Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

69 reviews

violetturtledove's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? No

5.0

Wow. I don't want to lean into the surgery puns too much in this review, but this was a gut-wrenching read! Not for the faint-hearted, I'd recommend checking out the content warnings if you have any triggers at all, but it is very much worth it (as the author notes, surgery looks a lot like torture).

This is a gothic horror featuring a trans, autistic protagonist who wants to be a surgeon but is unfortunately AFAB in Victorian London, so of course he ends up in a finishing school/hospital. Oh and there's ghosts. 

It's fast paced and gripping, I loved the characters so much, I felt their frustration, recognised myself in some parts, and found a better understanding of others in other parts. All aspects of them are just so well portrayed.

 I'm not 'read a book in a day' fast but I stayed up reading until 2am two nights in a row with this book (i read it on my kobo so it was my bedtime read, in hindsight maybe not the best choice for restful sleep!)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

thehmkane's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

kenzielireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment

aria_ac's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death and Colonisation

lori_larsson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is VERY dark in subject matter and full of body horror. It's YA maybe only in word density and sentence structure, if that makes any sense--I'd really have to know the young adult before I would say they were reay for this. But there is a good author's letter in the beginning explaining what the reader is about to get into.  I finished this book in 2 days because I could barely put it down, but I was shaking my head the whole time. It was a wild ride. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

arrr's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't typically read horror, so this was a bit outside my comfort zone. The story of transphobia and ableism in Victorian England mixed well with the addition of ghosts and the misogyny imposed against women and people who could manipulate the veil between worlds. I wasn't prepared for the medical horror and level of description. It wasn't as awful as it could have been, but it would have given me nightmares as a youth. I didn't really understand the ending before the last chapter. But I suppose it could be open to interpretation. Maybe that's the point. 

Well done. I unexpectedly enjoyed this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

xeve's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Minor: Chronic illness and Abandonment

kingsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, and Pregnancy

clockworkchild's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Abortion

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape and Vomit

ronjaorsomething's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I loved this book so much. The writing is incredible and I felt extremely close to the characters. The trans and autistic representation was so good and even though this book takes place in an alternate London the experience these characters had were still very accurate and can be translated to the real world at the time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment