Woah. I need to sit and meditate on this. But also I don't. This was so heavy, especially the commentary woven in this. This is the type of book that makes you read reviews.

Oh man oh man. I read this because I wanted to branch out and read something really different. And boy did I. I’m… shooketh might be the best word I can use to describe this book. At no point did I know how Crane would react to a certain situation and I’m happy my brain does not think that way. This book is also extremely scary because it shows how messed up our world can get under certain circumstances.
Overall thoughts on the books: disturbing and horrifying.

As a huge fan of AJW, I am thrilled to be reviewing his newest release.

While I found all of AJW's prior works particularly horrifying, this novel shows a real sense of creative freedom in the adult age range. It was very challenging to read at times due to Crane's situation and mental and physical struggles, but this is why I value AJW's voice in publishing. Horror as a genre should be thought-provoking and move us in some way, even if it's a flinch backward, because it shows us what we have to be scared of.

I appreciated, as always, AJW writing a contained story (not that horror often does series) because I felt like it contributed greatly to the claustrophobic nature of Crane's situation and the time-sensitivity of a pregnancy. Crane choosing not to speak also greatly delivers on the feeling of insularity as well as provides much-needed neurodivergent representation, which AJW never misses on.

I knew going in that AJW would be focusing on, and prioritizing themes of reproductive abuse and he definitely delivered on this goal. Overall, I felt like some of the supernatural or otherworldly elements could've used a bit more fleshing-out in terms of explanation, but I do think the ambiguity of the "hive" worked despite some confusion.

This book has one of the most jaw-dropping endings I've ever read and overall I can't wait to continue to support this author!

As a big AJW fan, I was extremely excited for his adult debut. Although this doesn't claim the throne for my favorite of his works, I was certainly impressed. This book is NOT for everyone, and I would strongly encourage readers to check trigger warnings before going into this one. However, if you are prepared to deal with the heavy content, it's an enthralling and evocative novel. Though some of the content is viscerally upsetting, it never feels gratuitous. AJW continues to be a favorite author for me largely because of how well he represents the experience of mentally ill, trans-masculine autistic characters. I particularly enjoyed the nuanced portrayal of Crane as a non-speaking character. I expect that this is a book that will prompt a lot of discussion amongst readers. I'm still thinking about some scenes weeks after finishing.

Pregnancy horror is really the worst for me because I already find the details of even healthy, wanted pregnancies to make me squeamish. But on top of that, White expertly brought out the unique horror of a forced pregnancy with a trans man — the sickening loss of bodily autonomy, the elements of forced detransition, the mix of dysphoria and body horror Crane feels just from the pregnancy inevitably progressing down its natural course. Despite the sci-fi/fantasy elements, the main horror is all grounded firmly in reality. Crane is trapped in an abusive relationship that is facilitated by his community (read: cult). He is betrayed, manipulated, and violated by the people he thought were his salvation, and isolated from anyone who would help him. He's forced to carry this pregnancy to term even as he's unraveling and spiraling into his violent intrusive thoughts and thoughts of suicide. All because the hive wants the child for its own purposes and sees Crane as nothing but a body to use.
It was unsettling to see someone already so unwell, pushed and pushed to the absolute extremes of what he can handle, exposing all the raw, disturbing corners of his mind. And it was more sickening to watch how the people around him saw all this happening to him and didn't just turn away, but went ahead and helped keep him in the situation that was killing him.
The ending pulled off a shocking, though not entirely unexpected, escalation to the horror with Crane's actions after the birth of his child. I was unsure near the end how the story would deal with following through on its premise and forcing Crane to give birth, what would happen to the child, and could it fit the tone and themes without going overboard? And it certainly delivered on that end. It was awful and pulled no punches, but gave enough insight into Crane's mind in that moment that, through his jumbled thoughts, he had a sort of twisted but understandable logic behind his actions.
There were other parts of the ending that came and went too quickly for my tastes. Crane's parents, for example, felt tossed in with how briefly they made an appearance. There were some threads that needed to be tied up a little more to be satisfying.

This book was…a lot. Fast paced. Eye opening. Gruesome. It was such a hard read, but absolutely worth it. I anticipated it being brutal and extremely gory—I am familiar with Andrew’s prior work and have enjoyed all of it—but the thing that impressed me the most was Crane’s contradictions. So relatable, and so very human.

If you like horror with lots of triggers (A LOT OF TRIGGERS) threaded through with whip-smart social commentary, you’ll probably love this book.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher, for an early copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

Thank you to Saga Press for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

How delightfully horrid...

This book is such a poignant commentary on today's society and misogyny and transphobia. It really keeps you thinking, in both the classic horror way and the existential crisis way. It makes you think about the things that get under your skin...literally. And it makes you think about the ways that society has built you...literally.

I don't know how to talk about this book without giving away too much. Go into it blind, you'll be horribly delighted to do so.

(please check trigger warnings first)

You Weren’t Meant To Be Human is a gut punch to all AFAB trans and nonbinary individuals in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. You Weren’t Meant To Be Human follows Crane, an autistic transman who joins a group of parasitic aliens that provide him with a home only to bend their “love” in order to coerce a child from him. This novel is full of physiological horror of being forced to carry a child to term and being imprisoned in a body you have no control over. While it’s full of fantastical horror (crawling bugs that burrow into skin, realistic depictions of abuse, the fear of potentially watching friends be murdered) the real horror stems from a lack of control that mirrors current life in America’s society.

I went into this hearing of people being sick on their stomachs at depictions of childbirth and the last few chapters following, however nothing disturbed me more than the noncon scene in the livestock exchange and Crane’s desperate attempts to take control of his life.

This book read both quick (AJW has had excellent practice making action rapid fire) and slow-placed (waiting as Crane went through trimester after trimester was grueling and the anxiety was amplified by the reader also feeling a lack of control). In a time where trans and nonbinary individuals are being attacked on all fronts, this was the true to nature horror we’ve all been waiting for. This book made me and my fears feel seen in a time where the oppressors are playing the victim card.

Amazing work. White has done it again and this has to be his best horror novel yet. That ending almost gave some splatterpunk novels a run for their money!

This book follows Crane, a gas station worker who bangs his coworker, both of whom are also members of a cult controlled by invasive worms that can crawl under your skin and lowkey control you. Oh and they want him to have their baby? Well as a trans man, that's literally the last thing crane would ever want.

My literal only sadness with this novel was the baby not being a pile of worms. What made up for it was that ending that for those who have read Dead Inside before was quite reminiscent! Seriously though, thank god we got closure on all levels honestly.

This is definitely one horror novel I insist you should read if alien worms sounds like a hella interesting read cause it is.

This book had me hooked within the first few pages and I finished half of it in one sitting before realizing it was past midnight, and I did in fact need to sleep. I then proceeded to finish it the following weekend because I needed to know what was going to happen. It's the darkest book I've read this year, and was very worth the read. It's traumatic, relevant, and heartbreaking all at once. Crane does not want to be pregnant, and yet his hive forces him to be. Crane broke my heart so many times reading the book, knowing that he was being forced into something that he did not want and more than once thought it would be better to be dead than pregnant.

Heed the trigger warnings as you go in, because they are needed. I feel like this is one of the most relevant books to come out this year given everything that has gone on in the United States within the past 5 and this is set during an unspecified time period, but a relative future. White does such an amazing job not only writing the fear of it all but also how things could've or would've been for Crane had he been able to terminate and get away from where he was. A real, raw, and amazing read for sure.

This is one of those books that can completely alter your brain chemistry. From the beginning to the very end this is a brilliant thrill ride of a novel that also delves into the trans experience in a way that is absolutely remarkable and vital. But at the same time it is a brutal, unrelenting novel of survival and horror. It’s amazing. Read it!

Never thought I'd get to say that I read a book about a cult centered around sentient worms and flies, but here we are. You Weren't Meant to be Human was AMAZING! Andrew Joseph White has written 3 YA horror novels over the years, but this is his first entry into the adult horror area. And WHAT A DEBUT. This book was overwhelming in everyway possible that can be good and amazing. It claws its way under your skin and will live there forever. There were so many moments where my jaw was on the FLOOR. THE FLOOR.
Crane, a young autistic and mute trans man, has had a rough go at life to say the least. On his last attempt at ending his life, he is brought into the fold of a cult that centers around a sentient mass of worms and flies. And he is able to become the man he wants to be, all thanks to The Hive. He unquestioningly works for The Hive. He's even found a companion. But one day he finds out he is pregnant, and it's the last thing he could possibly want for himself. And to his horror, The Hive is insistent on him keeping the baby.
As a woman who never wants children, the idea of getting pregnant horrifies me. I can't imagine the terror of it not only being unwanted but harmfully dysphoric for someone like Crane. Crane's pain was palpable on every page of this book.
This has to be Andrew Joseph White's best work yet!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Saga Press for giving me the chance to read this book. It was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and it did not disappoint.

Crane is "one of the grateful ones". Within his hive's community, he has been given a chance to transition and live a life where he can finally be himself. He finds a connection in Levi, a killer who mostly sees him for who he is. When Levi gets Crane pregnant and the hive demands the child at any cost, Crane sets off a chain of events that will have you grasping for breath.

