Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

18 reviews

knittyreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.5

This has been one of those books I could barely stop reading once I started. It is haunting, the kind of horror book I love - with roots in Victorian times as well as dabs at modern times. As a (gender-)queer autistic person I love how this book shows the dangers of what was basically ABA too, how molding people into hiding who they are to fit into society is wrong and dangerous, all in a great and well written story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence

keepcalmblogon's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth initially drew me in because of the cover, it’s absolutely stunning and it’s not even a special edition!  I had seen it around here and there, but I’m not always drawn to books with references to ghosts and hauntings, personally I have a fine line between paranormal gothic-type reads and straight horror.  I enjoy horror movies, but not so much books.  But having read that this was about an autistic, trans boy and not overtly a horror story but more like a story with horror elements, I couldn’t bring myself to stop thinking about it, so I put a hold on the audiobook and the moment it came through I absolutely devoured this book.

Immediately, I related to Silas’ experiences with autism–it’s not called this in the book, but it is what it is.  He is overcome with his own emotions sometimes, nearly prisoner to them when he can feel and watch himself be lost to too many feelings.  He has touch and sound sensitivities that I share, as well as a hyperfocus on his passion to the point of overlooking his own safety.

CW pregnancy:  The other thing I related so viscerally with was Silas’ feelings/fears/disgust about his body’s ability to become pregnant.  As a woman who very staunchly chooses not to have children, a large part of my reasoning is my body.  It’s hard to describe without sounding superficial, but Silas put so many of my own feelings into words and I felt so validated.

As much as most of this story is heavy, haunting, gory, and nearly hopeless, there are beautiful moments of resistance, self-identity, hope, and connection that made this my favorite read of the month and definitely one of my faves of the year. Five stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

quitethespectacle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

An incredible book. Visceral and cutting - it pierced me to the core. I read the whole thing over less than 48 hours and am sorely tempted to immediately begin it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Eye gore

Vivisection

Wrist injury

Self surgery

zee_lee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

FANTASTIC BOOK! This author never fails to write a horrifically beautiful, emotional, and thought-provoking novel. Never did I consider myself a horror person, but my love for both of his books have me seeking other horror novels like these. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth somehow managed to turn an idea of historical fiction into a queer horror novel with some of the most beautiful use of the English language I have ever read. However, this book is not for those looking for an easy read. I simultaneously couldn't put the book down and dreaded turning each page. But for anyone who can stomach beautifully written gore and having to deal with the harsh reality of the world we live in, I couldn't recommend this book more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

Minor: Body shaming, Rape, and Vomit

breadbummer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

It's been maybe five years since the last time I remember being so engrossed with a book! For once, I'm so glad I judged a book by its cover (it's a pretty neat cover), as The Spirit Bares Its Teeth has just about everything I could want from a story.

• Trans protagonist (written by a trans author) ✅
• Murder mystery ✅
• Set in the Victorian era ✅
• Upfront trigger warnings ✅
• VENGEANCE!!!! (no bs about forgiveness) ✅

I cannot recommend this novel enough!! As I said, though, please note the HEFTY list of content warnings before jumping in. White makes sure to cover the big hitters like anti-transness and ableism, but it should also be noted that

abortion

(among many other things) has its very graphic moment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Genocide, Infertility, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

There was no specific option for animal dissections or something close enough to it listed here, so I thought I'd make note of it. Everything that is done to animals in this book is post-mortem, though it's still graphic.

madamenovelist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Sexual abuse of minors is a theme throughout this book. All the topics are very heavy but sexual abuse and gore are very prominent.

simplythegirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is probably  the best book I read this year so far. The characters are loveable, the descriptions and storytelling are amazing, and the concept is interesting.  The gore descriptions are so vivid I love it. I'm  a huge fan of Andrew Joseph White do I knew going in I would love it but I was blown away. I couldn't put the book down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

aklikethegun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, 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, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Excrement, and Acephobia/Arophobia

aklikethegun's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, 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, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

samgray's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Beyond amazing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail