The last book I read in June 2025:

What a way to end Pride month.

I was lucky enough to receive an arc for this book.

I have loved his books since I read ‘Hell Followed with Us’, though, ‘The Spirit Bears Its Teeth’ is still my favourite. I was beyond excited for his take on an adult novel, and it did not disappoint.

This book is creepy, and horrific, and gut wrenching, and disgusting, and visceral, and… vivid. It’s incredible story telling, not just word-wise, but I could picture absolutely everything that was described.

It made me uncomfortable, it made me smile, it made me angry, sad, hopeful. This book… is definitely in my top reads of 2025.

I want to recommend this book to everyone, but alas… you’d need to be well aware of the content and trigger warnings and understand what you’re getting yourself into.

If you do indeed think you can handle it - read it. It comes out Sept 9, 2025.

AJW - you knocked it out of the fucking park. And I can’t wait to read every damn book you write going forward.

This book comes out September 9th and that cannot get here fast enough. I read this right after a slump and it's exactly what I needed to pick me back into reading. Soon as it hit my kindle I was hooked! This is a debut novel and now I want more stories. Aliens in a small town in West Virigina. Just what?! Seriously!! Yes, and it's so dark and creepy. Basically the humans that survived are at the mercy of the aliens. It's gross and has a lot of graphic horror that some may not be ready for.

Wow! The story hooked me from the very beginning. You Weren't Meant to Be Human follows Crane, a mute, autistic trans man that leaves home and finds salvation in the Hive, an alien infestation of worms and flies. He meets Levi, one of the Hive's followers, and they start to have an abusive relationship. Levi impregnates Crane and Crane starts to spiral. He wants to end the pregnancy but the Hive forces Crane to carry the fetus and will stop at nothing to make sure this baby is born.

I was speechless when I finished this book. I felt so much for Crane and even saw a little of myself in him. The despair and anguish he felt made my heart ache for him. Andrew Joseph White did an amazing job conveying suffering and distress. The writing was phenomenal and easy to follow. I appreciated the body horror and graphic details. I think was done tastefully without feeling excessive or for shock value. I wish there was more backstory on the Hive but still loved this story. Definity one of my favorites of this year!

“You Weren’t Meant To Be Human” by Andrew Joseph White is a rollercoaster of raw, unsettling, and yet, beautiful human emotions. This is White’s first adult horror novel and please be warned, this book is scary as hell.

Crane is a mute, autistic, trans man, who has been assisting in the invasion of an alien infestation known as “the Hive”. When Crane suddenly finds out he is pregnant and the Hive demands the birth of the child at all costs, Crane’s resistance and desperation to end the pregnancy sets off a series of events that cause a whirlwind of panic, anger, and violence that no one could have anticipated.

Andrew Joseph White has literally taken the rough and gritty underbelly of small town gas stationa, added literal piles of “worms and flies” or “the Hive” and created one of the scariest settings I’ve read in a long time. White has a natural way of writing body horror that pushes every boundary and deliberately disturbs the reader with stomach-twisting imagery. The book will have readers truly gasping and screaming all the way toward the very last page. (No joke, I had a truly visceral feeling of horror upon finishing the book.)

If you are a fan of anxiety inducing films like- Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) and also love a good gore-y Alien (1979) movie, you have to check out “You Weren’t Meant To Be Human” by Andrew Joseph White when it releases on September 9, 2025.

Big shout out and thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, Saga Press, and Andrew Joseph White for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Absolutely horrifying.

Crane is a trans man, that does not speak, and works at a gas station in Appalachia. He's been taken in by a sentient insect hive and the people that serve it, but it's not a very healthy environment. Levi (Crane's...friend?) gets him pregnant. He and the hive are determined that Crane will give birth, despite its negative impact on his mental and physical health. Things get dark, fast. Reading this in June 2025 was rough. I can only imagine it will get worse from here, at least for a while.

I wound up staying up until 2am to finish. I just had to. Crane's suffering was so intensely awful, and I pretty much hated every single character in this book at some point. The ending was very disturbing, but also satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC.

This is Such a book. I'm honestly not sure how to review it. I kind of love it, I kind of hate it, I'm definitely going to keep thinking about this for ages.

This book ROCKED! It’s just the perfect blend of body horror and gore and heart and just wonderful weirdness all wrapped up in one. I totally devoured it, and am just so grateful I get to be alive a time when horror like this is getting made. (And so grateful to have horror like this to help get through the real-life horrors of the world!!)

Andrew Joseph White has such a unique writing style and this adult debut was everything I wanted.

Visceral is the best word I can use to describe this book. Crane’s life, feelings, current “relationship,” struggle with identity and gender dysphoria, exploitation, and existential dread. All of it was depicted so thoroughly and heartbreakingly. I was so sad for Crane and was also rooting for him.

