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

dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a super dark, icky, horror YA and I loved it. The medical content and Silas’ special interest in surgery was really cool. I actually learned a lot. The imagery was all so vivid. 

The way the plot was going was predictable for me, which is saying a lot, because I’m not good with catching foreshadowing and stuff.
I had a hunch that there were nefarious things going on in the basement since the beginning, because that’s the most obvious ending/trope tbh, and it wasn’t confirmed for me until they mentioned the dressing room later in the book, and I remembered that there was the bump under the rug. Also I knew Louise sent out the letters bc it was always insinuated that she was the coward and she never takes action so it was obvious when she left the dorm with the ribbon and something in her pocket. Who else could’ve had access to them other than her and Silas?


There was a lot of repetition and it was really hammered into me that Silas is autistic. After a while, I was like “okay, I get it, I REMEMBER what he’s like and how he acts bc of his autism”. Some of it could’ve been edited out in my opinion. Because of this, it feels like it was written for a younger YA audience.  (Or I just don’t know what the reading level for older teens around Silas’ age is like 💀)

I’m glad that they were able to have their happy ever after after everything that they’ve been through.
that being said, it sucks that not all the girls were able to survive and truly live their lives. I was too optimistic to think that Isabella would make it but I really wanted her to because she was so important to Silas.
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