evelynyle_88's review
- 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
What a journey it has been. Just another readathon with The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. This book is another level of horror. The story is beyond my imagination. I called The Spirit Bares Its Teeth as ❛sick❜, but it was a ❛sickeningly good❜ one.
The plot of the story was mindblowing. And I love the setting to be in a school that has too many secrets laid behind. Like it's a horror... but has thriller vibes to it.
And the rabbit. I think I should talk about it. I tried to imagine how to be Silas Bell; lived his life with the rabbit inside his abdominal that sometimes made him hard to breathe? I imagined myself as him. But, I adore Silas so much. He sometimes maybe careless. But, the fact that he is a witty boy, I applaud him.
But, most of all... the C-section scene was the most iconic for me. Thank you, A.J. White for another thrilling horror story. You're indeed brilliant!
5⭐ worthy book; once again!
Mors vincit omnia👁
Graphic: Ableism, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Abortion, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Animal death, Xenophobia, Infertility, and Chronic illness
thatchickengirl23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Abortion, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Pedophilia, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
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: Medical content, Death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Ableism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Blood, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Confinement, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Rape, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Vomit, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
cactuspunk's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Blood, and Sexual content
mir_frog73's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Misogyny, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Ableism, Murder, Homophobia, Grief, and Classism
atlastheninth'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? Yes
5.0
"We are the same species. We're all human. It's not that people cannot understand me; it's simply that most of them don't want to."
Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Classism, Slavery, Colonisation, and Genocide
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: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Torture, Gore, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Murder, Abortion, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Sexual assault, Vomit, Ableism, Animal death, Death of parent, Outing, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Bullying
Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Cannibalism
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: Death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Abortion, Gore, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Bullying, Confinement, Dysphoria, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Deadnaming, Violence, and Death
Minor: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Vomit
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, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking
_teoeo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
Oh, I enjoyed that book so much! After I've read "Hell Followed With Us" and loved it, "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth" was one of my most anticipated books this year.
At first, I have to be honest, it was a bit difficult to find your way into the story, for it felt like you just jumped into that world without any explanation of it whatsoever. But the more I read, the more I understood it.
It is a deep dive into being trans and autistic, what it means to be a man or a woman and how society tries to make rules about that. It also is a good example of how language changes the way we precieve
Spoiler
for as soon as Silas used she/her pronouns and Daphnes real name it totally changed the way I saw this character.Even though the plottwists are a little predictable, they aren't less shocking and especially the last 100 pages have the perfect arc of suspense!
Thank you NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book!
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Ableism, Blood, Abortion, Deadnaming, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexism, Transphobia, and Vomit
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt