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Synopsis
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! A Stonewall Honor Book in Young Adult Literature! 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 Stonewall Honor Book in Young Adult Literature A Chicago Public Library 'Best of the Best' Book A Locus Award Finalist A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book! A Booklist Editors’ Choice A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year! A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Is The Spirit Bares Its Teeth appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This gothic horror features graphic violence, body horror, and disturbing depictions of forced institutionalization and conversion therapy-like practices targeting trans and autistic individuals. The violence is described as 'blood-soaked' and 'nauseating,' warranting mature teen readership.
What to know going in
This book has strong violence, no sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include torture, self-harm, suicide, graphic violence, and gore (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be gripped by Silas's desperate fight to survive a sinister institution while uncovering the truth about missing students and exposing systemic cruelty.