Having already read Andrew Joseph White's first book, Hell Followed with Us, I was thrilled to delve into his sophomore novel, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. The novel takes place in a version of 1883 London where violet eyed mediums can interact with the spirits of the dead. The story follows the medium Silas, an autistic and transgender boy, who must grapple with his identity in a time where there were no terms to properly describe people like him. As such, the book is filled with transphobic, sexist, and ableist terms that may be triggering for some readers. And yet, amongst these stigmas, Silas thrives as a protagonist.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a horror novel through and through. It features a number of gruesome scenes and shows, once again, White's excellent ability to tell an unsettling story. And yet, even amongst spirits, blood, and gore, the most terrifying part of the novel comes from the men of London's patriarchy. This was a beautifully unsettling book that will continue to haunt me in the best way possible.

Andrew Joseph White is a talented writer with a sharp mind.

“The Spirit Bares Its Teeth” centres on the story of Silas Bell, who is trans and autistic (although neither of those labels are used given the book’s 19th-century setting). Silas lives in a world where certain people — those with violet eyes — have the power to reach through into the afterlife and communicate with the angry spirits of the dead, but this is only deemed acceptable for men. Since he is seen as a woman, or indeed a girl as he is only sixteen, this is not an option for Silas. When he’s caught trying to do what is deemed as men’s work, trying to become qualified in communicating with the dead, he’s sent to an institute for girls and young women who have ostensibly become sick from contact with the afterlife: a transparent lie; it’s to stop them trying.

This book is very heavy on medical horror. It’s all excellently written and it doesn’t feel like gore for the sake of gore, but it is fairly graphic in places. I don’t do horror, ever, and it was about as close as I could manage to actual horror, but it didn’t go over that line.

The discussion and exploration of overlapping trans and autistic identities was something I as a trans autistic person found fascinating in “The Spirit Bears Its Teeth”. In providing an trans allistic character and a cis autistic character, Silas is given the space to determine what he feels about the connectedness of these two identities that he possesses.

Mr White puts words onto many things I’ve felt, but struggled to explain, about my own autism and my own transness over the years. This is a very heavy but extremely refreshing read.

I would thoroughly recommend.

I received an E-ARC of this book through NetGalley so thank you to them! The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a truly phenomenal book with a concept I have yet to have seen anywhere else. The story revolves around a closeted autistic trans boy named Silas as we see him deal with transphobia, misogyny, and ableism. All while he is uncovering a gut wrenching injustice within the historical fantasy setting of Victorian England.
I knew I was going to have a lot of feelings about this book simply based on all the things I've heard and read about it, but I am totally unable to even describe how strongly this book impacted me as I was reading. For years, I've had a minor interest in Victorian medicine and medical practices. Can I just say seeing the way Andrew Joseph White applied some of what I already knew was both horrifying and interesting to read. I implore people to really take that warning at the beginning of the book seriously because he was not kidding when he said this might be a hard read for certain audiences.
The way in which the author described the society and how it just seemed against Silas at every turn was a rollercoaster of a read. You get to know some of the characters so deeply and personally that it hurts. I cannot praise an authors writing style more than Andrew Joseph Whites and just how much he'll make you feel as you are reading his books. Especially if you can relate the the main character in some way. This book was so good that the second I finished this E-ARC I went on to preordered it.
There's no doubt in my mind that this is a 5 star read and I can't wait to see what this author puts out next.

Another hit! Andrew Joseph White does it again with these amazing, gothic trans tales! This novel shares many of the same themes as his debut novel, The Hell That Followed Us, except with a historical twist. The plot kept me on my toes, and several times caught my unawares, literally making my jaw drop. White is really talented at resolving the main plot of the story, while also leaving some threads more grey in their endings. This story is not easy to read (there are a lots of trigger warnings at the start of the book), but I absolutely adore these stories and their grit.

Each character is nuanced and I adore the relationship that grows between Silas and Daphne. They each discover new things about themselves through the other's eyes, giving them wisdom that is far beyond their years. This specifically is a theme that I believe a lot of queer/LGBTQIA+ persons will understand and identify with. The girls at Braxton further this, and with each of their unique personalities and motivations, every reader will find someone in the story that they can relate to.

Cannot wait to see what White comes up with next!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a fantastic ghost story, the writing and the visuals were striking and unique, and the main character was someone you were rooting for the whole story. The characters had a lot of depth, and the relationship between Silas and Daphne was fantastic.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (ARC)
Author: Andrew Joseph White
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Pub Date: 05 September 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

★★★★ 1/2 out of 5 stars!

Please see/check trigger warnings before starting this book.

“Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.” -Summary from NetGalley

I am so glad that I was about to read this early, as I am a huge fan of White’s other book "Hell Followed With Us"!

I LOVED this book. I do not want to give too much away since it does not come out until September, but this book is so unique in the way that it explores trauma and societal expectations and pressures, all while taking place in a fantasy world in which violet eyed individuals can communicate with the dead. I loved reading this book through the violet eyes of our main protagonist, as well as getting to read about the fascinating cast of characters we meet along the way. There is LGBTQIA+ rep in this book, including trans representation, which I was so happy about, as I love when there is rep such as this in fantasy books! I think that the main plot of this book, which centers around the main character finding themselves forced to enter a repressive “reform” school, was very interesting, and reminded me of classic gothic horror novels. White's writing really captured the gloomy atmosphere of such a horrid place, and the main characters dread was captured in a very poetic and vivid way. Sometimes I struggle to connect to characters in fantasy books because they are written to be these unshakable heroes who always overcome their challenges and are oozing with confidence, but here, I found our main characters wariness (and internal struggle, which you will read more about) to be refreshing, for it help showcase how much they grew from the beginning of this book to end.

The main romance of this book was an aspect of this book that I really enjoyed. It felt very genuine, and I think that the romance element added a lot to the overall plot and our main character's arc rather than hindered it. I was rooting for them the entire time, and I thought that this element of the book was perfect.

There is also a lot of gore in this book, for our main character wishes to become a doctor, and finds themselves multiple times in situations where they must use their skills and knowledge of anatomy to assist others. I thought these sections of the book were very well done, however if you are somebody who does not do well with mentions of blood, surgery, or bodily harm, please be warned!

I took off half a star because the beginning of the book was a tad rushed for me. I wish that we were given just a little more information about the world in which we were reading about, for while it is a world very similar to ours, I still wanted to learn more about the roles that violet eyed people played in society and perhaps more about how this impacted the world as a whole. We jump right into the main plot early on in the book, and while this is not a bad thing, I just wish there was more detail leading up to the main action.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! There was action, horror, suspense, mystery, romance, and revenge. I will be recommending this book to my friends, and I look forward to picking up a copy of this book in September!

Thank you again to Peachtree Teen and NetGalley!

This book was amazing. I loved Hell Followed With Us so I was so interested to see what Andrew sophomore novel would be like. How I ended up loving this more I’ll never know! The autism representation was so near and dear to my heart. This book blew me away

Dark. Gore. Brilliant.

Hell Followed With Us was one of my absolute faves of last year so I was overjoyed to get a chance to read the author's second book early on. And even though this time I knew what I was signing up for, woah, did it still hit HARD.

I'm pretty sure that Andrew Joseph White is on a mission to find all the settings that terrify me the most, squeeze all the awfulness out of them and fill them with gore and queer rage. I won't be surprised if his next books is set in 1950s US (*shudders*).

It's a book filled with gore and involuntary medical procedures and experimentation. It's about forced institutionalization, there's sexual assault, and did I mention gore and gory, bloody details? There's so much transphobia and ableism and misogyny.... and somehow, it all balances out. It doesn't feel like too much or maybe it's just that all these elements aren't there for the shock value. Andrew Joseph White fills these horrible things with queer rage and reclaims them. Even when the world and all the horrible people try to break his characters over and over, even when they're helpless, they keep on fighting. They keep on surviving. And isn't that what we, queer people do?

The characters, as in Hell Followed With Us, are amazing. I love that Silas gets to meet another autistic person and another trans person. I love that whatever he goes through, there are others with similar experiences. It's a reminder that in this horrible horrible world you're never truly alone.

Everyone in this book is seriously messed up, omg. All the characters are morally gray to say the least. But then, as the book itself says, would you judge an animal for doing everything it takes to survive? Why would you judge a person differently?

I need to reread Hell Followed With Us soon.

Joining the 5 stars chorus but will say that I did not find it as gross as I expected it to be, yes there are explicit descriptions of people being cut open on page but it never upset me despite me being squeamish irl about that sort of thing. Funny how my mind works;

There's so much I could say about this one. It was great, I loved it a lot more than I expected given the body horror nature of it.
I need more T4T, I need more trans women who are loved, I loved that they found each other and they loved each other, I love Daphne
Silas is a great character and I really felt seen in his autism and transness.

I appreciate that Mary, the lesbian/sapphic character is not turned into a stereotypical TERF, given some of her early comments. It's refreshing.

this book is absolutely brutal, and a truly stunning read. take the warnings seriously, but if you can read it, you must

"New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with the transgressive Gothic horror of our time!

Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he'll be married by the end of the year. It doesn't matter that he's needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness - a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness - and shipped away to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanitorium. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton's innards and expose its guts to the world - if the school doesn't break him first.

Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White's much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity."

Gothic in so many ways.

Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I thought I was going to read a few chapters before bed but ended up reading it all in one sitting (and staying up way too late).

This book deals with some extremely dark themes and does not hold back its punches.

The characterization is extremely well-done. The main character, Silas’, is extremely compelling and relatable. His pain, self-loathing, confusion, and anger radiate through every page. His older brother, George, is perhaps the most interesting character in the entire book. He is the “nice” side of medical eugenics. He is a “true believer” in the accepted medical theories of the time and the required “treatment” for Veil sickness. He genuinely thinks that he is helping Silas. But his complicity and later active participation in the horrors of Braxton’s show how kind words and gentle touches amount to nothing in the face of a system that demands violence to maintain. The other “villains” of the book are equally ambiguous on whether they actually believe what they are saying, if they truly think that their cruelty is for their “patients” benefit. Because it doesn’t matter if they are cynics or dupes, the pain that they inflict is real either way.

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a genuinely (grotesquely) beautiful book.

Isabella is my favorite I think, my poor girl, but I also loved Silas and Daphne, and by the end I started liking Mary more. There were many times during reading this that my face was ‘😟🫨’ , but in a good (bad) way ofc ofc. Especially at the end omg. Too good.

It’s not often that I’m truly satisfied with the ending of a book, but I really liked this one. It was tied up nicely, and I blame that primarily on the fact Ajw is a chronic standalone author. He KNOWS how it’s done. As he should.

The setup slightly reminded me of House of Hunger, which I also loved, so that was great. I really liked the atmosphere and the magic. I loved that it was tied to eye color, especially lavender of all colors.

Mary and Frances’s story was truly tragic, and it did make me understand Mary more, and why she was so spiteful. Girlie was angry and traumatized and I don’t blame her (though she could’ve treated people better…🏃‍♀️).

It’s hard to compare this to Hell Followed With Us because they’re very different, but I think I may like this one even more. I love watching groups of people who don’t necessarily like each other work together for survival (which both books have btw). And I loved the plot as well; the mystery *chefs kiss*.

All of the men in this book, besides Silas, can burn in hell for their sins my GOD.


Thank you netgalley for providing this arc :)

The Spirit Bears It’s Teeth is a triumph. After reading Hell Followed With Us, an incredible book that ticked every box for me, I just knew I had to get my hands The Spirit Bears It’s Teeth. So when I got ahold of an ARC, I absolutely devoured it. The Spirit Bears It’s Teeth is a gorgeous story about a young autistic trans man named Silas. His story is told with metaphors of medical horror while also perfectly capturing the horror of growing into yourself in a world that wants nothing to do with you. This book is one of the best I’ve read and I can’t wait to see what Andrew Joseph White does next.

The Spirit Bares It's Teeth is an incredibly visceral, tense and gratifying experience all rolled into one. I could not put this book down once I fully became immersed in it within the first couple of chapters.

As someone who is queer, non-binary and neurodivergent it felt so affirming to read from the perspective of a character I related to so much. The narrative voice given to Silas is so strong and unique that I felt like I knew him intimately by the end and was rooting for him when he found his inner strength to fight back.

The unravelling mystery, the setting and the world built here is so interesting, especially the way the Speaker society fits so well into what we already know about Victorian Society as a whole. It felt so natural almost to the point I believed this may have been a forgotten part of history.

As someone who also has an interest in macabre hobbies, Silas's discussion on surgery and the human body were fascinating to me. His passion for what he loved was so well woven into the story and was another thing I found myself relating to, being that I always also have to relate many things back to my particular interests.

The discussions of societies expectations and exploitation of women, the prejudice LGBT+ people face and how anyone who is different is ostracized still ring so true today and I found myself tearing up in places at the unfair treatment of the characters as it felt still so close to home.

In summation The Spirit Bares Its Teeth was an experience that harrowed me but also grabbed me tightly by the hand and did not let go until I finished it. I have already pre-ordered the book for it's offical publication and cannot wait to read it again when it comes out.

