The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White Published by Holiday House on September 5, 2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Historical, Young Adult Fiction / LGBTQ
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: Booksweet
Booksweet link.
Goodreads
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare.
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 trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.
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. 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—so long as 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.
A Chicago Public Library 'Best of the Best' Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors’ Choice
A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year!
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Andrew Joseph White had his second book out this year, and it was a BIG EVENT this summer when my roommate went to pick up my Booksweet preorder and came home with THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH, White’s second YA book. Less gory but more visceral than HELL FOLLOWED WITH US, I devoured this book in an afternoon and felt incredibly nauseous with dread the entire time. There’s an on-page Cesarean section that feels victorious. Most importantly, there’s a happy ending for all the trans characters.
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