PLEASE read the trigger warnings before you read.

This book is truly fucked up. Worm hive-mind forces a transman to have a baby and it is NOT fun. As a woman whose worst nightmare would be to have a child, this resonated with me A LOT. Reading about the process and Crane's inner thoughts was devastating.

An extremely explicit horror book with a lot of feeling.

I think this has just topped all of Whites previous books for me.
It took a while for me to get through it but that didn’t mean I wasn’t invested, I just needed to step away occasionally to think about what I had read.
I really liked Crane as a character and the overall arc of his storyline and loved Stagger as a character (there is just something about him, he’s great)
As grotesque as this book was and how often I was placing the book down it was fantastic and a phenomenal read. I will be continuing to read anything from this author.

I mean this as the highest of compliments - this book is fucked.

A festering hive mind of worms and flies forces a trans man through an unwanted pregnancy. And while I will be side-eyeing ever worm and fly I see for the foreseeable future, the most horrific parts about this book were the parts that were so human it hurts. It was Crane's lack of bodily autonomy, the psychological pain he deals with, the abusive relationship and the community that tries to "help" but really just perpetuates the cycle of abuse. It was gross and messy and awful and I devoured this book in a day.

AJW does it again. This book is harrowing. 5 stars, no notes.

I don’t know where to start.

I wouldn’t quite say I enjoyed this book but I did devour it within a day. A visceral body horror diving in to the trans experience and mental health while questioning power, identity, and control. You Weren’t Meant to be Human invokes disgust, fear and so much anger, but it doesn’t seem to shock for shocks sake - there are lessons to be learned here. It is impossible to look away or separate yourself from this story, and in doing so makes you pay attention to the horrors currently happening in our world.

If you were a fan of Tender is the Flesh this would absolutely blow your mind. You’re in for a hard time but it is definitely worth it.

Do not skip the content warnings.

I will 100% be buying a physical copy of this book.

This is one of the most horrifying books I’ve ever read and I read a lot of horror novels. It’s a biting, visceral comment on modern society (though it’s set near future) and it’s well worth a read for the deep terror and disgust it evokes but I absolutely would recommend checking trigger warnings.

I was so angry reading this book and I have such an intense rage towards one of the characters whose behaviour towards the main character was atrocious. I found the trauma the main character Crane goes through so painful to read, and yet it felt absolutely necessary to keep reading and to witness.

This was not a pleasant read, but it’s not supposed to be. It felt eye-opening, it felt important. There were times that I couldn’t actually believe what I was seeing on the page, moments that made me double take and think ‘that didn’t really just happen did it?’

This is my third book by this author and they have never failed to completely engage my attention. I have such strong feelings reading their work. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This book will absolutely divide people. I went in blind (foolishly didn’t look too much into what it was about) and let’s just say… starting it on a Monday morning commute left me thinking, “WTF did I just pick up?”

Luckily, I don’t have any personal triggers, but this one definitely needs trigger warnings—it’s not just difficult and uncomfortable in parts, it’s difficult and uncomfortable all the way through. Still, I found myself compulsively reading, like I couldn’t look away from the carnage no matter how much I wanted to at times.

That being said, the book achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It’s deeply horrifying, disturbing, and unsettling—mission accomplished.

But I can’t stress enough: trigger warnings matter here, because this is absolutely not going to be for everyone.

I have neither the brain cells nor the crayons to put into writing exactly what this book did to me, but there’s no Netgalley option for “ruined me psychologically, thanks so much please give me more!” so I’m going to do my best.

Having read Hell followed With Us, the way I’d describe White’s writing would be to use the worst thing you could imagine happening to humanity as a canvas. Then with the human experience as paint he crafts just the most thrilling, horrific story you can imagine that leaves you sitting with who and what you are and just… considering everything in this new, mildly sticky light.

That doesn’t sound at all like the compliment I meant it as but I swear I meant that to sound nice.

This was honestly one of the most impactful endings I have read of any book. It’s the most brutal, perfectly orchestrated end of an arc that’s been nothing but a relentless paring back of the human spirit and I just… I think I’ve been fundamentally changed as a human being for reading this.

All of that was a bit visceral reaction so I’ll now go onto say what actually made me scream like a fangirl. You know almost like this is a review.

Any good horror book needs a villain. And this manages to be home to one of the most unsettling bad guys I’ve probably ever read. The Hive are just… like if your read this and don’t get full body shivers you’re made of steel. They’re an all powerful, unreasoning bad guy and the use of human corpses as puppets and living beings as walking incubators (topical much) just… Jesus Christ I wanna be a mom some day and this made me go… yeah maybe not. White gives them just enough information to keep them understandable but also withholds enough that they end up being so fundamentally creepy. What could have easily ended up being a bit of a gimmicky mechanic becomes absolutely memorable under White’s hands.

On equal par in terms of memorability to the villain, is the human cast. Crane, our MMC was one of the most intriguing and heartbreaking, their dysphoria, the abuse they suffer and the justifications he puts on the world around him was extraordinary to follow. White makes a very morally grey character so undeniably empathetic that you can’t help but put yourself in his shoes.

You couldn’t waterboard the ending out of me, it is something you absolutely have to read for yourself.

The surrounding cast is juicy and fleshed out brilliantly (and not just for the Hive). This is a beautiful reflection of just the worst of humanity coming to terms with what they must do in an increasingly dystopian world. A personal favourite was Stagger, which is really really weird to say but the humanisation White gives them is just wonderfully done. Especially against the backdrop of just some of the worst of the worst.

I truly think this is a book that would have been relevant a hundred years ago and will be relevant a hundred years from now. If there was any justice in this world a copy of this would be handed to every man in power making decisions over people’s bodies. That’ll never happen.

So all I can say is read this. You’ll want therapy afterwards but you’ll thank White for the honours anyway.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press | Titan books for providing me with this eb0ok in exchange for an honest review*

I'm loving horror more and more and oh boy what a ride "You Weren't meant to be human" was. It was raw, honest, dark and everything I wanted and expected to read. Now double it. And again. And again. After you pass the sudden cold shower of a trans man actually getting pregnant, you get too attached to Crane's story, finding it really hard to cut the umbilical chord. But when you finally get through with it, the story stays with you. I wasn't ready for this but I know for a fact, that I won't be the same, after reading "You weren't meant to be human".

PS Can I rated 10 stars?
PPS Daphne Press, I applaud you!

“Oh child, this world was not made for ones like you. Come with us, come with us, come with us.”

This was dark and intense.

There are multiple layers of horror in this story. There’s the hive, a creepy network of parasites. It’s alien-esque, manipulative and unnerving. There are worms, flies, and plenty of body horror.

But there’s also psychological horror: the terror of having your freedom stripped away, your choices stolen, your body no longer your own. I’m not sure which is worse, but does it even matter, when both seem inescapable?

Andrew Joseph White creates an unsettling atmosphere from the very first page. It reminded me of watching Alien for the first time. You immediately sense that something isn’t right, and that feeling never lets you go. There’s a constant sense of doom hanging over the story. You can’t escape it, and neither can Crane.

The balance between the external horror of the hive, the abusive relationships and the ease with which violence becomes ordinary, and the internal horror of Crane’s own mind, is superb. Crane is a fully fleshed-out character. His disturbing thoughts, conflicting feelings, and trauma make him difficult to fully relate to, but they also make him very real. Painfully so.

As the hive preaches: “This world was not made for ones like you.” Crane believes it and embraces it. It’s a parallel for Crane’s identity turmoil, his self-loathing, his self-destructive impulses, and his experience as a trans man.

I was absolutely fascinated by the hive, and I liked the ambiguity around it. There are hints and speculation, but no definitive answers, so we’re forced to deal with the same uncertainty as the characters.

This is not a book you read in one sitting. Crane’s life becomes horror inside and out. That’s hard to read at times. I had to set it down more than once to recover. But the payoff is worth it. That ending was insane. Shocking, the kind that sticks in your head long after closing the book.

I’m giving it 4.5 stars. The only reason I’m not giving it a full 5 is because the secondary characters felt a bit underdeveloped. I understand that some, like Levi and Stagger, are purposefully kept vague or one-sided since we’re seeing them through Crane’s eyes. But others, like Jessica and Tammy, could have used a bit more depth.

Overall: dark, graphic, not easy, not comfortable, but very powerful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the advance reading copy.

YWMTBH is potentially the most unsettling book I've ever had the honour of reading. A story which despite the fantasy/supernatural elements feels extremely relevant to today's social issues, YWMTB is a deeply disturbing horror that (literally) worms its way into your brain and doesn't let go.

Through a blend of body and psychological horror, prominently featuring themes such as [loss of] autonomy, agency and control, YWMTB tells a tale so wrought with dread and discomfort that at times it feels difficult to turn the page, whilst simultaneously making the reader unable to look away.

YWMTBH feels personal, uncomfortably intimate and, at times, utterly grotesque and is truly one of the best horrors I've read in years. Andrew Joseph White proves once again he is a master of the genre and this book will haunt my brain for a long time to come.

Thank you for the eARC!

You Weren’t Meant To Be Human was a horrifying, gut-wrenching queer horror.
A graphic depiction of a trans man’s struggle with a sudden pregnancy.
The dystopian setting felt like the perfect backdrop to Crane’s story.
The very vivid and graphic writing style combined with the dark and twisted storyline makes for an excellent pick for extreme horror lovers.

Unfortunately I just couldn't finish this one, something about it just wasn't clicking with me and I was struggling to find the motivation to read. Thank you very much to the publisher for the opportunity to try it!

This book was everything I hoped it would be. I usually do not read horror books but I am pretty certain this is a good one. I almost felt that this story would have taken a phisical form and charge at the reader full speed at times. Also, I did not (my fault) read the TW and THAT plot twist at the end was…unexcpected. Genuinely a good horror book!

Andrew Joseph White once again proves himself to be one of horror’s most daring and unapologetic voices. You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is grotesque, unflinching, and deeply cathartic—a story that takes body horror to its most visceral extremes while never losing sight of the humanity (and rage) at its core.

Set against the eerie isolation of rural West Virginia, White crafts a landscape crawling with parasitic hives, festering worms, and an ever-present sense of decay. It’s a world that feels both alien and all too familiar, especially as it mirrors the suffocating realities of eroded queer and reproductive rights. Crane’s journey is as gut-wrenching as it is empowering—his hunger for survival, identity, and bodily autonomy burns through the gore with relentless intensity.

What makes this novel extraordinary is its ability to blend visceral horror with sharp social commentary. White doesn’t pull punches: every squirming detail serves a purpose, amplifying themes of unwanted transformation, exploitation, and rage against a system that demands compliance at the cost of selfhood. Crane and Levi’s volatile relationship is as terrifying as the hive itself, forcing readers to confront the blurred line between love, violence, and survival.

Fans of Alien, Midsommar, or White’s earlier works will find themselves enthralled, unsettled, and forever changed by this story. It’s brutal, yes—but also revolutionary. You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a howl of defiance wrapped in blood and worms, a horror novel that cuts deep and refuses to be forgotten.

Firstly I just want to say a massive thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early. It is unfortunate that I have not got on well with this book. However, the concept of the hive is very interesting and I enjoyed learning about it. I have had to stop reading this book 35% of the way through. I could just be in a reading slump and in the future I may purchase the book and give it another go.

I feel pretty unwell, and I also have no idea how to review this book. I think I’ll be haunted by it for a long time, as I have been by many of AJW’s past books.

I wasn’t expecting this book to make me emotional, although I should have after Compound Fracture. When I finished the book, I just had to sit there with my feelings for a bit to process what exactly happened.

The autism and mutism rep in particular was very relatable. It can be very frustrating trying to communicate with people. Like Crane, I also use my notes app but prefer texting as it feels more natural.

It was terrifying, yes, but my heart also broke not just for Crane, but for everyone like Crane who is being forced into pregnancy and doesn’t have a choice in it or any way out. For him to have such little support the whole time, too, made for a difficult read.

AJW was correct when he said the ending wasn’t happy but it could be some version of hopeful maybe (I’m paraphrasing, I don’t remember exactly what he said).

Was worth the wait, and I’ll be thinking about this for a long time, whether I want to or not!

You Weren't Meant to Be Human is not just a horror novel - it's a raw, unflinching scream. Andrew Joseph White's adult debut is a masterclass in body horror, but more than that, it's a searing indictment of the violence inflicted on trans bodies, reproductive autonomy, and the terrifying erosion of rights in a world that feels far too familiar.

Through Crane, a trans man trapped in a grotesque post-infestation America, White crafts a narrative that is equal parts parasitic nightmare and political reckoning. The horror of pregnancy - its violation, its dysphoria, its helplessness - is rendered with such visceral intensity that I found myself physically unsettled, yet unable to look away. It's a cyclone of fear, rage, and trauma that grips you by the throat and doesn't let go.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It's triggering, it's graphic, and it’s deeply uncomfortable - but it’s also necessary. White doesn't just write horror for shock value; he writes horror that reflects reality, that demands attention, that forces readers to confront what is being done to vulnerable communities in real time.

And yet, amidst the rot and despair, there are glimmers of tenderness - especially in Crane's connection with Stagger. Their bond, forged in shared suffering, offers a sliver of humanity that makes the rest of the novel's brutality all the more poignant.

I didn't just read this book - I survived it. And I'm grateful I did. It's the kind of story that leaves a mark, that lingers in your bones, that makes you want to dissect every page and carry its message with you. White has proven that horror can be a mirror - and what it reflects here is devastatingly real.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Without a doubt the most stomach-rolling book I've ever read. When I requested this, I knew I was going to struggle reading this. The topics covered here are brutally evocative and so agonising it's impossible to look away.
I found that in the loading-screen pause of my e-reader as it pulled up the pages, I was steadying myself in readiness for what I feared was coming, steeling myself against the sheer horror that Crane was facing.
I did generally predict the ending, and actually once the final climax came to fruition I was feeling a little less horrified (perhaps desensitised? perhaps the worst really had passed by then?) and was able to read the last handful of chapters with far less looking away, less reluctance to be horrified.
For me, this whole novel was a metaphor for consent - not just as the overarching story but in the minute details on every level. It was fascinating and so clever, and I feel like a need a shower and to continue fighting for abortion providing, health-care services.

I’ve counted myself lucky to have read all of Andrew Joseph White’s YA works thus far; my journey started with The Spirit Bares its Teeth and ended most recently with a gifted advance copy of Compound Fracture. I knew, however, that as soon as I heard that AJW was writing an adult horror, departing from his expemplary track record of crafting searing, chilling YA works, that I was going to be in for a treat. And by treat, I mean a journey.

And it’s safe to say that with YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO BE HUMAN my instincts were correct.

This is an absolute nose-dive into grotesque body horror (as expected), but it’s simultaneously a visceral, searing exploration of loss of agency, violence inflicted upon the body as pregnancy, and an angry commentary on the horrifying revokement on reproductive and gender rights happening across the US right now. Packed with self-loathing and gut-churning parasitic horror, AJW dives deeply into the rage and fear that comes with the violence of unwanted pregnancy as a trans man via our narrator Crane, and conjures a post-alien infestation America which is, all in all, not dissimilar to the America one could look up from the page and see in real-time. (Naturally, this political landscape is not confined to America, not in the least, but the comparisons are made easily when White resides in this current US.) Rich with the miasma of rot and trauma, White’s prose is as white-hot as ever, given reign to delve even further into the dark spaces of the grotesque and the exceptional when it comes to social commentary.

This is undoubtedly White’s darkest book yet, and it’s not for the faint of heart, or the faint of stomach. BUT, it is vital, important, and a brutally honest work of fear. It is a violent shriek, a horror that all people in power who are not protecting trans and at risk communities should look at, and look deeply at. It is a book that says this is what you are doing to us.

Crane’s horror is compounded within any readers who find themselves sympathetic and nauseous with phobia/fear of pregnancy as a concept (me! It’s me); add to that the dysphoria that Crane’s being pregnant in the first place throws back and you’ve got a cyclone of horror which grips you, white-knuckled until you surrender to feeling miserable and unable to look away. It was a magnetic, scintillating sort of terrifying exposure as someone with a profound aversion to the concept of pregnancy, even as a cis woman.

There is, therefore, no denying that YWMTBH goes to some incredibly triggering places, and I’ve already seen some readers in the horror space, who are fans of AJW, saying that the particular premise of this book is too triggering for them to comfortably read. Having read this, I can wholeheartedly understand that viewpoint. YWMTBH pulls no punches on its discussion of the abject phobia that Crane has of being pregnant as a trans man, and the overwhelming reality that this is very much a situation members of trans communities are facing now. Crane navigates a world where reproductive rights are as bleak as they are in the current US climate, where abortion is largely illegal (and when it comes to the Hive, disobeying is a death sentence). Crane recalls a push for progressive legislation around reproductive rights for trans people in the years past, and how easily they capitulated to the protests of right-wing ‘prolifers’ and ‘activist’ groups, which is a harrowing mirror to our reality.

That said, while this is not a read to undertake lightly, there are some surprising sparks of tenderness admist all the gore, in the form of Stagger. He’s one of the only points of relief and of careful-handling that Crane receives, which was sorely needed. I found their interactions both painful and poignant, as Stagger holds a mirror to Crane, showing how they were both trapped by the Hive in different ways. Both forced into unwanted transformations in ways that will forever change them. They found a measure of solace in the other, and that was truly a shining silver crust on the rest of the horror, which I was glad for.

YWMTBH’s core is something powerful enough to devour you whole, to rot from the inside out as you read, just as Crane feels. If you’re anything like me, you’ll come out on the other side understanding that White is showing a mirror to all the horrid, gruesome parts of the world and of the inner psyche, and you might just thank it for the experience (once you’re done cleansing your soul with something light and more palatable).

Thank you to Daphne Press, NetGalley & Andrew Joseph White for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 1 star, DNF @31%.
Genre(s): horror.

Overall impression: I really enjoy horror and applied for this eARC because it's the next pick for my Evernight SE subscription. I knew the trigger warnings before applying and were okay with them - but the way they were delivered completely ruined the reading experience for me. I felt physically ill. It was rife with rape fantasies, sexual abuse and forced pregnancy. The main characters were in a sexually abusive relationship that seemed to be condoned. None of these topics were addressed in a sensitive manner and it felt like they were just thrown in to try get the most 'shock value' out of the story, instead of having any sort of purpose or core message. I'm shocked that a company like Illumicrate would think this is an appropriate book for their horror subscription. I will not be reading another book by this author.

Tropes:
➵ Bodily horror
➵ Insects & worms
➵ Saved by a cult
➵ Forced pregnancy
➵ Abusive relationships
➵ Transgender man rep
➵ Suicidal main character
➵ Mental illness rep
➵ Autism rep

⤷ Plot:
I honestly have no clue what the point of this book was and by 31% I should have had some idea. It felt like the author just threw a bunch of gore and abuse into a book and slapped the label of horror on it.

⤷ Characters:
I found the main characters to be impossible to relate to. The rape fantasies and abusive relationships completely turned me off both of them and I didn't want to read another page with them in it. I appreciated the autism, mental illness and transgender character representation.

⤷ World-building:
I didn't really understand what universe the characters were living in. It seemed like they were living in the modern world but then could kill random people without consequence. It didn't seem believable that they could get away with so many murders, especially when some happened at their home base and the victims could have been easily tracked. I didn't really understand what the point of the worms/flies was. I stopped at 31%, so maybe it was explained later - but either way, they were just sort of there and I didn't really care about them.

⤷ Writing:
I thought the pacing was good and sentence structure short and succinct. However, I wasn't a fan of the way the author delivered the content in the book, which completely turned me off the story.