Masuk Free Press

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is an incredible first-person fiction thriller that delves into the struggles of the trans and neurodivergent experience. Written by Andrew Joseph White, who is known for their previous story Hell Followed With Us, specifically focuses on the struggles of what it’s like to be autistic in a society that strives to eliminate behaviors to appear more “normal” to the standards of those around them. 

A major part of the book is about the trans experience as well, as the main character has to deal with being trans-masculine while living within a family and community that demonizes such traits, being forced to not only mask their autism, but also live the life of a girl rather than as the gender they truly are. 

“I really appreciated the romance thread and the hopefulness that a few of the characters find as they form relationships with one another. It does get into some pretty intense body horror and gruesome medical descriptions, so this won’t be a novel for everyone. I also appreciate that the author includes a content warning at the front of the book.” Says Kasey on TheStorySanctuary.com

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is rated for teens; however, it contains many scenes that would make anyone a little queasy. The main character, Silas Bell, strives to become a doctor and has to perform medical procedures throughout the story to save others’ lives, often finding himself in situations where he has to dig into flesh and organs.

“I push the knife into the muscle and split it carefully. More blood, always more blood to wipe away.” Pg 256

The book allows its readers to feel seen and recognized through its themes, despite the genre itself being fictional, which is an incredibly important aspect for a book to have, especially in this day and age, with the extreme bigotry and violence towards neurodivergent and transgender people. 

“To see a trans main character, with a brain like mine, who gets overwhelmed and cries and apologizes over and over, who doesn’t really get people or what they try to say, who moves through the world so similarly to the way I do was something I am going to hold close.” Says Chloe on Goodreads.

The time period is 1883, and the setting is London. The story features a unique aspect that’s incredibly interesting: the involvement of spirits and the veil between the living and the dead. In the society depicted in the story, there is a hierarchy, or more specifically, a patriarchy, with men at the top and women at the bottom. There are also members of the society born with violet eyes, who have a connection to the veil and the dead beyond it. 

After Silas tries to impersonate someone to get into a gala to receive a seal that would grant him freedom from his family and strict community, he is caught. He is deemed to have “veil sickness” due to his insistence on his gender not aligning with that of his birth sex, and his traits linked to his autism, he is sent away to a school/sanatorium to “cure” him and find him a suitor for marriage. 

“It’s not a disease, per se,’ Lord Luckenbill says. ‘At least, not one of the body. It’s a sickness of the mind. It’s the name given to the set of symptoms that arise in females after exposure to spirit-work.” Pg 48

This is where most of the story takes place: Braxton’s Finishing School, where Silas has to come to terms with his new environment and roommates, and uncover the dark secrets hidden within the building and within Silas’ own family. 

“I really don’t have much to say about this story, because I’ll be honest—I thought it was perfect. I read this novel in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down and I found myself positively gripped by the narrative, the unique twist on the undead spiritualism thing, and the personal journey of Silas and others like him within the framework of the Victorian era.” Says Amy Imogene on Amy Imogene Reads.

The gruesome depiction of living in a corrupt society that strives to reform harmless traits, enforces young women to be given to men for the sole purpose of creating offspring, and even delving into the horrors of childbirth, makes for a difficult but powerful read that leaves you wanting more after every chapter, but incredibly satisfied once completed.