Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

105 reviews

shugentobler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Wow. This book was gory and beautiful and heart breaking and dark and amazing and terrible. It was a small fictional window into the lives of those who need to be "fixed" by the system and the horrors they endured. I thought silas's portrayal as a trans person was honest and gut wrenching without feeling heavy handed. This was my favorite Gothic horror of the year which is saying something because I've had a few! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Pedophilia, and Child death

llaurareadss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Transphobia, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

barrel_of_monkeys's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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: Blood, Misogyny, Body horror, Gore, Transphobia, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Torture, and Ableism

mobymaize's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

Damn this book is crazy, and it was great, but at times it felt like torture porn. I get that that’s the point, but

glass in the shoes

is fucking horrific. Additionally, for a novel with spirit in its name, it didn’t entirely have a huge emphasis on ghosts in general

(except for the destruction of Braxtons of course)

. Great horror, not super for me though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Self harm

leaflit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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 was so gruesome but so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Transphobia, Abortion, Body horror, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child death, Gore, Blood, Homophobia, Torture, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Slavery, Classism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Grief, Miscarriage, Vomit, Rape, and Panic attacks/disorders

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

saccharinewoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

"i have to keep my boyhood safe. i have to keep it hidden, deep in my chest where nobody else can have it."

as someone that is afab and struggles with their identity/presentation, this book was deeply painful at times because of how real it is but that's exactly why it's so so important and so needed. to see i'm not alone in how i feel is so comforting yet so terribly sad to think about. to think i still live in a country that perpetuates the archaic norms that are rife in this and that i, too, have to find ways to survive like silas did. the way misogyny is targetted towards anyone with even a proximity to womanhood... god it's the most horrifying thing in this book. i can't speak for the autistic experience that is laid out with so much heart in this but i know that this, too, was so so needed. but also on a less serious note, i fuck so heavily with the medical horror, murder mystery and historical and paranormal aspects of this lol. the writing was so gripping that i found it physically difficult to put down... there were so many elements lovingly crafted into this and they worked so well together. this was really fantastic and i'll be thinking about it for a long time. i'm really glad this exists and comes from a voice that understands.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Abortion, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Transphobia and Sexual harassment

kerryem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Body horror, Gore, Abortion, Death, Ableism, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Dysphoria

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

fallandfox's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

I believe this was my first book where a main character is trans and autistic, what is weird for how many books I read in my life.

The author made me feel so absolved in the history and Silas mind, it was an incredible sensation.

Silas was an amazing main character, his fight for freedom in the middle of all the cruelty and prejudice. There were so many moments in with, I wanted to get in the book and hug and help him.

I recommend this reading a lot, this was a book filled with pain, fight and strength of people trying to survive a cruel society ready to use and destroy them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Death, Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, Torture, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Confinement, Abortion, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, and Emotional abuse