Wow. Raw visceral and horror galore! I loved this so much! Alien, body snatchers it exceeded my expectation. Combing horror with real life conversations that the world is too scared to have.

5/5 stars

Now this book …. This book is fucked up. I say that with love.

You Weren’t Meant to be Human follows Crane, a trans man living in a cult that worships and feeds giant hives (possibly alien in nature) of flies, worms and parasites. Despite what he says, and what the hive says, Crane’s life kinda sucks, but at least he’s able to be himself for the first time in years. That is, until he falls pregnant with his abusive boyfriend’s baby and the hive demands he keep it and bring it to term. Crane does NOT want this, and thus the book spirals into its horrific descent.

This book is gory, violent, intense, full of body horror and the horror that is child-rearing. Pregnancy has never sounded so awful, so visceral, so painful — and that is why I loved this book. It is honest and there are no mummy-blogging pregnancy stories here about the joys of life and womanhood. There are glimmering moments of love and hope, but it never forgets its roots as an allegory for the pro-life movement and debate. The writing is stunning without being beautiful: it’s simple in its prose, but packs an emotional punch.

The author himself is a trans man and you cannot help but feel some of his pain at growing up in a body that doesn’t fit who he is. It opened my eyes to a whole experience I had never really considered, and I could not look away. This book is raw. Unflinching. And it is going to be huge.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC! Publishes January 6, 2026.

this isn’t my typical genre but i really enjoyed it! deffo the perfect sort of book for autumn/october, creepy, eerie and original! i felt bad for certain characters at multiple points, rooted for certain ones to get away/survive. and seeing the autistic rep in a book like this was really important, especially seeing the struggle crane has but how he endures them and where he ends up at the end. if you’re into gory, alien type of vibes then you’ll probably really enjoy this too!

Absolutely entering the stare at the wall phase after reading an incredible book.

I don’t even know how to begin to write my thoughts on this one - it’s one of the most brutal, intense and horrifying books I’ve ever read. Yet I would happily read more of it? I don’t know - I think I need therapy after this 🤣

We follow Crane, a trans-man, and his experience with The Hive made up of worms & flies (big Alien vibes). Everything changes when he gets pregnant by his “boyfriend”(if you can use the word for Levi). The Hive insists he keeps the baby and is forced to carry to term.

Although absolutely unhinged and heavy, I would recommend this absolutely to anyone who enjoys horror. It is not for the faint of heart, though, and will forever be a book I’ll be thinking about, lurking somewhere in my brain just like the little worms 🪱

Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of You Weren’t Meant To Be Human by Andrew Joseph White.

This book is a brutal, visceral dive into adult horror. It follows Crane, an autistic trans man, who’s caught in the grip of a cult called the Hive. It’s gorgeously written. Dark, raw, and lingers long after the last page is turned.


This book is not for the faint of heart. It’s emotionally devastating and revolting in the best, and worst ways and left me staring at the wall at several points during reading. I gave this one five stars and would highly recommend it, but please check the trigger warnings.

This book had me not wanting to put it down it also made me question a few things I loved the spooky vibe and the what the hell happened,

Andrew Joseph White seems to always know something about my own trans identity before I can even put it into words. This story was horrible in the best way possible, the type that sticks on the back of your throat for hours after finishing it. If you liked The Magnus Archives and think about the wasps' nest every other day, this will probably be right up your alley.

A brutal and harrowing story that follows Crane, a mute autistic transgender male trying to navigate his way through a dystopian version of America where he is under the control of the hive; a demanding and rotting pile of worms and flies. When he falls pregnant, the hive demands he goes through with the pregnancy, and we follow Crane while he struggles through his loss of autonomy as his greatest fears come true.

The book is gritty and visceral from start to finish. White doesn’t shy away from body horror or the ugliness of trauma, which makes it all feel brutally honest but also deeply unsettling. It falls much more into splatterpunk than I expected, which makes the messages hit home even harder.

It is impressive is how much is conveyed by Crane despite him being mute. The understanding from those who care about him is such a ray of light in what is otherwise a dark and painful story.

This is such an impactful read for those who like their horror raw and political.

Andrew Joseph White has outshone himself once again with his adult debut, fully cementing himself as one of my ride or die authors. The body horror he hinted at in his YA work comes to full fruition here for a sickening, revolting thrill-ride with a strong political message. Crane makes for a compelling, flawed protagonist who I emphasised with every step of the way. And of course, transness and queerness are still at the core.

I genuinely love Andrew’s books, he always manages to come up with some new fresh concept. But I will be honest and say that I did not quite enjoy this one like the ones before. I still believe it’s a fascinating and fresh piece, but not the best one I’ve read of his.

This was unsoundly a well written -and executed horror story and I applaud him for having this as his first adult novel. This was a raw, brutal, horrific and grotesque read.

A sincere thank you to Andrew Joseph White, NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know what it says about me that every AJW book gets more relatable than the last. It definitely makes for an interesting reading experience.
This book tore me open and put me back together again. This is also a metaphor for the plot, without spoiling it too much. This is such a good example of honing in on one character and one issue, and treating it so well that it pulls in alll the other threads that make up the picture as well.
This is about a mute, autistic trans man in a small town, a situation he doesn't want to be in and which he can't see a way out of, and the cult??? he finds acceptance in. The metaphors go deep with this one. The questions of - what does it mean to be a monster, or to be human? Is it better to be accepted partly yet accepted at all, or to be accepted imperfectly yet with love and time, or to just hide? were incredibly well handled. All the themes of communication and pregnancy and autonomy were so well written. This author writes about things some people may find shocking, but never for shock value: they always play an important role, add an impossible level of depth and reality and honesty, and always leave me in awe.
This book is adult fiction, so please do check the trigger warnings.
Many thanks to Daphne Press and to NetGalley for the ARC, and to Andrew Joseph White for creating this. All opinions in this review are my own. This book will be bouncing around in my head for a good while.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own

What the FUCK was that. This was my most anticipated book of the year, and boy did it hit. Hit like a bunch of parasitic worms going splat on the wall. YUCK.

Being in Crane's head was such a disturbing but such a wonderful experience. White was able to convey so much thought and emotion without Crane having to say anything. The depiction of his intrusive thoughts (something I have struggled with, though not to the same degree) was viscerally uncomfortable but so well executed, and despite all the violence and gore, he still managed to tug on my heart strings and worm his way into my feelings. Maybe should've used a different metaphor there.

The horror, as always, was excellent. I loved the contrast between the horror of the hive (literal parasitic, flesh-eating aliens) and the everyday horror of the humans around Crane, the transphobes, the abusers, the silent enablers who claim to care for him but prioritise their own comfort to literally siphon off his body. I also loved how many characters, though not all great people (or much of people at all, in Stagger's case) really cared about Crane. Love you, Jess, you grew on me.

I think this is up there with Hell Followed With Us as my favourite Andrew Joseph White. I'll give it a hot minute to percolate, but this really was excellent.

You Weren't Meant To Be Human is an adult horror novel from YA author Andrew Joseph White, in which an autistic trans man who lives in service to a hive of worms and flies becomes pregnant against his will. Crane found solace in the hive, who have him permission to transition and to not speak, after growing up feeling like everything was wrong about him. He met Levi, an ex-Marine and fellow member of the hive, who treats Crane how he thinks he ought to be treated. But when Levi gets Crane pregnant, the hive insists that Crane must give birth, even though Crane will do anything to not have to.

Having read some of White's previous young adult novels, I was interested to see what his adult horror would be like, and You Weren't Meant To Be Human is suitably dark and horrifying for someone like me who much prefers adult books to YA books. The book is basically trans pregnancy horror mixed with Alison Rumfitt's Brainwyrms, so very visceral not only in worm stuff and body horror, but also abuse, trauma, and the absolute terror of having to be pregnant when that is one of your greatest fears. That does make it quite tricky to review if you are someone who falls into that latter category, as I really don't know how other people would find it, but if you're a trans person who could get pregnant, this is quite a book.

I like how a lot of the background in the book isn't really explained, because the story isn't about worldbuilding but about Crane's experiences and thoughts. Even the side characters mostly don't get a huge amount of backstory, particularly those in the hive, but again, we are viewing things through Crane's perspective. The visceral descriptions are really what make this book, with the body horror less gory and more horrifying in context. The ending has a dark twist that makes sense, and a lighter twist that I'm not sure how I feel about, though it does offer a kind of hope that might be needed in such a brutal novel.

This is trans horror that uses the horror devastatingly to explore an element of trans experience (Torrey Peters' story 'The Masker' is another example I can immediately think of), resulting in a book that I think is going to feel horribly real for some people and open others' eyes to something they hadn't really thought about. Whilst I've enjoyed White's young adult novels, I think that You Weren't Meant To Be Human is even more my sort of book, and though it won't be for everyone (as with any extreme horror, you should definitely take heed of the content warnings before reading), it is a tense, cutting horror novel that puts a fresh spin on some horror concepts.

This was definitely one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I'm really happy that it did not dissapoint. Where Andrew Joseph White started exploring body horror with his YA books, his adult debut has none of the mantinels and is just graphically intense in all of the aspects of what makes body horror. Blood and other body fluids, worms from the hive, the whole pregnancy from the start to the birth, it all served well to be fascinatingly repulsive. It was detailed in a way that didn't take from the flow of the story while still giving the reader all the gore.
I think the only thing that wasn't for me was Crane in some ways, as I didn't enjoy his narration as much as with the other previous main characters from the YA books. But I still liked his complex emotions, his relationships with other characters, especially the ones with Jess and Stagger, and the way he went through the change that comes with being pregnant. His complexity in particular was a really good thing!

I don’t really know how to feel about this book! I think I expected the story to be different to how it was. Maybe I thought there would be more of a background about the hive and that it would be more involved.

What I do know is that something about the way this was written really worked for me. Experiencing pregnancy as cruelty from Crane’s POV was as fascinating as it was disturbing.

I especially liked Tammy and Jess, who really grew on me as the story went on. The ending was tough, but I was glad for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Daphne Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This is not the sort of book that is going to hold your hand and tell you that the things that are happening are wrong. We know they are wrong, but that shouldn't mean that we can't understand why characters are behaving and thinking in certain ways.

This was incredible. You Weren't Meant To Be Human was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it far surpassed my expectations. I will be screaming praises for this book for the rest of my life. We follow Crane, a mute autistic trans man who is forced to keep a pregnancy he doesn't want. He is also part of an alien cult of worms and flies called The Hive.

I loved the world building in this omg. The Hive targets people who are desperate and at their lowest point, and convinces people to surrender their autonomy and join them. Which is pretty much how real world cults work. I felt like it was a really good metaphor for power imbalances, manipulation, and control. Part of me wanted some more answers, but we were in Crane's head and he didn't have all of the answers so of course we didn't get them. I was a bit annoyed at times that all of these people were being controlled by worms and flies, but I think you were meant to feel that way.

This book probably has the best depiction of intrusive thoughts I've ever read. And just mental illness in general. Watching Crane decline and lose everything was gut wrenching, but so well done. I am pretty sensitive to horror stuff, and pregnancy is my biggest OCD trigger, but I didn't struggle too much while reading. There were of course multiple scenes that grossed me out, but I was too eager to finish to take a break. I read this in one sitting. I think it helped that Crane had very similar feelings to me about pregnancy.

I was a bit conflicted about the ending at first for multiple reasons, but after an hour or so it grew on me. Especially the big thing that happened, It was the perfect way to end the story, and I think when I eventually reread I will pick up on a bit of foreshadowing. I did fall off the couch after reading that part though. I was SHOCKED lol.

I'm not going to say that everyone should read this because it was HEAVY and a bit messed up at times. But this was an incredible read and one I think is very important. But please please please look up a list of content and trigger warnings before reading.

This is now one of my favourite books and Andrew Joseph White has cemented himself as one of my favourite authors. I love his YA, but I hope he writes more adult in the future too.

Ok I really love Andrew white’s books but I really don’t think this one was for me. I found it really disturbing, particularly the thoughts of the protagonist, and the continued sexual assault throughout the book. I do understand having these types of themes in a book but I wish there was just more of an explanation to why all of it is ok?. Anyway the end was batshit and he was pretty valid.

I’ve decided to DNF at 22%. I think this book is written extremely well and I can see why people love it, but I’m just struggling to get into it. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

<i>"Somethings wrong here, it says, tread with caution, I beg you" </i>

I don't think I have ever been this nauseous because of a book before, but this book really did that for me. especially chapter 34. chapter 34 will haunt me for a looong time.
This book was gross and horrifying and wayy too relatable for a book where bugs play this big of a role in it. I read it and there were times where it felt like Crane took his thoughts directly from my brain, and had thoughts and experiences a bit too close to how I feel, which is somehow both comforting and concerning at the same time.
Being autistic and transgender and reading this book brought upon a lot of feelings. Andrew once again managed to cut in to those exact (maybe not so) niche experiences of being autistic and trans and the feelings that come with it.

<i>"Its just that, at some point in his mothers womb, through no fault of hers or his fathers or his own, he'd been put together incorrectly"</i>

If I had not already not wanted children ever in my life, that would be the feeling I would be left with at the end of this book. Our society seems to romanticise pregnancy so much, but this book put my thoughts and feelings and fears about pregnancy in to words, and gods did it make me both nauseous and weirdly vindicated at the same time. This book was so real and so raw in its portrayal of pregnancy and transness and autism, all combined in to one slurry of horrifying bloody guts.

<i>"I can only conceive of pregnancy as forced detransition- and death before detransition, you know? It was abortion or a noose" </i>

The characters in <i>'You weren't meant to be human'</i> was amazingly written in a way that made me hate almost all of them. They all evolved in each of their own way throughout the story. There were characters who I absolutely hated to start with but liked by the end, characters I loved to start with but loathed by the end, characters I couldn't really figure out my thoughts on because of how murky grey they were, and then of course also a few that I loved and kept loving. They were all multi faceted and such interesting characters, a lot of whom I wish I could bash over the head a few times, either with a hard pillow or a hammer, depending on the character.

<i>"He is, however, afraid of dying a woman. He is afraid that he won't be allowed to die at all"</i>

This would not be a review by me of one of Andrew Joseph White's books without me mentioning the dedication. Andrew always dedicates his books in the absolute perfect way and this book is no exception. The dedications captures the exact kind of feeling that I had growing up and that Crane had in the book, of needing to do something about that bad feeling so making it hurt seemed better. seemed more real. That's something I love about Andrew's books. They always feel so incredibly real and like I'm being stabbed in the gut every few pages and the dedication always captures that perfectly.

<i>"For anyone who ever put their face too close to the fire or boiling water, or snapping dogs"</i>

I don't even know where to begin. I will be staring at the wall for the foreseeable future. This might have been one of, if not the most, messed-up things I have ever read, but that is what made it so good. We follow a trans, autistic, mute man who is grappling with other beings and then gets pregnant, which sends him down a spiral, and we witness it all. I loved so many of the characters, and I hated so many of them, but what I loved was the core messaging and influences from our current political climate that were used to drive forward the story. I prefer Andrews' YA works but I am so happy he is taking the jump into adult with such a bang. Please check all CW, this book will not be for everyone and please keep yourselves safe. So excited to see what comes next.