“Unnerving and unputdownable, BABY TEETH will get under your skin and keep you trapped in its chilling grip until the shocking conclusion.” –New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline Meet Hanna. She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her … with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.
Meet Suzette.
She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.
Read the first ten chapters of BABY TEETH, a story about a perfect-looking family, and a mute little girl who wants nothing more than to kill her mother.
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WOW. I can’t even tell you what I’m feeling right now, because this book is a tsunami-tornado of emotions and impressions and fears and doubts… First, let me say right off the bat – this will NOT be a book for everyone. I’ve seen a lot of reviewers turned off by the subject matter, questioning why anyone would write – or read – a book about evil in children or a mother-daughter dysfunction so severe that it literally ends in blood and tears. This is a tough book at times. There is a lot of dark, taboo, disturbing stuff brought into the light here, and it’s not for the faint of heart. But my goodness, the story is so well crafted that it would be a crime if it stayed in the dark…
Hanna is not your typical seven year old – even beyond her refusal to speak. And Suzette is not the perfect Stepford mother she wants to be (or, perhaps more accurately, wants people – most notably her husband – to think she is). Those things are both abundantly apparent from the opening pages. In a shifting perspective between Hanna and Suzette, this novel unfolds like a dish towel full of broken glass – there are bits that seem to be begging to draw blood throughout. The story of their family dynamic stutters with every breath. Things are just NOT right, but only Suzette seems to see it – to Daddy-Husband Alex, Hanna is his “squirrely girl” and can do no wrong. Until, in a horrible, morbidly fascinating rush, it becomes blindingly apparent that EVERYTHING is wrong. And from there on, the story is a mad rush to see who will be left standing (quite literally)…
This is a powerful read. There are a lot of excellent, spot-on observations about Mommy Guilt, the fear that you’ve lost yourself and/or spouse to your child, and the bitter and ugly truths of motherhood (be they genuine or “just” genuinely felt). This is a very dramatic take on those issues, but the issues are no less real in more mundane, everyday life – even if, thank goodness, they are usually experienced with much less bloodshed.
I’m the mother of a toddler who is NOT AT ALL like Hanna and like to think I’m NOT AT ALL like Suzette, lol, but yet still related to her quite strongly in ways that surprised me. I didn’t expect this to be a philosophical study, quite frankly, but it turned out to send my mind reeling in a variety of directions, many unexpected. Example: I’m continually amazed at how women in WILDLY disparate situations, from wildly disparate backgrounds, with wildly disparate issues/concerns/problems find themselves saying/thinking/questioning the same things. Why do we find it so easy to discredit our competence? Why do we default-assume it’s our fault? Why do we question our own judgment so readily? Suzette does it, constantly. You may say – well of course, her child is psychopathic. And that may be true, but I don’t think that’s WHY she does it. She does it because she’s a mommy and a woman and that’s, somehow and for some reason, what a lot of us tend to do.
Suzette internalizes her guilt and fear throughout the story, convinced no one will believe her, sure that she must be exaggerating in the heat of the moment – right up until the moment almost undoes her (literally). She’s sure her husband will think she’s nuts, that she must have somehow failed as a mom, that if she’d only been more or done more, Hanna would be the dream child her husband is convinced she is. The book does an excellent job of addressing the inadequacies, worries, and fears that plague all of us who are trying to be The Best and Most Perfect Mommy Ever. We are, of course, all inevitably doomed to fail – because TBaMPME is a mirage, not a real thing. I didn’t expect this bit of commercial fiction to make me wonder why that is or ponder what it means for women, children, or society – but it did and I did and I think that’s a brilliant thing that I wanted to highlight about this wonder of a book. I suspect it’s an aspect of it that will be largely ignored or overlooked because of the sturm und drang over the murderous child bits, but that would be a shame, because it shouldn’t matter where thoughtfulness comes from or the form it’s presented in. What matters is that something, somewhere, somehow, makes us think…..
My review copy was generously provided by St. Martin’s Press. Baby Teeth releases in the U.S. on July 17, 2018 – I know, I know, that’s a LONG wait. Sorry. Get your pre-order or ask your librarian for an advance hold – you won’t be sorry!
(If you are curious for quotes, you can visit my blog post of this review: http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2018/04/20/book-review-baby-teeth-by-zoje-stage/#more-5322)
Wow, what a debut novel! Scared me to death at times and just had to take a breath and look away. The characters and storyline are amazing, deep and twisted, and all to real and believable!! I received an early ARC of this book for the opportunity to provide an honest review, and it just blew me away with the writing, decriptions, character development throughout, intricate dialogue and amazing POVs from the two warring main characters – Hanna, the tiny diabolic terror, and her mother!!!
Gah! It’s terrifying in the most wonderful, creepy, believable way! Hanna is a seven-year-old girl who chooses not to speak. Her mother, Suzette, senses something is off about her daughter’s selective mutism…and her daughter’s obsessive love for her father. Suzette loves her kid, even when she fears her. Is the story over the top? Sure! Give me an evil child story any day for escapist chills and thrills. (Waves to Damien, who still terrifies me.
So this book is very creepy not in a scary creepy but as in a mind messing way. Hannah is one smart little 7 year old girl. She is also very manipulative and doesn’t speak. This child makes me glad I never had children. Suzette I would say also needs help with a therapist. This book is hard to describe without giving so much away. I would say that Alex and Suzette are both selfish people though maybe not to the outside world. Hannah needs to be locked away for all time. I really am interested to see if there will be another book after this one. This book leaves you wanting so much more of this story.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest opinion*
Born this way, or bad parenting?
Hanna is a seven year old, the apple of her daddy’s eye. She is very intelligent, but mute. Her parents have tried everything, including medical tests and all signs point that Hanna is normal. Hanna has harbored thoughts, since she was four. These thoughts have continued to grow, along with Hanna’s conniving plans. In the beginning, Hanna tested her mother, giving her opportunities to prove herself. By eight, Hanna viewed her mother in a much different light.
Suzette is Hanna’s mother. Her own mother was distant and unloving, and her father died when she was young. Suzette suffers from Crohn’s disease and constantly questioning her mothering abilities, because she feels her compass is off from not having a mother figure. She meets and falls in love with Alex, and risks her health to have a child. Suzette starts to notice peculiarities with her daughter and at first alerts Alex to her concerns.
Alex is Hanna’s father. He adores his wife and child. When Suzette brings up concerns, Alex doesn’t believe that his squirrely girl behaves in an inappropriate manner. Even when called to varying schools, Alex is enraged about the opinions of Hanna’s behavior. He only sees how sweet she is. After one particular incident where Alex is called home, he no longer can deny Hanna has an evil side.
The story kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I received an ARC from NetGalley via St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
“Maybe it had been a mistake, trying to set Mommy on fire.” – Yeah, it’s that kind of book – and oh, is it good! Don’t miss this riveting debut by a stunning new voice in horror!
Zoje Stage’s Baby Teeth is cunning, sharp, and nasty, and wickedly funny until it isn’t funny anymore. This intelligent, unrelenting, layered shocker can stand proudly alongside classics like The Other and The Butcher Boy, with their ‘evil’ children uncannily reflecting our own sins.
Wow! This book was truly creepy! I enjoyed it immensely! I love psychological thrillers but the ones with children are particularly disturbing. I loved the author’s style of writing, the back and forth was an interesting way to tell Hanna and Suzette’s story. The challenges that a non-verbal child presents were described very well in this book. I would read more from this author. The ending definitely poses the question…will there be a sequel??
This book had me gripped. I still can’t get these characters out of my head. This twisted debut is a great vacation read that will keep you up all night to find out how it ends. This is not a book about a perfect family. This is a thriller, with deeply flawed characters. I was absorbed in their skewed dynamics and could not look away. A compelling, chilling read!
The mother and daughter dynamic, even under the best of circumstances, is fragile territory. The daddy’s girl syndrome is very real. I have a daughter. She will be 40 years old this year. She is still very much Daddy’s girl. Our relationship is a good one but has had its ups and downs, as anyone might expect.
BABY TEETH is told, in alternating chapters, by Hanna, the daughter, and by Suzette, the mommy. To say that each of these characters comes with her own, somewhat peculiar, set of issues would be an understatement in the extreme. Each of them is seeking some kind of elusive perfection founded in a reality with which I am unfamiliar.
On the periphery of, yet highly central to, the plot is daddy. Mommy is the stay at home variety and daddy is the go to work, and the gym, and have a life variety.
It is difficult to pin this tale into a single category. It is about the family dynamic alongside the interpersonal relationships of the individuals that comprise said family. It is a psychological study of way nurture plays different roles in different households. It is a horror story of unimaginable ferocity.
I would be lying if I said I enjoyed reading this book. It was in no way an enjoyable experience. However, not all books are written to provide joy and uplift. Some are written to provoke thought and intense reactions. BABY TEETH certainly does that. To enumerate my emotional reactions would be to give away the farm (so to speak), and I just don’t do spoilers.
My Review of “Baby Teeth” by Zoje Stage St. Martin’s Press July 17, 2018
WOW! WOW! WOW! Kudos to Zoje Stage , author of “Baby Teeth” for writing such a chilling, horrific, frighteningly intense and captivating story. Kudos to St. Martin’s Press for their marketing strategies. The letters, the postcards, everything leading up to reading this novel was such a tease and so amazing. The Genres of this Novel are Fiction, Mystery and Thriller with Suspense thrown in.
The author describes her colorful dysfunctional cast of characters as complex, and complicated . Suzette is having a really difficult time being a Mom. She suffers from Crohns disease for years, and when she is stressed this triggers her symptoms. Suzette is very artistic has a creative loving husband. Hannah is their seven-year old selectively mute daughter. Hannah seems so sweet and loving to her dad, but hasn’t bonded with her Mom well at all. Lets just say that this sweet little girl has been thrown out of schools, and is extremely manipulative.
Hanna just wants to love and live with her Daddy. Is that too much to ask? Mom has to home school Hanna, but Hanna has other ideas. Dad doesn’t see what Mom sees. This reminds me of the Twilight Zone Episode “It’s A Good Life” (1961). (about a little boy) This also makes me think of “The Exorcist”. Actually, I think this novel has all the ingredients of being a movie, one that you perhaps shouldn’t watch before you go to sleep.
I highly recommend this intriguing , sharp, twisted, edgy, page turner for those readers who enjoy a chilling and thrilling read. I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
This book creeped me out in all the best ways. I mean, who isn’t creeped out by an evil 7 year old who wants to kill her mother? It was a page turner for me but fell a bit flat on the realistic end for me. The fact that the mother didn’t record some of the evil things her daughter did for proof for her husband and that the husband was so blind he couldn’t or wouldn’t see the truth about his precious child was a bit far flung. But, despite that, I truly enjoyed this read and read it in less than a day. Would recommend for anyone who loves twisted pyschological thrillers with a child antagonist.
Not my usual fare…this book was SO CREEPY. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was outstanding. I would call this story a blend between thriller, horror and domestic noire. Very well done, and terrifying. I recommend it for readers who want to be scared.
Baby Teeth is a deliciously disturbing story! I finished in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down…kind of like a car accident…you want to look away but you can’t help looking!
During the first few chapters, I was tempted to stop reading. The characters were unlikeable and the descriptions of the mother’s detailed experiences with Crohn’s disease were repulsive. But, the writing and the psychological states of the characters compelled me to keep going. I’m glad I did! In addition to her health issues, the mother has a history of neglect and psychological abuse from her own mother. The father appears a bit too perfect. The seven-year-old can’t possibly be that evil by nature, can she? Whatever is going on within the family kept my interest and the story progressed quickly. I had little knowledge about the challenges and symptoms of chron’s disease, and ended up appreciating that inclusion.
Imagine if your child was a sociopath. Not your adult child, your seven-year-old. Would you recognize them for what they are right away, or would you consider several (or several dozen) other alternatives before you come to accept it? Well, in Baby Teeth, this is Suzette’s dilemma. Her daughter, Hanna, displays two faces — the angelic one that she shows to her father (Alex) and the defiant, calculating and sometimes even diabolical one she shows to her mother and the rest of the world.
Hanna does not speak, but she is highly intelligent, a fact both her parents detect easily, making it less easy to accept that she may have a mental disturbance. But as time goes on, and Hanna resolves to “get rid of” her mother to have her father to herself, not only does Suzette have to consider whether Hanna is ill, but she begins to wonder if she is just evil.
I was engrossed in the battle of wills between Hanna and Suzette, and felt Suzette’s frustration as she tried to convince Alex that Hanna is not the sweet little girl she pretends to be. I especially liked that the author portrayed the conflict Suzette feels, particularly when mothering a difficult child sometimes makes her wish she wasn’t a mother at all. There were a few little clues and cues that suggested Hanna’s condition might be a result of an illness Suzette has, and her own difficult history with her mother.
And I liked that Suzette was no martyr. She sometimes wished her daughter away, pining for the heady days of courtship with her husband. And at times she delighted in besting Hanna who made it clear they were in a tug-of-war for Alex’s attention and affection. The book didn’t pretend to answer the question of why some people seem to have no conscience, but it did paint a convincing picture of what childhood for those people might have looked like.
Chilling, entertaining, convincing. I recommend this one.
very creepy
I enjoyed this book. It was well-written and compulsively readable. I felt intrigued, horrified, angry, compassionate and sad while reading it. I did have a couple of issues with the book. For one thing, Hanna’s internal dialog, at times, seemed too mature for a seven year old child, even a precocious one. I had to suspend disbelief to believe that she could contemplate and then execute some of the dastardly things she did. Another issue stemmed from the author’s occasional use of vulgar language which was entirely unnecessary. I’d be reading along happily and then BAM! I would get hit with a vulgar word or statement and I thought, “what just happened here?!” Omitting those parts would not have changed the highly satisfying quality of the book.
Overall, Baby Teeth was a very good thriller that kept me in suspense, frightened me and left me with a contented smile on my face in the end.
Baby Teeth is author Zoje Stage’s deliciously creepy debut novel. It’s not quite a thriller but definitely is a dark, compulsively-readable page-turner, peopled with complex, dysfunctional characters. It alternates between the point of view of Hanna, the nonverbal, but brilliant seven-year-old child of well-educated parents who try to do everything right from the moment of conception, and that of her mother, Suzette. This technique lets the reader inside the vicious mind of Hanna and and allows insight into the effects her manipulations have on her mother. Stage ratchets up the tension by having Hanna and Suzette play them off of each other, each pushing the other into new behaviors. in incredible ways, ratcheting up the tension throughout the novel as we see how far the two of them can push each other.
If you enjoy reading about twisted minds, even that of a child, this book is for you. Whether you like the book or not, it’s bound to stir up strong emotions, especially among parents who will second-guess their parenting skills.
As the story progresses, Stage reveals that all is not perfect in this seemingly-perfect family. Suzette, the mother, suffers from Crohn’s disease, and that inflammatory bowel disease progresses during her pregnancy. The victim of poor mothering herself, Suzette resolves to be a better parent that her own mother had been. Once the child arrives, the parents grow somewhat apart, but each feels that is normal when a baby moves in with two adults who are very much in love.
Suzette, a stay-at-home mother, bears the brunt of raising Hanna and must begin homeschooling after her daughter is expelled from kindergarten. Tensions escalate between mother and daughter as Hanna’s acting out increases. Suzette’s over-exposure to her daughter leaves her questioning her child-rearing abilities—to the point she wonders whether the unconditional love of a parent for a child is possible.
The father, Alex, like many fathers, is only involved with his child in the evenings and on weekends and refuses to believe his adorable daughter is as manipulative as Suzette leads him to believe—or even acknowledge that Hanna misbehaves. Eventually, Alex begins to see his daughter’s flaws. Her behavior cracks even his unconditional love.
As a physician, I’ve seen sociopaths and psychopaths. Though Hanna’s thinking seems a bit too mature for her chronological age, being an intelligent is not incompatible with being a budding psychopath—and in fact may enhance the state.
I think I’m full on #TeamSuzette or maybe #TeamHanna
Okay so we have here a husband, a wife and their daughter. We also have a perfect wife and a perfect daughter, who also may be a horrible mother and a horrible daughter. You choose.
While reading this story I feel it took too long to get to a climax, it felt repetitive. I wanted more. I did however like the second half of this story more than the first half, but I felt it was still missing something.
Overall the feel of the story was good and the characters were interesting.
I think my expectations of this story were too high that when I finally read it, it didn’t live up to the hype, that I had been hearing about it.
#BabyTeethBook #BadSeed #NetGalley #stmartinspress #BabyTeeth