Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

665 reviews

jamiene's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Slow to get in to. Lots of trigger warnings depending on who you are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy

beeacryptid's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Another book that made me uncomfortable at times, but I absolutely enjoyed reading it. I think this book would have been more impactful for me as a young adult (because, you know, it’s YA) but even as an adult it still had me feeling a lot. 

I wish I had books like this as a kid. White is giving young trans kids a fantastic new world of literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Sexual assault

hexoracle's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

bandgeek17's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia

literarylion's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Pros:

• A really masterful incorporation of minority identities in the historical context, vividly contextualized
• Great pacing and a well-constructed plot, awesome world-building, incredible imagery
• Just the right amount of humor and hope to balance out the horror and abuse

Cons:

• I would've liked a bit more explanation of the mechanics around the
  Speakers and medium brands
• The extent of the
  Braxton conspiracy
  felt a little ridiculous towards the end 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content

neupordene's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

oliviainthepink's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

k1dnystnz's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous 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: No

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It was both a blessing and a curse for this to be my first book of the year, because now I'm constantly comparing everything I read to this book. Holy shit, it's so good. I've never had a book hit every single interest of mine and do it so well.

AJW is the goat of body horror. I very rarely feel sick to my stomach while consuming any media but he really knows how to make you feel like shit (/pos).

If you like medical history, found family, twists that leave you feeling hopeless, and/or feeling just awful for 300 pages straight, this is The Book for you. Chef's kiss. No notes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abortion

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence

tommelisesofia's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Classism

renettereads's review against another edition

4.5

challenging 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: Complicated

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Totally gruesome, but also really moving. A balance I think Andrew Joseph White strikes really well in all of his books. Despite the violent and gory nature of his stories, there's always a very human story at the heart of it and in Spirit, I found myself once again rooting for the characters to be okay. 

Though a historical setting, I wouldn't say it's historically accurate in all aspects, so that's worth bearing in mind going in. I would also recommend checking triggers as there are quite a few graphic surgery scenes, but I was hooked (despite not being a horror girly) and couldn't wait for vengeance to be meted out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Medical content, Murder

Minor: Sexual assault