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sammymilfort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
op3'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? It's complicated
5.0
This book takes a lot to read I’ll admit but as I said, it was 100% worth it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abortion
A heavy book. I highly suggest not reading if easily triggered. You can read from other reviews that this is not the book to ignore triggers with.sweetflipsbrah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I think there are a lot of elements to “Spirit” that are interesting - a trans male protagonist in a historical setting, the exploration of gender and weaponizing the pathology of human behavior, the aesthetic of Victorian esoterische and spiritualism, etc - that the author, in my opinion, doesn’t explore enough, or is lacking nuance. I think a more historically accurate approach to this story would’ve made it more enjoyable, as sort of a better analysis of Victorian and modern attitudes towards sex, gender, mental health and disability. I also find some of White’s stylistic choices grating, including an over-reliance on certain imagery in the form of simile that made roll my eyes (I challenge you to count how many times something is described as being “like a scalpel”). Overall, there were a handful of scenes I enjoyed, but I ultimately finished this book out of sheer determination.
Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
evelyno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
lizardgod'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
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
throwback682's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I just finished reading a horrifying violent disgusting wonderful beautiful book,” I texted my friend immediately.
Horror/fantasy/historical fiction, set in Victorian England, with a protagonist we would call bi or pan, transgender, and autistic (and who is subjected to what we’d call ABA “therapy”). I love the protagonist so very much.
This book is not for the faint of heart. The author gives a non exhaustive list of triggers in the introduction, and acknowledges that this book isn’t for everyone, reassuring would-be readers that it’s okay to walk away.
For me personally, it was very much worth it. I hesitate to say too much for fear of spoilers but I just loved this book so much. I guess some of my favorite things were
That the protagonist
The
And [big spoilers] that the
The depictions of
Basically I feel like this book shows the almost unfathomable ugliness of the world and the hatred and oppression of queer, trans, and neurodivergent people, but it also
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
“Letter from the Author One of the cruel injustices of the world is that survival hurts sometimes. Open-heart surgery, for example, looks a lot like murder. Amputation before the advent of proper anesthesia was just a bone saw and a rag to bite. On that note, I will make this clear: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth containsleaflit'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism
brittybcl's review
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
welgan'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
4.5
I enjoyed all the imagery and metaphors about surgery and body gore because I could really feel the special interest of the main character, and also it fit very well in the narrative, I could feel the despair and rage to control one's own body, and the adequacy of the imagery with the horrors happening.
I also appreciated that there was hope and comfort to be found in kinship - this person is like me, I can be myself and true and safe with them. It helped going through a story with such hard events.
Be warned if you're a sensitive person though : beyond the horrors that would happen to a person perceived as a girl who is not complying to society's standards, and to a trans person, in a Victorian era, the writing also invite quite a gore imagery. It fits very well, but if you're bothered by body and wounds imagery, it will probably be hard to read for you. There are also a lot of sensitive topics touched, so please look at the warnings if you're unsure. I felt the book did a great job exploring the topics without too much voyeurism, but the subjects are here nonetheless.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Medical trauma
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and War
estlin_is_out_there'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Murder