Baby Teeth

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Thank you so much to NetGalley, Zoje Stage, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I’ve seen Baby Teeth listed as a thriller; it wasn’t that at all, but it COULD have been. It probably would have been a much more enjoyable read—cringe-worthy moments in the plot and all—if it had been written from Suzette’s POV only. Then we could have seen her mounting terror and desperation and feel it in a more pure form—the way that she did. But Stage decided to try her hand at writing in a child’s voice via Hanna's chapters and it Did. Not. Work. Honestly, a terrible idea given the level of skill she displayed in this novel. Not only did it take away from the suspense to know exactly what Hanna was going to do next from her POV, but the clunky and inauthentic way in which Stage wrote Hanna made reading her chapters a real chore. Of course, I understand that Stage was attempting to speak simplistically, as a child might, but it didn’t sound anything like a seven-year-old’s way of speech and mannerisms in the slightest. Her editor would have done better to tell her to hold off on that. The pivotal moment in Hannah and Suzette's relationship is when Suzette is inappropriately candid with two-year-old Hanna. She doesn't consider how much Hanna can understand or how a young child with limited experience might process the information. It's a frustrating scene to witness, because of all the miscommunications that ignite the toxic cycle of Hanna and Suzette's relationship: Hannah is stressed out because Mommy is acting weird→Hanna tries to get her Mommy's attention the only way a two-year-old can→ Suzette interprets it as yet another one of her maternal failings, when Hanna is actually just being a normal toddler→The situation spirals out of control. a book review by Greg Chapman: Baby Teeth: A Novel". NY Journal of Books. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28 . Retrieved 2020-09-23.

This book is trying so hard to be controversial. Instead, it's an epic fail. I'm not in the HATE it or LOVE it camp. I'm in the incredibly bored and what is the point camp?. This novel is described as a thriller. I think it would be better categorized as horror. It’s told from the point of view of an exasperated stay-at-home mom, Suzette, and her seven-year=old daughter, Hannah. Hannah refuses to speak. When Dad is home, she is smiley and delightful. When he’s at work, she does her best to make her mom’s life a living hell. When Suzette tries to enroll her first in preschool, then kindergarten, then first grade, Hannah snarls at teachers and starts fires and hurts other children. Suzette has no choice but to do her best to home school her. She has battled debilitating health issues of her own since high school and having this out-of-control child is not helping her physical or mental health. Wonderland (2020): This novel is about a family of four that moves from New York to a rural farmhouse. The family starts dealing with malevolent forces in the woods outside of their home, but they're not sure if they're coming from the earth, trees, or somewhere deep in their minds. She never liked me. No, that’s not true. When she was a baby…Suzette knew she was oversharing, but the words spelled out. But at some point the war began. And I’m losing. I’m losing it. And I can’t tell my husband, I try but…He doesn’t see it. And where would I be? I’m supposed to be a good mom, the mom I never had, that’s what I wanted. That’s what I promised him, what I promised myself”.I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Zoje Stage Thank you so much, Renee! Maybe not surprisingly, it's a bit of a long story. I'll give you the highlights... This is not a fun read. It’s gripping, but it’s really hard for me to imagine a child who hates her mother so much. I’ve read stories of kids who are physically and emotionally abused by a parent, and still the kid professes love for his or her parent. So to have a child so young purposely trying to do anything she can to destroy a non-abusive mother is extremely foreign to me. Kudos, Madam Stage, for this very interesting debut. I can see much potential within the genre and hope you’ll keep writing. Your fan base is sure to grow exponentially, especially with all the popularity this book is receiving online. But, for me, I landed on three stars because the story had good writing, the author definitely shows promise as a writer. Though the seven year old voice was off, I could take it because it wasn’t bad writing, just not perfect.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reading copy. The opinion is purely my own.In my mind I was imagining different endings and just couldn't come up with the right solution. Never saw it coming. You start wondering if there's something supernatural or if mommy is actually the crazy one or maybe daddy's abusing her?! I see why a lot of people hate this book; because of the characters, especially Hanna's parents. They were irritating. Her father doesn't want to believe that her cute angel is a monster. Firstly, I was pissed about it. Later I accepted it. Imagine having someone who you expect will love you, not love you. And not only do they not love you? They LOATHE you.