A review by baileybeloved
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

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.