A review by pantslint
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Holy fuck, I walked into this book completely blind and did not expect how dark it would be. I couldn't put it down and finished it in like 7 hours. Silas is an incredibly well-written character.

My favorite thematic aspect from this book is how female rage is harnessed. Women are made survivors—they're messy, vengeful, and vindictive. They're also loving and protective, existing with an unspoken sense of community. And they unleash all of that onto their oppressors and abusers. The Veil is a really incredible device used to depict that, and I'll be thinking about this for weeks.

It would be so easy to not hurt us, and the Speakers can't even do that. It's more work to hurt us. It's more work to be cruel. And yet they continue.

White is great at symbolism and literary devices:
  • The "rabbit" as a personification of Silas's neurodivergence
  • The Speaker rings as cuffs of patriarchy (
    and later, Frances's haunting of one in contrast
    )
  • The freezing of Braxton's by the wronged girls in the Veil
    (as opposed to white-hot rage)
  • Glass. So much glass in this book. For barriers (glass ceiling), weaponized.
    When the groundskeeper helps break the window. The glass in Mrs. Forrester's shoes. The pieces of mirror Silas uses to kill Lord Luckenbill, and Mary uses to slit Headmaster's throat.

Please heed the content/trigger warnings for this book; transphobia, ableism, sexism, medical gore, and physical abuse are very much present throughout the entire story.
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