Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

144 reviews

baileybeloved's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Sat down & read through it in a day. I cringed, I cried, I was sick to my stomach, I shivered, & my skin crawled. Absolutely recommend. Perfect ending. I will say that some of turns of this story are predictable - but knowing where it’s headed almost heightens the dread? Screaming DONT DONT NO NO NO (along with the rabbit) when you know what’s coming or what he will find (but then being shocked & appalled anyway) happened a few times for me, but did not detract from the story. 

Heed the tags, but know that the content is there for a reason. It’s not torture porn or AJWhite trying to hit checklist of horror tropes - it’s a story with real roots. 

One small detail that really struck me - from the very end was hearing about

how the freezing had happened in other places too, like in India & in American plantations

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

Frequent detailed descriptions of medical procedures the narrator wants to inflict upon himself to get rid of the parts that make him a target.

whatkatyread87's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit. I have no words for how important this book is to people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kermittuesday's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

It was a little tedious at the beginning but then it picked up so I’m glad I stuck with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

a_dara_ble's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is one of the first books I've gotten all the way through in a while. I really enjoyed the world it was set in and the main characters. I personally didn't find it really Scary most of the time, but the author definitely doesn't shy away from descriptions, so I'd really recommend checking the trigger warnings if you have any issues with medical/body horror in the most literal sense. I have a pretty strong stomach for written horror, but this would not be a story I could probably stomach if it was in a visual media.
I'd love to read a second book with these characters, or at least in this world, maybe diving into more of the supernatural elements. But as it is, it's a really good stand alone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

avrija's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.75

This book — it’s certainly something. This is the first horror I’ve read in a very long while and it was very good. Please, please be mindful of the trigger warnings in the “letter from the author” at the beginning. It was very well written, I loved the characters, especially Daphne and Silas and it was suspenseful and gave you that sense of something creeping up on you. However, I think it deserves a mention that I don’t think this book is for anyone who is sensitive to transphobia and body dysmorphia regarding that. Even if you say, you can handle that, please do read this on a good day and check in with yourself. It’s quite heavy and mentally hard to read at times because the descriptions of Silas’ struggles are so very well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Pedophilia, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

overbooked207's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cowboink13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is immediately going on my favorite books of all time list. Beautifully written with a well crafted story. I was so immersed in this book, and Silas is a great protagonist. I felt like a kid again because of how much I could not put this book down. I really enjoyed the queer and feminist themes as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Transphobia, Medical content, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Murder

octopus_farmer's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

Haunting in a satisfying way but still haunting. Do NOT take the content warning lightly at the start of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

livelaughlovejackie's review against another edition

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

5.0

this book had me on an absolute chokehold while reading which is v rare for me <3333

The actual rating is probably something like 4.5 but the experience is just so fun i need it higher 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent

thirsie's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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

An amazing book.

It touches upon very sensitive topics, but does so realistically for that time and gracefully. It shows both the beauty and the cruelty of living in those times. Even more so with “the veil sickness”.

The author is not afraid of doing what you don’t expect, of what you assume it won’t do since “that’s not how books go”. It also dares to touch onto sensitive subjects surrounding racism, sexism, and transphobia where others may avoid it. It blends those topics in with the main plot in a gorgeous way.

A very good read. Finished it in one day and wish I could experience it anew.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, and Murder