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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
aklikethegun's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
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
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
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
vixenreader'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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Outing, War, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
A majority of graphic content in this novel addresses transphobia, abhorrent ableism against autistic folks, misogyny/sexism (the “biology” argument), nasty surgeries, medical content and trauma, physical abuse and violence, and sexual abuse. Any minor in the novel is aged 14-16. It also features familial rejection, pus, stitching up wounds, a graphic abortion, self-mutilation, execution, and a ton of injuries and gore involving glass. It can be a hard read at times.bookenbee's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Classism
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: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
devynreadsnovels'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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Self harm, Torture, Pregnancy, and Alcohol