Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

82 reviews

samgray'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? It's complicated

5.0

Beyond amazing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Slavery, Child death, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, and Torture

rogue_onion17's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Despite the graphic content of this book, it was an incredibly engaging read. There were a lot of poetic elements interspersed which I loved. It was a real page turner for me. I am someone who is not squeamish so the graphic gore and other content wasn't difficult for me to swallow. The only reason it wasn't a perfect 5 for me was because I just wanted more from the book itself. The writing style is accessible, but that lowers the challenge of reading it. To be fair, the book pushed in a lot more ways than it's writing style (see graphic medical content and horrific reality of the world our protagonist must endure) but that doesn't mean I wasn't left feeling like something was missing from my plate. Still, I would most certainly recommend it to anyone who loves gothic horror and wants to see some actually good and informed autistic representation with a side of queer resilience! I will definitely be giving the author's other books a read soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Animal death, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage

httpsserenity's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely beautiful book with very lovable characters and intriguing twists. A good book for Halloween.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Torture, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Grief, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, and Panic attacks/disorders

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Abortion, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, Transphobia, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Homophobia, Biphobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Miscarriage

dissection of dead pigs is discussed frequently in the book

brickwall27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

This book made me cry happy tears I love it and the representation it's the first book I've read with a happy ending for the queer character 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Body horror, Gore, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Ableism, Deadnaming, Death, and Abortion

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, Animal death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Child death

This book is good but if you are easily upset by anything tread carefully

This book was a little harder of a read for me but in the end, it was so good I started crying. The author is a wonderful man who is writing from experience (sorta)there are super hard scenes that include: the brother turning out to be evil, throwing kids off stairs, live dissections of girls, ripping out eyes to make a wife submit, pissed dead victims, lots violence towards women, overall a good but hard read

scmiller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Confinement, Mental illness, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Gore, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Outing, Pedophilia, Ableism, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Grief

obsidianchainsaw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Body horror, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Misogyny, Abortion, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

daniellestarredpages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Andrew Joseph White has done it again. Another horror book that blew my mind. While The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a bit less action-packed than White's previous book "Hell Followed With Us",  I enjoyed it all the same. 

Andrew Joseph White seems to have found his niche in writing Trans characters fighting transphobia their own way and escaping their brutal circumstances in gruesome but self-led ways. I loved Silas and his determination to take his life into his own hands. The way White wrote about Silas facing prejudice surrounding his autism but also gave Silas bits of self-acceptance and an eventually accepting community was quite beautiful. I loved the fact that things like Silas' stimming, special interests and stimulation issues were not only mentioned to be berated during scenes including ableism and physical or emotional abuse. Another thing I found particularly interesting about the way White wrote Silas was the voice of the Rabbit that tormented Silas. The Rabbit seems to be a personification of his negative and/or intrusive thoughts.

The other characters in this book were very well-written and played off Silas well. The Veil and the magic included in this book intrigued me quite a bit.  The magic system was well thought out. Andrew Joseph White stated he took creative liberties with the historical elements but these elements were very well researched.

Finally, I loved the connections that Silas made in this book. Both friendships and romantic connections. Silas found a community while suffering at Braxton's Sanitorium and Finishing School. Silas himself expressed both joy and frustration at these connections, stating that he was glad to find people like him, whether other Trans People or other Autistic People but hated the fact these connections were found at such an awful place. While I loved the relationship between Silas and Daphne and do understand the constraints of working around things like chaperones and courting and also the fact that Silas was at a boarding school, I do wish there was more development in their romance.

Trigger Warnings:

Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Transphobia, Misgendering, Dead-Naming, Conversion Therapy, Ablesim, Sexual Assault, Death, Mysogyny, Graphic Violence, Medical Gore and Experimentation, Cesarean Section, Gaslighting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Animal death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Cursing, Transphobia, Blood, Death, Grief, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Deadnaming, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

myamo_santiago's review against another edition

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

The spirit bares it’s teeth is a book I found on a whim when I was at the bookstore. I went into the book not knowing what to expect at each turn and falling in love with the diverse characters who fought to survive in a world that was against them. The spirit bares it’s teeth is deeply grotesque, haunting and a realistic reflection on medical history towards  those who were considered different due to their gender identity and sexual orientation  as well as ableism. The book is laced with fighting darkness when there is no hope, and left me a different person than I was when I started it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Body horror, Death, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gore, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Child death, Deadnaming, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Abortion, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, and Blood

cowboylikestoread43's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Body horror, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Suicide, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder