This book burrowed under my skin and ate me alive from the inside out.

I made sure I read this book during the day, with the lights ON, and alone. Why alone? Because I didn’t want to have to explain to my wife why I was swearing out loud, crying or throwing cushions across the room. Also, I didn’t want to spoil the book for her in any way.

I’m not sure how often I cried, but I know I was pretty tense throughout the whole book. I was prepared for it, but nothing can fully prepare you for the gut wrenching fear this book will grow inside of you. Not sure if ‘grow’ is the right word, since most of us are deeply affected by Row V. Wade. Even across the ocean where at the moment we have access to reproductive health care. But we hear the murmurs, we see the smirking politicians praising foreign legislation, we feel the threat.

I now have fears I didn’t realise I had.

The Book
Feels like a minor story alongside an epic horror/fantasy. Which wasn't a bad thing.

<spoiler> We don’t know why the hive is here, we don't know how it got here and in the end the hive is still functioning. We’re just along for Crane’s story. Crane doesn't feel like a typical main character. He clearly isn't the one to save us all from the Hive, he can barely save himself. </spoiler>

I love AJW’s previous books and couldn’t wait to see what he could do without holding back. I wasn’t disappointed.

I received an early review copy from the publisher through NetGalley, but I read the final copy I purchased as a preorder. This review is for the finished copy of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

For a first adult horror novel, this is definitely a winner. There’s a certain level of body horror associated with pregnancy, sure, but there’s also a certain level of undeniable horror that attaches to dysphoria, and this book encapsulates that horror perfectly.

I think what this story manages to do so incredibly powerfully is the feeling of utter helplessness that associates with the difficulty of living in a human body, especially one that’s not that feels like yours.

While the horror elements of this aren’t direct, they’re a different kind, one that’s more insidious. Sometimes I think that the very fact of existence is perhaps the scariest thing in some ways, and this book definitely encapsulates that.

I did feel that some of the characters were a little underdeveloped, but it was still a really good read, and a look at something a lot nastier than what the usual fare offers.

This is my second novel from Andrew Joseph White, and while the premises of his books are always so intriguing, there is something that is missing for me. I was excited to pick up this new novel for a few reasons. Firstly, the idea of a horror featuring a transgender pregnant man is an incredible perspective to write about, and I imagine there is not a lot of literature on the subject. Secondly, I am not a fan of YA stories, which is the genre that AJW has previously published in. An adult novel seemed like the perfect excuse for a second-chance with the author. And lastly, I freaking love worms, parasitic or not, in my literature.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human follows Crane, our young MC who is a transgender man, autistic, and mute. The story opens telling the reader something Crane does not yet know, he is pregnant. Already, that would send shivers down my spine. An unknowing host being subjected to another organism’s will. The story “should” feel more sinister as the “mastermind” behind this pregnancy scheme is unveiled: an occult and mysterious hivemind, called the Hive, made up of somehow sentient worms and flies. In the beginning chapters, we also get to know who the real villain of the story is, Levi, Crane’s boyfriend and fellow cult-member.

We get a deep sense of Crane’s personal insight, which the author let us know in the afterword that himself and Crane share a lot of history. A semi-autobiographical character was amazing to learn about. I found Crane’s backstory and character development to be the most enveloping part of this novel. Crane felt real, afraid, young and naive as a person just a few years out of high school. The fear of general grown-up responsibilities and having to move on in the world is a big topic of discussion in this story. Crane chose to become a mute as he entered adulthood, the only sense of control he had in this spiraling world in which your voice can be ignored and overlooked. Add this to Crane’s desire to feel comfortable in his body, and the struggle with his physical and mental health before transitioning, it can be truly terrifying to deal with. How Crane ends up in a worm cult is standard cult procedure: manipulative tactics of acceptance and love, fulfilling a role that person needs the most until they are trapped. I kept reading this book for Crane, and Crane only. Everything else felt much less developed and hazier.

The supporting cast of characters around Crane were pure personifications of the society we live in. I did not get a clear sense of WHY anybody was interested in being in this cult and obeying the Hive, which I will get into later on. There were Crane’s old friends and allies, Aspen and Birdie; the queer, loving and supporting couple representing the LGBT community. Jess; a cis woman and new recruit who is a mirror to Crane’s previous self. Tammy; honestly I can’t really place where Tammy falls into all this, besides the obvious carer and matronly figure to guide Crane through his pregnancy. And finally, Levi. The abusive boyfriend embodying stereotypical right-wing post-war veteran attitudes.

It is unfortunate that these characters fell into stereotypes for this story, I did not get a sense of who they were or any of their motives really. There are vague allusions to backstories in which they may have been vulnerable to join a cult instead of just going to therapy. Levi, as our prominent most obvious bad guy, just falls into “I’m mean because I’m right wing” vibes. Why was he so mean? What happened in his life to make him like this? To treat Crane so despicably? The story reflects modern society and the USA, mentioning abortion bans and the constant reduction of reproductive rights for people with wombs. The US government is actively letting their citizens down at every corner, it would have been so insightful and much more powerful if Levi felt abandoned by the treatment of his government as a retired veteran. I feel that there was a lot of missed political commentary that could have been added to further enrich the characters. This could also apply to Tammy, an elderly Appalachian woman, a region in the US that is known for being let down and abandoned by their government.

The premise of this book, despite being extremely graphic, dark, and grotesque, is a much needed contribution to queer literature. Pregnancy as a horror device is an amazing concept, yet it is nothing new to literature. The key feature here is that it is a transgender man who is pregnant. The societal expectations for a cis woman to get pregnant is already terrifying, so the notion of an unwanted and forced pregnancy on a queer man like Crane is horrific. Crane is more distant and disconnected to his body because of this pregnancy, there is not as much revulsion or horror as I expected from the main character. But again, there could have been a deeper conversation of unwanted pregnancies and its subsequent repercussions, the loss of bodily autonomy, and Crane’s relationship to this rape and abuse felt like it could have been expanded upon.

Andrew Joseph White’s previous books have been published as Young Adult, and I was curious to see how his writing would expand or change going into the adult category. In what I read previously, Hell Followed With Us, there were dark themes that I was impressed with that I thought really pushed the boundaries of YA writing. In this story, there is more violence and sexual descriptors, however nothing else would distinguish it from White’s other works. Again, if there was a more elaborate commentary on US policy and a further exploration of humans and their motives, that could have elevated the story. Crane is still very young in this novel, he needed to be naive, which is needed to elaborate the plot of the story, however he still read as a more YA teenage character.

Additionally, I felt world-building could be confusing at times. It is set in a near-future, but at the beginning I couldn’t tell if we were in a sort of post-apocalyptic scenario and if the world had been annihilated by the Hive. Then, it just turns out they are in a rural town. It felt empty. Then Crane goes to the city to visit friends, Aspen and Birdie, which felt just as empty as the town. When the book is about pregnancy and external influences such as manipulators, harsh governments, and the patriarchy closing in around you and along with their harsh expectations on "mothers" and queer people as a whole, the readers need to know how the outside world is affecting our MC. It needed to be overbearing and loud.

Similarly, the most upsetting part to me about this book is how underutilised and underdeveloped the Hive is. I really like worm stories, ok? If you came to this book for the worm story, you’ll be sorely disappointed. We never get a sense of what they are, where they came from, what their purpose is, and what they offer to their followers. Alleged protection and care, but the mass of worms and flies literally do NOTHING. They can’t do anything because they are a pile of worms. The writhing Hive could have been replaced with a normal human cult and it would have changed nothing in the story. It probably would have made the story even more sinister to explore the depths of human manipulation. If you’re going to make a story about worms, give the worms some credit. It feels like White depends too much on “organised” groups, such as the religious cult in Hell Followed With Us, and is not comfortable to let the horrors of pregnancy take the wheel and be the horror conduit. Because there was NOTHING terrifying about these worms, which is a real shame.

I have no doubt that White has the ability to be a spectacular author. His stories and ideas are incredible, but there are points that need to be honed, in which perhaps and I think he will get better over the course of his writing career. I am eager to see what he has planned for future projects.

The grip this book had on me!! I loved reading this story from Crane's perspective it was so interesting to just get hints of the worms and their network without having it all even known! The ending was so unexpected but also so expected in such a good way. Highly recommend this

4,5 stars

You Weren't Meant to be Human is Andrew Joseph White's adult debut horror, and this has bumped him IMMEDIATELY to my auto-buy list. I've heard really great things about his YA work and I was still taken back by how incredibly written this book is. If you are squeamish/sensitive to certain topics, definitely check trigger warnings - but I went in blind and highly recommend because I had NO IDEA what was happening.

Crane is an autistic trans man who found the hive (a collection of followers of a mysterious otherworldly presence) after starting over fresh in his new life. The hive has given him a menial job, an abusive partner??? (loosely), and the peace he finds in being mute. When Crane discovers he is pregnant, the hive demands the child be born despite Crane's drive to do anything possible to avoid this outcome. This book feels like a blood-soaked fever dream and I could not pick my jaw up for the last 10-15%. Yes, there are aliens and PLENTY of body horror, but this book is moving because the real horror is Crane's experience of being forced to carry a pregnancy against his will, and specifically the extra mental distress caused because of his identity.

I don't believe it was explicitly stated when this book is set, but Crane's first barrier is not being able to access abortion care (so set like next week?) and how people have come to rely on their communities in these times of uncertainty. Crane is immediately likeable and I found it really easy to empathise with him. This book nails the eerie cult vibes where you don't know who to trust, and I like how it encouraged me to consider if there were individual villains or if the evil perpertrated against Crane was ultimately the doing of the hive (my conclusion: it's both). The pacing naturally followed Crane's pregnancy and the build-up is crazyyyy.

THIS is why it's important to read work from margnalised authors/Own Voices because I, as a cis-woman, would have thought I could never imagine how it would feel to be unwillingly pregnant as a man, but AJW is an INCREDIBLE story-teller and I could feel Crane's fear, anguish and hopelessness on every page. Despite the overall darkness of the book and genre, I still felt fleeting moments of joy/optimism and the ending???!??!

I highly recommend if you can stomach it!!

I had to DNF this book just over halfway through. I couldn't get into it at all it was quite slow. I'm sure others will enjoy it but it wasn't for me. The premise is quite good but I found myself speed reading to try and get to some action.
Sorry

NetGalley review: You Weren’t Meant To Be Human by Andrew Joseph White. Autistic, trans man Crane secures his survival when an alien invasion of worms and flies “the hive”invade and take over 🤢 He must stay loyal and do whatever the hive demands.
When Crane falls pregnant to absolute douchebag Levi, the hive insists he have the baby (Whyyyyyy though?! Why does the hive want a baby?! 🫣), so we follow Crane through his forced pregnancy in unprecedented times 🥺
I enjoyed this book, I’ve not read anything by this author and it was a really unique read. The ending got me, maybe I do have triggers and dealbreakers after all. I’m not sure I could recommend this to everyone just on that basis, I would recommend just checking trigger warnings if possible. There is so much more to this book than the ending though. Seeing a trans man forced to go through pregnancy was really hard full stop, but add to it his body that he’d fought so hard to change being softened and filled out by not being allowed to take his hormones after a few sneaky doses.
3.5/5 unfortunately I can’t “unread” the ending but I get why it happened that way. I’m a fairly seasoned horror reader and I say approach with caution.

What a book, what an ending! I wanted to read this book as I've read all the authors previous books, how do they just keep getting better!
I'm amazed that a book filled with violence can be so entertaining and also a little heartwarming in places.
Ok so the hive never really gets explained, but paranormal can't be right?
I love a good story where a group of people just 'find' each other and that's how they live, warts and all. I was worried that having a non verbal main character might mean the book lacks in dialogue but it worked.

Holy shit that was dark. HOLY SHIT that was fucking dark. Seriously.

It also achieves exactly what it sets out to do. I can't exactly say I enjoyed it with how deeply uncomfortable it made me but it is well crafted and executed. 4.5 stars.

TW: suicidal thoughts and ideation, extreme self harm, extreme compulsive thoughts, severe mental distress, gender dysphoria, unwanted pregnancy, abusive relationships, coercion, violence, gore, murder, body horror, stillbirth, abortion, infanticide, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny

If you're still interested...

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I've never read a book that goes so thoroughly and explicitly into what it feels like to have compulsive thoughts at the "deep end" of mental illness. Whilst it's distressing to read I do have to acknowledge how rare it is for this taboo to be broken and how there is value in seeing it represented.

The novel is just as frank about reproductive rights, fear of pregnancy, transgender rights and gender dysphoria. The author has a lot to say and cleverly packs it all into various metaphors surrounding a violent cult of maybe-alien-worm-things that are taking over human bodies.

The tension building is masterful and there aren't really any twists or turns that aren't signalled, but the plot remains shocking all the same. The settings, events and characterisations are painted vividly. The monsters(?) distinctly remind me of Renfield from Dracula (complimentary).

There are very few people I would recommend this book to in all honesty, it will be just too disturbing for many, but I think it will hit its target market hard.

🪱⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was looking forward to this one. The synopsis had me hooked!

To start off with some criticism: the worms were severely underutilised. Swap them for a regular human cult and the plot barely changes.

The setting is underexplained, with shaky logic around how the hives and their “children” exist unnoticed by wider society.

Some elements seem written purely for shock value.

Personally, I was underwhelmed by the horror/gore. Pregnancy and botched abortions are terrifying because they’re real. It doesn’t take much to unsettle a reader by leaning on this. I was hoping for a few more "unique" horror scenes, like the one with Stagger in the bath.

On the positive side, the ending was satisfying, and the foreshadowing was done well.

And I really liked Stagger, both as a character and for the questions surrounding him.

Overall: flawed, but carried by interesting concepts and a strong ending.

Thank you Netgalley and Daphne Press for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️🪱

This is unrelentingly, viscerally horrifying from beginning to end, and one of the most incredible books I've read this year.

I've been excited for AJW's adult debut since it was announced and You Weren't Meant to be Human met and exceeded all of my expectations. As with the author's previous YA titles, the protagonist is very well developed with a furiously clear voice. The prose is direct and raw, laying out the brutal realities of the setting and plot in a way that works so well for horror fiction, refusing to let the reader look away. Themes of bodily autonomy, identity, and control live in every page.

I cannot recommend this one highly enough, but please check out the content warnings first because the intensity of this novel cannot be overstated. Five stars, fantastic.

I enjoyed this book sooo much 😱📚! I’m sorry I’m posting this so late!!! Life happened, and I had zero time to share my thoughts sooner 😅. But better late than never, right?

The atmosphere and vibe were spine-chilling in the best way, and the writing style completely pulled me in. I felt like I was right there in the eerie, unsettling world the author created, every page kept me on edge!

If you love horror with amazing vibes, a gripping atmosphere, and amazing writing style, you have to read this one 💀✨. Can't wait for my special edition copy!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You weren't meant to be human exceeded my expectations. While I cannot say that it was not gruesome, it was also profound and devastating. It's firmly set in the current political landscape, but avoids being didactic and even it's more cliche elements still resonate on a very emotional level.
It will stay with me for a long time.

I really loved this wonderful book.
It said a lot about identity.
It had some series topics .
It was a lot more adult compared to the authors other books but it wasn't overwhelming with spice.

I think thus is my favourite by the author.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human took me longer to read than an Andrew Joseph White novel usually does, not because it didn’t grip me, but because it refused to let go. The horror is relentless, the social-political undercurrent overwhelming, and I needed moments to step out of its torrent, breathe, and fully absorb what I was experiencing. In fact, I ended up reading it twice, and I actually gained a lot more from it.

As Henry Green once said: “Prose is not to be read aloud but to oneself alone at night, and it is not quick as poetry but rather a gathering web of insinuations.” That’s exactly what White achieves here: a web, tangled and intimate, that ensnares you slowly and then violently all at once. This book is meant to be read with intention. You regulate its flow, but it never stops pressing in on you.

This brought me back to the first AJW book I read, Hell Followed With Us, but while that was YA, YWMTBH is firmly, brutally adult. It gut-punched me even harder.

From the opening, YWMTBH is provocative and razor-sharp, and it only digs deeper. Crane’s world (or whatever is left of it) is already demolished by fascism and the constant grotesque Supreme Court rulings. In rural West Virginia, the landscape is festering: crawling with parasitic hives, writhing worms, and the rot of unchecked cruelty. The witch hunt on trans people has already happened here, and the consequences are hideous.

This is body horror at its most visceral, yet it’s never violence for shock alone. It’s charged with rage, grief, and burning humanity. It mirrors our world with terrifying clarity; especially in its commentary on queer and reproductive rights. The extremity of the horror only amplifies its truth. Crane’s journey is as grotesque as it is empowering. His hunger, for survival, identity, and autonomy, burns through every gory page. This is a story about transformation in the most literal and painful sense. It’s unapologetic, urgent, and emotionally devastating.

If you’re not used to extreme horror, please check the trigger warnings. This book is not for the faint of heart, however, for those who can endure it, it is utterly unforgettable

Many thanks to Netgalley, Daphne Press and Titan Books for the arc.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is the author’s debut for an adult audience. I have read all his YA fiction, and this book feels quite similar in many aspects. The writing style is consistent, honest, uncensored prose. It is arguably the most unsettling novel I have encountered, filled with body horror and examining pregnancy as a form of violence, particularly when abortion is refused. I was prepared for all the blood and gore, but what I wasn’t ready for was being inside Crane’s mind. He has tendencies towards self-loathing and self-destructive urges, making the book quite challenging to read. Nevertheless, there were moments of hope in the most unexpected forms.

This story burrows under your skin, making the book difficult to put down. It features elements of science fiction and horror, but it’s very character-driven, and I found it easy to care for all the complex characters and their stories. It also offers excellent queer, autistic, and disability representation.

To sum up, it’s a dark read that explores many controversial topics. I would recommend checking the content warnings before reaching for this book. Also, if you are considering reading Andrew Joseph White’s books, start with his YA works. Not because they are easier, but because they might prepare you for this story.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because I previously read "The Spirit Bares It's Teeth" by the same author and loved it, and as y'all know I love queer books so I wanted to sink my teeth into this one. Friends, I have never both loved and been so triggered by a book at the same time more than I have with this one. Please, if you read this, make sure you pay attention to the trigger warnings! Something I admire about Andrew's writing is that he's not afraid to get deep and dark into these triggering topics, and I'm not gonna lie, there were so many times where I did want to put this book down and never pick it back up again. However, that is truly the point of this book, to make people feel uncomfortable, especially with something that is going on right now in real life (minus the alien/paranormal aspect). And at the same time, every time I put this book down, I wanted to pick it straight back up. I wanted to sit in that uncomfortableness and know that what I was feeling was only a fraction of what could happen to someone like Crane in real life. I do genuinely feel like Andrew is an incredible author in both the YA and adult horror space and I cannot wait to see what he does next. I will definitely be getting myself a physical copy of this book so I can share it with my horror loving friends.

