Scan barcode
dalek_caan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence
atlastheninth's review against another edition
- 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
"We are the same species. We're all human. It's not that people cannot understand me; it's simply that most of them don't want to."
Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Classism, Slavery, Colonisation, and Genocide
starrysteph's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Death, Pregnancy, Body horror, Abortion, Transphobia, Child abuse, Rape, Vomit, Physical abuse, Self harm, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
booksmellers's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
5.0
White is the type of author that knows what he wants to say and is excellent at executing it. He writes the autistic, trans, and queer experience extraordinarily well, he creates compelling depictions of toxic families and their deep indoctrination into abusive systems, as well as complex characters with complicated relationships. What draws me to White's writing is his themes are clearly thought out and his writing makes a statement, but he doesn't coddle the audience and he isn't interested in being didactic. He doesn't overexplain identity but allows for nuance in these various experiences and his writing is more interested in the individual characters rather than appealing to the masses. These books will not be for everybody, but I'm glad that they do seem to have found their audience.
This book is still settling in my brain, but I think I liked it more than Hell Followed With Us. I could definitely see improvement from White's previous novel. The pacing was excellent, it was well researched, and all the connections were all there to make a great reading experience. This is definitely a great addition to the queer horror genre. And I have to say, the cover is so perfect.
If you love horror, historical fiction, and queer fiction, I'd highly recommend this book. You will definitely want to check content warnings because it is extremely graphic (I went in prepared, having read the warnings and his previous book, and I was still surprised).
Thank you, NetGalley, for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Animal death, Child death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, Ableism, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Classism, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
themargherita_s's review against another edition
5.0
Andrew is not capable of writing a bad book.
When I read Hell Followed With Us it immediately became a new favorite, but now The Spirit Bares Its Teeth has surpassed it a million times over and I'm kind of shocked. I feel like the writing and content has clearly matured from the first book and I love that. It did also make this a little heavier and darker read, at least for me, compared to Hell Followed With Us (which was already heavy enough with all the religious trauma lol).
I admit I got a little lost with the names of the girls at the school in the beginning, but I started to get them after a while.
I could perfectly see this story as a tv show and I honestly hope it gets an adaptation someday in the future.
Representation: autistic bisexual trans boy mc, trans woman li, sapphic secondary characters, autistic secondary character.
Content Warnings: ableism, deadnaming, transphobia, gender dysphoria, misogyny, gaslighting, gore, animal death, detailed medical procedures, medical content, injury detail, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, blood, murder, torture, violence, sexual violence, confinement, forced institutionalization, pregnancy, child pregnancy, gory 'homemade' abortion (sorry I don't know how to describe it), mention of miscarriage, mention of self-harm and suicide attempts, vomit, religious bigotry.
Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, Violence, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Ableism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Pregnancy, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Self harm, and Suicide
ender24's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking