Reviews

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

throwback682's review against another edition

dark sad tense

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

5.0

[For reference, I’m a white allistic queer cis woman with ADHD]

“I just finished reading a horrifying violent disgusting wonderful beautiful book,” I texted my friend immediately.

Horror/fantasy/historical fiction, set in Victorian England, with a protagonist we would call bi or pan, transgender, and autistic (and who is subjected to what we’d call ABA “therapy”). I love the protagonist so very much. 

This book is not for the faint of heart. The author gives a non exhaustive list of triggers in the introduction, and acknowledges that this book isn’t for everyone, reassuring would-be readers that it’s okay to walk away. 

For me personally, it was very  much worth it. I hesitate to say too much for fear of spoilers but I just loved this book so much. I guess some of my favorite things were 

That the protagonist

refuses to internalize oppressive messaging about autism

.

The

queer relationships

including one

T4T relationship

.

And [big spoilers] that the

bad guys AND their enablers/apologists get their just desserts

and

the protagonist and some other LGBTQ+ characters

get to have a happy ending

(although obviously trauma is a thing).

The depictions of

autistic

behaviors like

hand flapping. Even though therapists tried to train/torture it out of the protagonist, he speaks about it positively and does it when he can

. There’s also another

autistic

who is

nonverbal

. There’s also a scene where

the autistic protagonist asks another character to squeeze him as tightly as she can, and that his brother used to do this for him as well

.

Basically I feel like this book shows the almost unfathomable ugliness of  the world and the hatred and oppression of queer, trans, and neurodivergent people, but it also

depicts queer and trans love, autistic self love and self acceptance, solidarity, strength, etc. I found it very inspiring.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Torture, Transphobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Body horror, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

“Letter from the Author One of the cruel injustices of the world is that survival hurts sometimes. Open-heart surgery, for example, looks a lot like murder. Amputation before the advent of proper anesthesia was just a bone saw and a rag to bite. On that note, I will make this clear: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth contains transphobia, ableism, graphic violence, sexual assault, discussions of forced pregnancy and miscarriage, mentions of suicidal ideation, and extensive medical gore. But I will also make it clear that this book is not a necessary procedure. You don’t have to endure it. You can get off the operating table and walk away at any time. I won’t blame you. For those still reading—do you have a rag to bite?—I want to make note of some context. Ghosts and mediums and alternate histories aside, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth was inspired by Victorian England’s sordid history of labeling certain people “ill” or “other” to justify cruelty against them. Threats of violence enforced strict social norms, often targeting women, queer and disabled people, and other marginalized folks. I have included another note about these realities at the end of the book, including some that this book does not cover. True history is often much more heartbreaking than any horror novel can depict. So, if nothing else, I hope this story means something to you. I hope the scalpel is kind to you. I hope your sutures heal clean. You deserve that much; we all do. Yours, Andrew” For me, it’s hard to say what’s harder to stomach - the blood and gore, or the attitudes towards queer and trans, neurodivergent, and other marginalized people.

asheconsumesbooks's review against another edition

4.25

queer and horrifying, but never in a way that reels forced or over the top. adored this!

can't wait for ajw's next release.

el_lio_tt's review against another edition

5.0

Amazing t4t and autism rep

victorsbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

cozywanderlust's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

kazthebookdragon69's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

As an autistic person who is also non-binary, I felt so seen with Silas. While yes Silas is a trans guy character, I still felt like I saw a lot of my own struggles in him. 

Going into this I knew I was gonna read things I was on some level at least sorta relate to. If you are someone who would like to read this, just be aware of a few things. I.e ableism, transphobia, some gore

sophia_turner's review

5.0

After I finished this book, having read what the story was based on, I turned off my kindle and stared out the window. Then I paced around the house thinking about what I'd just read.

It's not often that a book shakes me up so badly that it's all I can think about for the next few hours. The topics Andrew works through are difficult, and as a reader you're regularly challenged to keep going. The draw is there, the characters and setting are compelling and pull you in and don't let go.

The experience is intense. There are parts I read with my "hands in front of my eyes", worried about what was going to happen next.

It's a beautiful told story about an ugly world. I'm glad I read this, though admittedly not eager to relive the dark intensity this book is chock full of.

mallorbee's review against another edition

5.0

This book had me staring at the wall with wide eyes between sentences to emotionally prepare myself for the next. Easy 5 stars no questions asked. If you haven’t, you should definitely read both this book and Hell followed with us.

dandaloriian's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

5.0

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, and Transphobia