Set in rural Appalachia, we follow the live of Crane, an autistic trans man, who unable to keep existing in the outside world took his chance joining the Hive’s cult. Here he could transition, allow himself to stay silent and finally find his place in the world. Despite the USA falling into fascism and bodily autonomy being heavily curtailed, Crane was able to get his hands on some testosterone and become himself. And despite the sometimes bloody sacrifices necessary to keep the Hive feed and Levi, his boyfriends, who Crane has a horny-despise relationship with, he is happy for the first time in his life. That is until a persistent feeling of nausea forces him to take a pregnancy test and he realizes the Hive will not let him get rid of it.
You Weren’t Meant to Be Human immediately starts a lot more hardcore than AJW’s other horror (while Crane’s and Levi’s sex live may technically be consensual at that part of the story, it is certainly not healthy and Crane’s internal thought processes about it are anything but comfortable to follow along) and I found it a good way to start the book and set the tone for the horrors to come. It primed me well for the depictions of pregnancy of body horror and the way consent both to sex and the pregnancy is treated as something that Crane gives as long as he doesn’t say he’s against it (and due to his muteness, other ways he could revoke consent are all too often ignored by other characters). Standing against that is Crane’s autistic rage, the way he honors his muteness as a boundary that gives him strength (even if it makes him a lot more vulnerable to abuse) and his relationship with two friends, Birdy and Aspen. But will these things be enough to keep him safe from the cult?
This is a horror story that takes the uncomfortable aspects of the political development in America, combines it with some alien horror (which I would have enjoyed to see more detail on though…) and then forces a very unwell character to go through harrowing experiences. Crane is filled with self-hatred, deeply convinced that he cannot survive elsewhere, not with the way the world is. Despite constantly claiming that he was never abused and never experienced trauma, it is very clear that his life before the cult was one of constant rejection as his family and school tried to force him to behave like a normal non-autistic “girl”. Add to that Crane’s graphic intrusive thoughts (often relating to violence, as well as to sex) and the fact that he “can’t get off unless he feels sick to his stomach about the whole thing”, Crane’s decision to stay with the cult make a lot of sense. He has bought into the idea that he is too sick/too depraved/too horrible to deserve better and I love to see this type of story presented for a trans man character, even though it also broke my heart. For those of us who consider themselves too strange to live among normal society, what life can there be?
A heartbreaking and harrowing trans splatterpunk, this story left me feeling deeply unsettled and sometimes stick to my stomach as well as enraged on Crane’s behalf. The pregnancy body horror of it plays an important and terrifying aspect and as all good body horror there is a wonderful focus on the physical sensation, on the sweat, blood and other bodily fluids, but to me the main story was Crane’s road to accepting that the aspects he dislikes about himself do not excuse the abuse he faces by others. Against the Hive constantly telling him that “This world was not made for ones like you”, Crane will need to ask himself what to do about that.

TW: ableism, abortion, abuse (child, domestic, physical, psychological, sexual), birth, blood, cannibalism, childbirth, infanticide, injury, intrusive sexual thoughts (involving abuse and bestiality), miscarriage, pregnancy, self-harm (on page), sexual assault, slurs (f-slur), suicidality and plans of suicide (no attempts), violence, vomit, worms (burying under skin)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

5 ⭐️

Andrew Joseph White, you have a way of leaving me utterly speechless, simultaneously exhilarated and violently shaken. You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is one of those rare books that burrows under your skin and refuses to let go—gruesome, vile, and chilling in the most unforgettable way (think parasitic worms, if you dare). I couldn’t stop reading. Not for a second.

White’s writing is jaw-droppingly brilliant. The world-building is insane in the best way—complex, raw, and immersive—and the characters? Some of the most unflinchingly real and emotionally naked I’ve ever encountered in fiction. There’s a brutality to his storytelling that never feels gratuitous; it feels necessary, inevitable, and horrifyingly compelling.

One of the things I adore most about White’s work, lurking beneath all the horror and gore, is the way he writes autistic characters. The autism isn’t a plot device. It isn’t romanticized or made “manageable” for comfort. It’s raw, disabling, and utterly human. Crane, in particular, grabbed a piece of me and refused to let go. I felt every pulse of fear, pain, and defiance alongside him, and by the time I finished, I was both emotionally wrecked and in awe.

Despite feeling like my nervous system has been repeatedly electrocuted, I think this might be my book of the year. But seriously… I may also need to bleach my entire nervous system after this.

Andrew Joseph White, you are a master of horror in every sense, and I am both terrified and grateful to have experienced it.

Wow! Firstly this is not a book for the light hearted! If you're reading this based on what you've read by AJW before you're in for a shock.

It was very gory, descriptive, uncomfortable scenes and so so well written! It feels almost wrong to say i enjoyed this book so much.

The attention always drawn by AJW to trans and autistic representation is amazing but add into this the awareness of abortion, body dysmorphia, mental health made it the perfect package.

Fully enjoyed this and now need a lie down in a dark (hive free) room.