This book is very dark and very graphic but it all has a purpose, none of it felt gratuitous.

I was moved by You Weren’t Meant to Be Human and Crane as a character. So well done!

White is delivering the type of horror that post-Roe America needs. I'm blown away. I'm crying in my bedroom, reeling over that last sentence. That last CHAPTER. This book pulls no punches and has no fear. As always, White is the king of body horror and I was SICKENED to my core. I felt dread in ways I did not know were possible. I want to scream at the top of my lungs and never stop. It's dark, it's disgusting, and it made me feel loved enough to keep fighting.
I'm recommending this book to everybody (check the trigger warnings!), but especially to fans of Alison Rumfitt, Chuck Palahniuk, and Logan-Ashley Kisner.

Going to start this with a heavy warning that one should definitely check the trigger warnings before starting this read if they chose to read it. It is unflinchingly grotesque in the of the sexual violence that is brought upon the main character a trans man named Crane.

Going into the book it stated as a lure into the the book that it has an Alien movie feel to it. That is what had drawn me into it but in fact it isn't that. It is more of a cultish body-horror read. The writing is good, leaving you feeling a visceral knee jerk of disgust. The novel fell short for me on multiple fronts. Be it about the Hive (bugs/aliens) and the worldbuilding.

Though I am happier that there is more trans fiction making its way to the world, I would not recommend it for its supernatural elements or world building. But it want to read know going in there is trigger warnings for a reason. The depictions of sexual, physical and emotional abuse Crane among other elements were verging on being far too much for me personally.

As Andrew Joseph White says in the acknowledgements, this book is indeed a doozy. I knew to expect body horror and gore and I read the synopsis, and even though AJW doesn’t exactly write stories that are perfectly my jam, his autistic characters speak to my own experiences and I can’t resist a book set in West Virginia, which will always be home for me. All that to say, this book is a rough ride. Crane is a difficult character to like exactly, and being in his head is a rough experience, especially with the toxic environment he finds himself in, but his story is a compelling one. I liked the pacing and how the trimesters of pregnancy were used as time reference. In some ways I don’t know how to feel about You Weren’t Meant to be Human and I don’t know that I’d want to read it again, but it was an intense read that’s definitely going to stick around.

Andrew Joseph White has done it again. But who is surprised, he never misses. I was so made for Crane for the whole book. This is my new favorite AJW. 6 stars.

When I saw alien invasion in Appalachia, I immediately needed to read this, and I was not let down! First, check your trigger warnings before reading this book. Crane is a mute, autistic trans man who has been through a lot. A sentient alien (worms, flies) saves Crane, but then when Crane becomes pregnant, they want the baby. Crane does not want to be pregnant. This book left me with such a visceral reaction to the events that I was completely grossed out (in all the best ways possible. Definitely an amazing horror book that probes the themes of unwanted pregnancy, body horror, and loss of agency amongst others.

Crane, a selectively mute autistic trans man, has been working at the gas station in Wash County, West Virginia ever since he was picked up by the hive.

He’s grown accustomed to two unpleasant things: dirty deeds for his worm overlords and painfully rough sex with his non-committal boyfriend, the latter of which he sometimes actually enjoys. It’s better than the life he’s left behind, anyway. At least you can’t get knocked up if you’re on testosterone, right? Right?

If I were to sum up this book I would have to simply say, what the fuck did I just read? — but in a good way (if you’re a sicko). Trigger warning for basically everything but especially pregnancy, stillbirth, abortion, suicidal ideation and intense physical and sexual violence.

As bleak and graphic as this book was, it was so well written. It was surprisingly tender and insightful, and it kept me reading. I kept wanting to know what happens next. I became attached to the characters and was affected by the drama. I recommend it, but only if you have a very strong stomach. Certainly the most disturbing queer horror I’ve ever read.

Thank you to Saga Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was expecting nothing less than to be cracked open on the core of this book, and that’s exactly what happening.

It’s harrowing and hopeful and beautiful and hateful and everything my queer heart needed to rage against the machine (or the hive).

A masterclass in horror at every level, I could not stop reading.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been at more of a loss over how to rate a book. I didn’t enjoy reading it, but I couldn’t look away. I’m giving it 5 stars because I can’t argue with any of it. AJW lays down the truth in this one, and it’s undeniable. Crane is such a complicated protagonist, but even while diving into his darkest, most uncomfortable thoughts and urges there was never a time when I wasn't rooting for him. AJW has a talent for writing characters that feel real and I think Crane is one of his greatest examples of that. I finished this book weeks ago, and it took me that long to fully reckon with it. YWMTBH is comforting in the strangest sense; in calling out all your darkest fears in the most gruesome, horrific ways imaginable, it also validates them.

At first I had some trouble getting into this one, but by the end it all came together and I was fully invested. YOU WERENT’T MEANT TO BE HUMAN is a dark, violent, and gritty story focused on Crane, a transgender autistic man living in West Virginia. He’s apart of cult-like group in service to the Hive, sentient and alien insects who offer humans “salvation.” Everything seemed to finally be going right for Crane until he finds out he’s pregnant. And to his horror, The Hive demands he bring the baby to term for reasons only know to them.
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The book doesn’t shy away from some seriously dark topics, so reader beware. Such as identify, SA/domestic abuse, violence, forced pregnancy, suicidal ideation, and more. And on top of that an invasion of alien insects. But it shines a light on real and monstrous issues that not only the characters go through, but people in the real world everyday. Overall the book is an amazing horror novel with a serious gut punch ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read an ARC for an honest review!

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of You Weren’t Meant to Be Human.

There are aspects of this book that hit close to home for me as a non-binary person who has always felt aversive feelings towards pregnancy. And yet at the same time, I felt disappointed with the supernatural aspects of this novel that had drawn me to read it in the first place. I was expecting more alien-esc body horror with the insects and worms of The Hive playing a larger and more active role within the novel. There are merits to this story as a work of horror presenting the unique aspect of dysphoria that the threat of pregnancy causes to the bodily autonomy of transmasculine bodies. Yet the paranormal horror aspects and world building were quite weak and underdeveloped for what the cover and plot summary promises.

To start with what made this novel unique and important: as a genderqueer body, it was almost cathartic to see the journey and experience of pregnancy spun as a story of body horror. I don’t think I’ve found a book before that touches upon these feelings in such a way to make me feel seen. I think that the comparisons made between fetus and parasite are bold and shocking to a general audience, especially in a society that values the fetus above the wellbeing of the mother (or father, in Crane’s case).

Yet this brings me back to where the novel fell short for me - The Hive and the paranormal world building. What started out as a powerful and horrifying amalgamation of insect-like-alien beings with their own cult seemed to over time pale in comparison to the grotesque actions of Levi. Much of the story takes place away from The Hive and within the confines of Crane’s apartment, with Levi doing the bidding of The Hive while also being sexually and emotionally abusive. There was also a lot of telling of the actions of The Hive and the consequences of defecting, but not really any showing in the plot - which again reinforced Levi as the main antagonist and physical threat to me.

There is also little-to-no suspicions of outsiders as to what is going on, no discussions of these hives spawning across the country, and no clear motive of what (or why) The Hive exists to accomplish. From the title, description, and trigger warnings of body horror, I thought that The Hive would have more straightforward elements of parasitic infection. That would have stuck out to me as more fitting for the title “You Weren’t Meant to Be Human” - making Crane not a human in a literal sense, as well as an allegorical sense as a person with a uterus that is exploited for childbirth.

In short, it felt as if the horrific aspects of the novel for me could have achieved the same story and messaging if The Hive was removed from the plot completely, with Crane being a part of just a regular sex cult. There’s certainly enough examples and horrific cases throughout even recent history to pull from. The dehumanization of trans bodies is also prevalent and horrifying enough on its own.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a piece of trans fiction, and as an examination of the real-world horror that we live in the current political climate - especially as trans bodies capable of reproduction. I would not recommend it for its supernatural elements or world building.

Holy sh*t y’all. I’m still processing the entire book, especially that ending. I stayed up late to finish it, only to stare at the wall for several minutes and then stay up even later watching cartoons…

I cannot stress this enough: Please check the trigger warnings before proceeding. There’s a message from the author at the beginning of the book, and StoryGraph provides a list submitted by other readers.

Honestly, this is not a book I’d typically pick up because pregnancy and all its potential complications freak me out enough; however, I’ll make an exception for almost anything if Andrew Joseph White writes it. As gory or disturbing as his books may be, it’s the brutal reality check that really leaves me awake at night. Ok, it’s the gore too because it’s like really disgusting at times, but you get the point. YWMTBH is no different and incredibly important in this current climate. I was heartbroken and absolutely furious for Crane, and with that came an even greater fear, rage, and heartbreak over this post-Roe country. I could likely ramble on some more, but I think this book is best experienced just diving in so you can experience the absolute rollercoaster of emotions. If you think you can handle reading YWMTBH, I strongly recommend pushing past the discomfort.

One of the best books I've read all year. As usual, White presents an utterly brutal yet incredibly emotional story that kept me riveted and disturbed with every page.

This will go in my recommended reading list for college-level English courses, for sure.