This book is visceral, unflinching, and dripping with body horror. The invasive, parasitic nature of the swarm mirrors the terrifying reality of pregnancy; how it can feel like your body is no longer your own, how you're treated as a vessel rather than a human being. That fear is palpable on every page. The hive's unwavering devotion to its survival also serves as a poignant metaphor for religious systems or institutions that seek to control individuals' bodies to preserve their power. It's brutal, disturbing, and challenging to read at times. Yet, it's undeniably effective in the way it evokes dread and forces you to think about autonomy, sacrifice, and the cost of survival. It's the kind of story that will linger with you long after you've finished.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press/ S&S for the opportunity to review and provide my honest feedback.

Seeing AJW debut with adult fiction was very exciting after reading Compound Fracture. I went into You Weren’t Meant to Be Human with uncertain expectations. I knew we would veer slightly sci-fi, but I wasn’t sure how much. This story was grounding and relatable. I love AJW’s characterizations and writing style above all else. Aside from a pace that was slow at times and an ending that seemed rushed, this was a win to read.

I read the bulk of this while eating a lukewarm roast beef sandwich. That was a mistake.

A couple hours after finishing, I feel something threatening to spill out of my mouth. <i> You Weren't Meant to Be Human </i> is deeply tragic, deeply disturbing, and intensely personal.

This was super good! I've never read anything by Andrew Joseph White before, but I gather from other reviews that he mainly does YA stuff? That's wild as hell because this book is pretty hardcore hah. I'm gonna have to check out some of his other stuff. There were a few issues that I had. Like, I didn't really understand why anyone would go to the hive. Maybe it was a metaphor that went over my head or something, but it seems like everyone who gets involved with this network of possibly alien insect hive mind creatures lives an absolutely horrid lifestyle, and they don't really force people to join or anything. You very much have to willingly go to them, so that left me scratching my head a bit. There were a few other little things here and there. Like, I didn't really get 100% why their base of operations was a gas station, I wanted to read more about the other hives and why they work so differently, Crane got on my nerves a few times and the ending was honestly a little bit much for me. I love horror and dark, sad stuff, but it was bleak enough already and I don't really think it had to go that way. I think it might be a little divisive. It wasn't a bad ending at all. It was pretty exciting, in fact. It was just a bummer. All in all, I really liked it, though. The hive was super creepy, the body horror and gore were great and just the general lore and vibe of the whole thing was really neat. I hope he keeps writing horror like this. I'll definitely be on the lookout for that. Thanks for the ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the ARC of You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White.
Heed the trigger warnings. This book is about a self-harmimg, autistic trans man who finds himself unwillingly pregnant and forced to carry to term. The story is compelling and explicit enough as is, but then there's the Hive... which brings in a gross, sci-fi element which I love. I was completely invested in Crane's life and struggles. Very political. I feel like this book is important, and one of the more memorable ones I've read so far this year.

This was a really interesting design and premise. I enjoyed the twists and turns, and it was really entertaining to read.

I think I am still in shock.
This is not a book for the faint of heart. Hell, I feel like I can read some shit and still be okay. This chewed me up, swallowed, shat me, put me in a paper bag, and set me on FIRE. Then it stomped on me.
How to wrap my thoughts around a review…this perspective is necessary to have in the world. This book is political. Don’t think for a second it’s not. Especially now.
The horrors of the aliens and cult-like vibe that comes with the hive is secondary to the horrors Crane (mute, autistic, trans man) must endure, the extreme gender dysphoria he must continue to face when forced to follow through with a pregnancy to term. This is not something abstract; this is our very present future. This is a modern-day horror, a real-life threat to our trans community. To know that even one person has felt half of this is what is truly horrifying.
Of course, there is body horror, sci-fi horror, cult vibes, loss of autonomy, high control, untreated mental illness. So much more. It’s repulsive, repugnant, disgusting, vile, abhorrent.
This book will fuck with your head. Hopefully, it makes you think and you see beyond the aliens to the meat of it. It is unforgettable.

I cannot stress this enough READ AND HEED the trigger warnings.

This book is a visceral account of a mute autistic trans man experiencing abuse, self hate, suicidal thoughts, and being forced to carry a pregnancy he doesn’t want by aliens who appear as maggots, flies, and worms. This book is gross and brutal and does not hold back. From page one I was nauseous basically the entire time, which was the point. I saw a lot of myself in the main character which made reading this even harder. I have long loved AJW’s work, from his very first book. That said, this definitely falls under the category of books I will only read once. Every scene was hard for me to get through. Not because it’s poorly written or bad, but because the work is so deeply personal and violent. It is a horror and it lives up to that category. Not for the faint of heart at all.