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dalek_caan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
aetherthedino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide attempt
a_crow_in_the_sky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, and Pregnancy
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The medical scenes are quite gnarly, so I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone with a weak stomach for blood or graphic depictions of surgery. But I thought the writing was stellar, the characters were compelling, the plot was engaging. I devoured this.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Vomit
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
tgaddie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
fangirljeanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jasper_is_atypical's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria
Minor: Miscarriage, Colonisation, and Classism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH is about a trans boy who is institutionalized for "Veil sickness", a condition which is basically a supernatural version of hysteria, itself a historical catch-all term for "that person we think is a woman isn't doing what we think she ought to do and we want it to stop". What's unique about Veil sickness as opposed to hysteria is that it specifically applies to people with violet eyes, a mark of those who can contact departed spirits. Violet-eyed British men are channeled and constrained by a strict social hierarchy and a physical mark that they are following the socially approved path of a Speaker. Silas is not a girl, he's an autistic trans boy whose interest in anything unfeminine is a threat to the Speakers' power. THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH focuses on Silas as both trans and autistic, as well as times when he meets people who are one or the other but not both. These experiences help him parse the ways that these two facets of himself are so intertwined for him but are not necessarily linked for other people. He deals with an intersection of transphobia, misogyny, and ableism, as the times when he is dismissed for not following the social path of a woman can be inseparable from dismissal of him as an autistic person or not understanding the overwhelmingly allistic social hierarchy and assumptions. Trapped at the institution with few connections to the outside, Silas must try to figure out what's happening to the girls who disappear, and who he can trust to get answers.
As a nonbinary trans person, this was a hard book to read due to some overlaps with my personal experiences (thankfully not at the level of an actual horror novel such as this). I read it in large sections, taking a few days in between each to process and prepare myself for the next part. I'm very glad I read it and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror, especially medical horror (which features heavily). If you would prefer something more apocalyptic and less medical but are otherwise interested in themes of body horror and transphobia, I suggest reading Andrew's debut novel, HELL FOLLOWED WITH US.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
cronads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and 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, and Dysphoria
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
ender24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
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, and Classism