Expected publication: July 17, 2018, by St Martin’s Press
OH MY ….
I have no words.
HA! Yeah right!!
Hanna LOVES her Daddy. Her Mommy?
Not so much….
This first thing I’m going to say about “Baby Teeth” is that it won’t be for everybody. And that’s OKAY! I’m not going to judge anyone for liking it OR not liking it. It’s a fiction book!
It does clearly say in the description:
“From blazing new talent Zoje Stage, Baby Teeth is a story about a perfect-looking family, and a darling little girl who wants nothing more than to kill her mother.”
A book about a child wanting to kill their mother is not going to be light suspense…it’s likely going to be an uncomfortable read. So I knew what I was getting into…. for the most part.
The book opens with Hanna at the hospital having a CT scan. It’s not her first. There have been many tests.
You see….Hanna doesn’t speak.
“Words, ever unreliable, were no one’s friend”
Hanna knows how much Mommy wants her to talk.
“Mommy was failing her tests to prove her motherly love.”
Is Hanna choosing not to talk?
“if it’s a matter of her refusing…WON’T requires a different type of doctor than CAN’T.”
Hanna’s favorite game is “Scare Mommy” and she likes to make special projects for Mommy too. VERY special.
WOW! I have such conflicting emotions about this one!
Imagine having someone who you expect will love you, not love you. And not only do they not love you? They LOATHE you.
They wish you didn’t exist….
The story is told from Hanna and Suzette’s alternating perspectives. There are some terrifying and dysfunctional scenes in this book. I haven’t read “The Dinner” or “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (books that this has been compared to) so I wouldn’t know how it stacks up against them.
“Baby Teeth” seems to be in its own league. However, there are a couple of movies that came to mind for me…“The Omen” and “The Good Son”. All rolled up into a ball of darkness and wickedness that will make you squirm. I couldn’t put this sucker down. I read it in two sittings and honestly, when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it.
I wondered if a seven-year-old was capable of some of the acts committed. Could a child be that diabolical and manipulative? I think this is one of those books that if you look at it closely, yes you will probably see a lot of things that push the believability envelope…right off the table. However, it ended up not mattering if things were all possible or believable…. I was pulled right into the story.
As I said earlier, this book won’t be for everyone. I do wonder if it would fit more into the horror genre. I found it diabolical and creepy and I’m really glad I read it. “Baby Teeth” is definitely a book I won’t soon forget. I’m very curious to see what Zoje Stage is going to come up with next.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
