Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

230 reviews

dominosmum444's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i’m calling it - this will be one of the best books i read this year. the audiobook narration was an EXPERIENCE and i loved it!! it was beautiful and horrific - so, so many content warnings required but it was excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

indigoreadingcollective's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Andrew Joseph White does it again with a book that remains horror, with just enough passages about not hating being trans that it doesn’t take away from a horrors but also makes me tear up and want to offer up an organ as an offering. 20/10, adored 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, and Medical content

welgan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

I new I was going into a story that was raw and punched you to you guts, and I was ready for it ; I wanted to feel this righteous anger about the horrors who happened, about what they say of the horrors that still are. It delivered - it was raw, and hard, but not as much to me as it may be for someone who would feel represented as autistic or trans person, I think (giving how I emotional I was when I reacted to a book that represented *me*, I can only see how this book would open an autistic/trans person insides and lay them bare). I was very grateful for the autistic representation as I was looking to learn about the experience from first person point of view to better understand autistic people, but as so I can not judge if the representation was accurate or a bit exagerated. At some points it felt a bit forced (as the character explained "I am like this", "my brains does this"), but I think I'd need that to fully grasp something that is foreign to me, so I think it was the right thing to do. 
I enjoyed all the imagery and metaphors about surgery and body gore because I could really feel the special interest of the main character, and also it fit very well in the narrative, I could feel the despair and rage to control one's own body, and the adequacy of the imagery with the horrors happening. 
I also appreciated that there was hope and comfort to be found in kinship - this person is like me, I can be myself and true and safe with them. It helped going through a story with such hard events. 

Be warned if you're a sensitive person though : beyond the horrors that would happen to a person perceived as a girl who is not complying to society's standards, and to a trans person, in a Victorian era, the writing also invite quite a gore imagery. It fits very well, but if you're bothered by body and wounds imagery, it will probably be hard to read for you. There are also a lot of sensitive topics touched, so please look at the warnings if you're unsure. I felt the book did a great job exploring the topics without too much voyeurism, but the subjects are here nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

kek513's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual violence

marcostorin's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I already planned to give this book 5 stars, but when I reached the ending of the book, I was literally putting my phone (where I read it) down multiple times because I just couldn't believe the twists I was reading, and I mean it as an absolute compliment. They were perfectly done and absolutely in character and believable and yes, they still had me shocked. The epilogue was the sweetest and realest ending this book could have had. I loved the previous book this author did and, seeing as two out of two books by them have been some of the best reads I've encountered lately, I'm absolutely following whatever they put out next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Sexism, Blood, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Colonisation, and Bullying

andrea_lachance's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

Womp-womp :/

I really wanted to like this book, but I had really high expectations and it just didn’t meet them. Don’t get me wrong, AJW is a great writer! I just found the plot pretty predictable (as an adult) and I didn’t really understand the magic system.

HOWEVER, I find Silas an extremely interesting protagonist and I loved reading from his perspective on transness. That was 5/5 for me. This is the second book I’ve read by a trans author with a trans MC and I found Silas’ perspective much more informative and compelling.

Truly, stellar character work happening with Silas, Daphne, and Mary.

And I will be reading Hell Followed With Us and Compound Fracture as soon as it comes out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Ableism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

There’s and extremely graphic (and long) medical abortion and that was CRAZY to read

yarbroughac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

This book is a horror novel because it describes horrors that were all too real in the not-so-distant past. If body horror makes you squeamish, do not read it. If you’re like me, however, and that is your favorite genre of horror, then devour this novel as quickly as possible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Rape, Body horror, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Murder, Torture, and Homophobia

vixbrekker's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Ableism, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Abortion, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault

corsetedfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I would give this book all the stars in the world if I could. I was not prepared for this book, but I’m not sure how one could be prepared for this book. To begin, it features the most realistic and visceral descriptions of gender dysphoria and autism that I have ever read. This book is intensely emotional and physically gory, but it has a passionate heart that I fell in love with. The romance is raw and tender in a very intimate way that I adore. It’s t4t love in the best possible way. This book is a story about queer love and hope and pain and rage. If you can handle the very detailed (and special interest fueled) discussions of organs, the detailed descriptions of violence, and the multiple murders (as well as an abortion) you’ll find the the best poetry and the starkest honestly about what it is really like to be queer and autistic in a world that tries constantly to force you to be neither. I audibly gasped and yelled at the book several times at various plot twists, and the ending is the perfect example of catharsis and queer victory… just with a side of magical murder this time. 100/10, absolutely read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Abortion, Body horror, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Mental illness

breadbummer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

It's been maybe five years since the last time I remember being so engrossed with a book! For once, I'm so glad I judged a book by its cover (it's a pretty neat cover), as The Spirit Bares Its Teeth has just about everything I could want from a story.

• Trans protagonist (written by a trans author) ✅
• Murder mystery ✅
• Set in the Victorian era ✅
• Upfront trigger warnings ✅
• VENGEANCE!!!! (no bs about forgiveness) ✅

I cannot recommend this novel enough!! As I said, though, please note the HEFTY list of content warnings before jumping in. White makes sure to cover the big hitters like anti-transness and ableism, but it should also be noted that

abortion

(among many other things) has its very graphic moment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abortion, Sexism, Self harm, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death, Deadnaming, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Child death, Body horror, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Transphobia, and Ableism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, Rape, Colonisation, and Vomit

Minor: Infertility, Animal death, Genocide, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

There was no specific option for animal dissections or something close enough to it listed here, so I thought I'd make note of it. Everything that is done to animals in this book is post-mortem, though it's still graphic.