Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

103 reviews

wormiebrains's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious 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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Genuinely horrific, obviously it is a horror genre but Andrew Joseph white is so grotesquely fantastic at writing body horror and scenes that feel like your heart is being plunged into ice water. Please look up all trigger warning before picking up this book but if you can handle the horror of it all, it is a read I would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting

sal_the_cat's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark tense fast-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: Yes

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pay attention to the trigger warings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Vomit, Death of parent, Colonisation

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, War

there are detailed descriptions of medical procedures, surgeries, explicit thoughts of body mutilation, cruel punishment methods for women "misbehaving" and victorian era typical misogyny. this book is very gory and if you can't handle any of the above this might not be for you

frankiemoe's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicide attempt

the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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The Spirit Bares Its Teeth... and sinks them into your throat, taking you along this dark journey into the pit of hell and out again. I listened to the audiobook version in less than a day and couldn't walk away. Raphael Corkhill does an AMAZING job narrating this fictional account of a transman trying to survive a conversion sanatorium and bring down the evil Spiritualist  organisation behind it in Victorian England. 

This is ultimately a story of triumph, of self-acceptance, and of finding your family. While being an incredible story with so much richness, and true horror, both real and paranormal, it is extremely heavy when it comes to LGBTQIA+ and women's rights and how they were treated in this era. This isn't a book for the faint of heart, even though it does have a happy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy

catmilo's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense fast-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: No

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This was a great historical fiction novel centering a trans man. Now i want to read everything else by this author. It is VERY GORY as a heads up. So gripping & thrilling, i loved it. Incredible detail for a medical nerd like me. Only not a 5 star because there was little to no mention of race, except in notes by the author outside the story.
“I hope the scalpel is kind to you. I hope your sutures heal clean”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Classism

hanah_leia's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I will probably read everything Andrew Joseph White writes. He is (rightfully) unapologetic and real in how he writes trans and autistic protagonists and it is absolutley beautiful. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is certainly horror, so I definitely reccomend checking out the description and content warnings before reading. I would also absolutley reccomend reading this to anyone who is at all intrigued and is okay with the content warnings. Side note- the author's note about cw at the start did make me cry, not because of the warnings but because of the care extended towards the reader (quote included below). 

“You don’t have to endure it. You can get off the operating table and walk away at any time."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit

blush112's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm, Vomit

oatmilktea's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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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Gripping, gruesome, and so relatable. The author does a great job depicting the dynamic between women and trans men. All that we share despite being different—the kinship, the similar experiences because of how the world sees us—is sometimes not talked about enough. In an effort to assert that we are, in fact, men, having to defend our core identity against those who are doubtful at best and hateful at worst, many of us tend to position ourselves so far from women, womanhood, and femininity that we lose that kinship. White does not shy away from this or other, related subjects. He also portrays an autistic main character in a way that makes his condition tangible for me, a non-autistic person. At some point, the anatomy/surgery analogies became a bit much, but all in all, I loved this book. It was a visceral and an emotional experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Outing, Dysphoria

nocturna_of_space's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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There was a lot about this book that I really liked. A clearly autistic protagonist was one of them. I really enjoyed Silas' characterization for the most part.

The one thing I will note is I'm not sure if the rabbit was supposed to represent self-doubt/fear or an anxiety disorder. I'm happy he was able to overcome it, but I wish its fate was more nuanced? I'm not exactly sure how to explain it? I did appreciate that Silas wasn't all 'fixed' at the end and still had to fight against PTSD from his experiences. That makes me think that the rabbit was supposed to be self-doubt/fear based, but I still didn't like the thought that Silas could just kill that part of himself.

 

Daphne was by far my favourite, and I wish we got to see much more of her in the book.

Daphne and Silas' being 2 sides of the same coin and mirrors of each other was a real credit to the story. Usually, I don't like the love at first sight trope (or love at first conversation), but this actually made sense to me.

The sanitorium/school was pretty scary for the most part.

I wish there had been more adults there. The idea that the students couldn't band together and take the Forresters down was a bit difficult to believe. In the end, that's kinda what happened. I just wonder why it didn't happen sooner.

Some of the choices that the adults in this book make does make it feel very Y/A. That's not a bad thing, just something to note. I was just lacking a sense of extreme danger in some places.

However, the abortion/c-section scene was fantastic. That whole section was done super well.

I can't decide if I want a second book or not.

The brother's takedown would be super fun. Also, I felt like that was a thread that was left loose that I would have liked to see tied up. On the other hand, I was pretty happy with the ending as a whole. The squad going to take down The Speakers is a great ending. Ok, I do actually want a second book. Mostly, I just want Silas' brother to get punched.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia

Minor: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

2.5

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, War