier to grasp with no background information it ate soooooooo hard. delicious. it's so easy to immerse yourself in this story as most concepts aren't too hard to imagine - picturing the victorian aesthetic did not feel laborious on my small brain which i loved!
also!!!!! don't ask me to explain this but compared to hfwt.... the writing felt more sophisticated! like joseph white has truly found his comfort spot and is executing his art perfectly. 
now lets get away from comparisons and let me just gush about this book;
- T4T ROMANCE!!!! BABY'S FIRST T4T BOOK!!! I LOVED IT!!!! SO MUCH!!!! 
- i want to marry daphne sorry she's mine
-

mary and frances

are so sweet i want to fucking sob
- the plot twists were so fucking crazy but always in a good way. like

harriett? george being a dick? DAPHNE EXISTING? LORD LUCKENBILL KNOWING? AND SILAS KILLING HIS ASS? THE GLASS IN MRS FORRESTERS SHOES???

like no punches were held back and they all hit as equally strong.
- i loved this horror style!!! like leaning into the medical gore...... chefs kiss. 
- autistic rep!!! ugh i love the way silas explains having autism. esp the rabbit. as someone with their own rabbit idk this made me feel all mushy inside. plus the groundskeeper???? im gonna CRYYYYYYY
i literally don't think a single part of this book fell even the slightest bit flat. i became so enamoured with this book i think im going to have to stare at fan art for the next couple of hours.
anyways now im listening to boys will be bugs by cavetown because that feels appropriate

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Torture, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Medical content, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexism, Violence, Misogyny, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Pregnancy, Self harm, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Abortion

roseleebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was such an amazing mix of historical horror/fantasy, much more on the horror side of things.

I knew going into this that the book was going to be intense and emotional. It was very well written and the mystery and horror were impossible to stop thinking about. The reflection of what we are seeing in our own world today was chilling.

I was not bothered by the body horror elements but recommend going into the book prepared for it. It is central to understanding the world Silas is in.

I really loved the quieter moments of this book, the friendship and love that several of the characters show toward each other. It provides hope when everything seems hopeless otherwise.

I can't stop thinking about this book. The tension, mystery, and horror were all so well written, and Silas' POV pulls you into his world. I also really appreciated the audiobook narration which pulled me into the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Misogyny, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Deadnaming, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Medical content, Classism, Abortion, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Rape, Torture, and Suicide attempt

Minor: War

simplythegirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is probably  the best book I read this year so far. The characters are loveable, the descriptions and storytelling are amazing, and the concept is interesting.  The gore descriptions are so vivid I love it. I'm  a huge fan of Andrew Joseph White do I knew going in I would love it but I was blown away. I couldn't put the book down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Excrement, Rape, Violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Classism, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Torture, Grief, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Sexual content

raquelraquel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Listening to this book is like a continuous anxiety attack but it is so so so so good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Torture, Blood, Self harm, Transphobia, Confinement, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Abortion, Body horror, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

solarwitchbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I am convinced that Andrew Joseph White is incapable of writing a bad book. I could not put this down, it will be on my mind for weeks, haunting and beautiful and made me feel seen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Ableism, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Adult/minor relationship

aklikethegun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Rape, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Gore, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Body shaming, Outing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Trafficking, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Grief, Genocide, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cannibalism, Infertility, Infidelity, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Excrement, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infertility, Excrement, Acephobia/Arophobia, Genocide, Infidelity, and Biphobia