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Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Pregnancy
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Dysphoria
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Silas is transgender, a boy born in a girl’s body, and with violet eyes he is destined to be married off to a wealthy man. The idea of being pregnant horrifies and terrifies Silas, and so he decides to do something risky. He dresses up as a boy and attends a Royal Speaker Society gala in the place of a young medium who couldn’t attend. Instead, Silas will receive the spirit-work seal meant for the real Mr. Roswell. With a seal he can escape his life, live as a man and train to become a doctor.
What Silas doesn’t take into account is the test that he has to complete to win his seal, and when things go very wrong he’s sent to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. He’s “diagnosed” with Veil sickness, which he soon finds out is what all the residents at Braxton’s have been diagnosed with. They’re all girls who don’t fit within the Speaker’s perfect idea of what a wife should be, and they’re all there to be cured. When it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems, and that previous residents who were sent to Bethlem Royal Hospital never actually made it there, Silas starts to investigate further.
At first, he feels completely alone. The other residents are either unfriendly, concentrating on becoming cured or too terrified to draw attention to themselves. As Silas finds support and kinship from two unexpected sources, he begins to unravel the mystery of Braxton piece by horrific piece.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a dark horror novel that unapologetically looks at how society treats people who are different. I’ve recently seen people discussing whether young adult books are becoming too dark, with the suggestion that they are being written for adult readers rather than young people. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a difficult novel to read, and that’s from my perspective as a queer disabled adult. But that is not to say that it’s unsuitable for young people, nor was it written with them in mind. Rather the opposite; this book is White saying “I see you” and that is something that many teenagers need to hear.
While the main character of The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is transgender and autistic, the addition of Veil Sickness means that this is a book that will resinate with a many readers. White conveys so many feelings of being different, of what it’s like to be viewed as useful/a commodity to non-disabled people/people in power when it suits them, and to be considered as wrong, “ill”, just because you’re different. The residents of Braxton are powerless apart, but together they are able to achieve much more and that is an important message in a young adult novel.
White provides content warnings at the beginning of the novel which I have copied in my review and added my own as well. I strongly recommend checking them before picking this one up because his descriptions are very graphic at times and in conjunction with the storyline it can be quite triggering (it was for me, at least). I say all this not to put people off reading, but to ensure everyone has a positive reading experience. I thoroughly enjoyed The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and I will definitely be checking out his other book, and any future titles.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism