The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
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 Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
TW: Graphic violence, sexual assault, medical gore (including an on-page Cesarean section), transphobia, ableism, medical/psychiatric abuse, gaslighting, discussions of miscarriage
There are several words that can be used to describe The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. Some that came to mind as I read include “brutal,” “traumatizing,” even occasionally “gross.” But upon completing the novel, the word I most associate with it is “extraordinary.”
This is far from being a book for every teen, but for teen readers with whom Silas’s story resonates, this could be a life-changing read. The trigger warnings definitely are not there for decoration, and there is more explicit language (including a lot of– to be fair, warranted– f bombs) and references to sex than some readers may be uncomfortable with. White’s writing is intense and visceral and does not for a moment shy away from the harshest realities of Victorian society, transphobia, and ableism against neurodivergent individuals. White’s own identity as a trans man with autism no doubt helps Silas feel like a fully-realized character experiencing marginalization, rather than reading like a checklist of symptoms or having his identity be incidental. Moreover, the supernatural elements of the story and the central mystery are incredibly compelling, and the ending feels like releasing a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.
It’s also worth noting that the narrator of the audiobook, Raphael Corkhill, does an extraordinary job, with narration that adds a sense of frantic claustrophobia to Silas’s thoughts.
After this book watch The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix).
This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson
Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige.
Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. Both have hidden reasons of their own to help Mikira — as well as their own blood feuds to avenge…
In a world as dangerous as this, will the need for vengeance butcher Mikira’s chances of winning the Illinir … or will another rider’s dagger?
TW: Violence, murder, guns, death of a parent, antisemitism, animal violence/death
There are a lot of things happening in This Dark Descent, which works both in the novel’s favor and to its detriment. On one side of the coin, it is filled with appeal factors for a wide variety of teens, including queer representation, action-packed horse race sequences, political scheming, and complex moral quandaries. However, the plot occasionally becomes convoluted and character motivations are sometimes difficult to parse. Several of the questions left unanswered may be addressed in the anticipated second book of the duology, but on its own This Dark Descent may leave teen readers confused and frustrated, especially after a 400-page investment.
Ultimately, the book shines brightest when establishing its impressive and unique worldbuilding. The world of This Dark Descent is heavily inspired by Jewish history and folklore, with golems and dybbuks playing key roles in the plot. This leads to an interesting and unique magic system which, while not perfectly executed, was fun to learn more about as the story unfolded. There is a great deal of promise in this series, and high-fantasy lovers will likely enjoy this new take. But, least in this first book, that promise is not lived up to well enough to justify the lengthy and sometimes confusing commitment.
After this book watch Merlin (BBC).
Winner: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
To be completely frank, I would have had a very difficult time justifying the choice of any book over The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. Beating it would have required an equally extraordinary book, and This Dark Descent, though perfectly serviceable for fantasy readers, is not that book.
In terms of teen appeal, both of these books will be best enjoyed by fairly niche audiences of older teens. If I had read This Dark Descent without being told it was YA, I likely would have assumed the book to be New Adult, and there is little that jumps out at me from the book as being especially exciting to most teens. Meanwhile, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth has a list of trigger warnings that will challenge all but the least squeamish of readers. However, there are teens who need a book like The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, which vividly and frankly takes on the effects of transphobia and ableism in a way that does not shy away from the most traumatizing — and therefore, the most urgent — aspects of this hatred.
Sophie Popovich is a librarian on the Outreach team at Geneva Public Library. When she is not at work, you can find her reading, watching live theatre, and assuring her cats that they are the most perfect kitties to ever live.
So like YA know... 