Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

362 reviews

lintybird's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Transphobia, Medical content

mobymaize's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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

akatperry's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark tense 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Miscarriage

leaflit's review against another edition

5.0

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: Complicated

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This book was so gruesome but so good.

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Content Warnings

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

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

sharpwords_softheart's review against another edition

5.0

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: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book really touched a piece of me as a trans person. I feel many of us have a similar rabbit in our chest that Silas struggles with. This book is so complex, but not in a bad way. Do I think everyone will find this book acceptable? No not at all. But please take it with a grain of salt and really look at the material. What an interesting world Andrew Joesph White has written. Thank you for writing it honestly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dysphoria

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault

brittybcl's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder

cheriepie's review against another edition

3.5

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Hard to articulate how I feel about this one lads. I couldn't put it down, but also the writing felt very juvenile, the plot predictable and the dialogue just anachronistic enough that it took me out at times. I feel like if this was given to me ten years earlier when I found Fight Like a Girl/The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls for the first time I would've lapped it right up though.

EDIT: this is just a book that makes me say "if I was a teen librarian, this book would be the absolute top of the recommendation pile for any edgy troubled kids that come to my desk. too bad i'm nearly 30 and not a teen librarian, so i'm not really getting much out of it." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Abortion, Murder

Moderate: Rape

welgan's review against another edition

4.5

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

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

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, War

marcostorin's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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

Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Colonisation

estlin_is_out_there's review against another edition

5.0

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: Complicated

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