Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

319 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

elliizzzabeth's review

dark informative mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

If I was going to use a word to describe this book it would be violent. Everything from the world to the characters to Silas's own inner monologue is unflinchingly violent and raw. Silas is an autistic trans man forced into a correctional school for girls with a view to be made into a perfect wife. The world is constantly, violently unafirming of his gender, his neurodivengency and his ambitions to be a surgeon.
There is a trigger warning given at the start by the author and my God does it need it. If you are turned off by graphic descriptions of medical procedures and gore then this is not the book for you. Honestly I'm surprised I survived it! Silas cannot go a couple pages without being beaten or attacked or having to hastily stitch up life threatening injuries with a sewing kit. The book was so graphic in these areas and also contained so much swearing and references to sexual assault I was astounded it was rated as "teen". Definitely one for older teens (with strong stomachs!) 
But despite that the story was strong, if a little predictable at times, and it had me hooked all the way through. It was very fast paced so it always kept you on your toes. Daphne and Silas's romance was sweet and I enjoyed the dynamics between all the girls. But most of all it was a visceral, gory, un-censored view of what it is like to claw your way to survival in a world that is forcing you into boxes you desperately don't want to be in. Incredibly glad I wasn't a woman in the victorian era, fucking hell!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

-Many graphic scenes of surgery -Repeated graphic descriptions of a person removing their own eyes and a self-inflicted hysterectomy

gonetoarcadia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

theyarelex's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Transphobia

szuum's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Classism

Instalove

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

inesbtavelino's review against another edition

dark sad

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

livyadri's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? No

4.75

“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.” 
Heart wrenching & raw. Incredibly vivid imagery and effectively reflective writing. 

Toward the end, Silas and Daphne helping each other get dressed and Daphne cutting Silas’ hair for him tugged at my heart so hard 💜

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Pregnancy

crusoe's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was everything I imagined it to be: a nuanced exploration of what it means to be trans, a mystical historical fantasy with a fascinating (and horrific) structure of power, and a hell of a lot of gore with very little comfort to be found. White has shed the first-time-author things that were less appealing in Hell Followed with us and -in my opinion- presented a story with a stronger plot and characters while keeping the things that make his work unique.

All I'm saying is: if compound fracture is better than this book, Andrew Joseph White has officially broken my bookrating scale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage and Classism

Minor: Animal death and Infertility