I have not read Whites debut novel, Hell Followed With Us, but as I await publication for this book I am for sure going to be checking it out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Doesn't it happen to you that you find a book and you know you're going to like it? That happened to me with this one, which from the cover and the synopsis was clear to me that it was exactly my style. I was not wrong, the cover art is beautiful and the story is captivating from the moment you start reading.
The edition includes completely black pages that help create a mysterious atmosphere. The narrative is quite peculiar, it is atmospheric, captivating and also very graphic in terms of the medical procedures that are carried out within its pages.
I especially enjoyed the writing, because the type of story they are telling us works very well: a trans boy in a society that doesn't even know this concept, an autistic boy who knows he is different, but due to the limitations of the time the only What he does is question his sanity.
Medical terror is very well posed, because it transports us to a reality that existed and surely continues to exist in other contexts. Independent of the fantastic elements, more typical of terror, the book scares because of the piece of reality that it exposes to the reader.
I haven't read this kind of book in a long time and I wanted to look for more similar titles, so I will probably dive into the depths of my kindle some soon.
Remember to look for the trigger warnings and read them carefully for a safer experience, believe me when I say that the list is long.

this is the 35th book i’ve read this year and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll be the one that stays with me for the longest.

‘the spirit bears it’s teeth’ is a brutal gothic horror that does not shy away from any heart-wrenching topics. from reading, you know that the book is well thought-out and researched and knows exactly what it wants to be and where it wants to go. detailed and vivid imagery is created from the main character’s, silas, medical knowledge and his want to become a surgeon. it’s an interesting way to create a clear picture of the events happening in the story.

thank you to netgalley for the arc. i definitely recommend this book, but should note to check trigger warnings first — there are some at the beginning of the book.

Thank you to White and Netgalley for allowing me to read this hauntingly visceral novel in exchange for my honest opinion !
Where do I even begin , not only is this novel beautifully written with so much love and care about the delicate topics it discuses but you can feel the authors immense passion for what they do. It this a very gritty and dark novel in which our main female's character wishes to male in a society reminiscent of old England of sorts. They bare the purple eyes , a dying phenomena that allows those who bare them the ability to see ripples in the world that when tore open access the spirt realm.

During an event in which our lead plans what they think is a way to escape an arrange marriage, they find themselves thrust into a mental hospital for agitated women.
This novel is truly something i have never read before and comes with an authors note in the beginning that warns of the gruesome contents inside, please read that careful and think of the trigger warning before starting this novel

4.75/5

Thank you so much PeachtreeTeen for providing me with an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Wow. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is sure to be in the top 3 books I’ve read this year. This book is a queer historical fantasy horror following Silas, an autistic trans guy who’s trying to escape an arranged marriage and live freely as himself. However, he is caught and shipped to a facility that treats the “veil sickness” in girls and molds them into modal wives. When the girls start to disappear, Silas intends to find out what’s going on.

This book is by no account an easy read. It is most definitely a horror, though not necessarily in a traditional sense. There are hauntings and other things linked to the veil between the living and the dead, but the real horror comes from people and what they would do for power. TSBIT portrays the horrible things done to women, queer, and neurodivergent people, and the author does not shy away from the topics of sexual assault, miscarriage, violence, physical and verbal abuse. There are also elements of body horror, transphobia, homophobia, etc, so please check the trigger warnings before reading.

I loved the writing, and flew through this book really quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve been this invested into a story. The pacing was done really well, keeping the story dynamic while not being very fast. The occasional pages from the perspective of the missing girls added a lot to the story and mystery as well.

I loved the characters, and their development. They are all flawed, and so so real. My heart was aching while reading about some of them, and it felt like I was living through the events of the story along with Silas.

The only thing I didn’t like as much in the book was the romance, as it felt like it happened way too quickly. However, I understand the decision behind it, as it makes sense in the context of the book.

I absolutely loved Andrew Joseph White’s debut Hell Followed With Us, and if you did too, chances are, you’ll like this one as well. Regardless, I would definitely recommend this book, as long as you check the TWs.

Vivid, visceral historical fantasy that will make you feel so much for the protagonist. I have never come across a book that made me feel physically queasy before. This book did. The monstrosities done in the name of advancing psychology and medicine, and exercising power over the "weak" haunts those pages. What was enacted on the "outcasts" historically and in those pages is true horror.
This read like a re-interpretation of Blue Beard. You don't have to know the tale, but if you do, you'll see what I mean.
The book talked to me on so many levels. And I think it will talk to many people, anyone that is misunderstood, that don't quite fit the social rules/structure/images. And of course the autism rep, the frustration, the misunderstanding, the anger, it is so very well done, so true despite being speculative, and so strong.
I hadn't realised this was written by the same author as "Hell Followed with Us" when I picked up the book, but there are many common themes. I loved that first book by the author, but I can understand that it was unpalatable to some, it is one of the angriest books I have ever read, just overflowing with rage. This one can see beyond the anger and is so much stronger for it. Still, this is not a book to put into every hand, the body horror is disturbing, many scenes are daunting, but this is a punch of a work.