punchofwishes 's review for:

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

5.0

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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: Complicated

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Holy shit, what a book. Having previously read and enjoyed Hell Followed With Us, I had high expectations for The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and it somehow surpassed them. This is a gritty, dark, but somehow hopeful novel centered around a trans autistic boy in an alternate late 1800s England where spirits are just as real as misogyny and the violence of the imperial patriarchy. I absolutely loved the vivid world building, the boarding school asylum setting, the discussion of neurodiversity and gender diversity, and the hopeful determination present throughout. The T4T romance was wonderfully sweet and excellently done. An unforgettable reading experience and my favourite AJW novel to date.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Dysphoria

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt