“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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Suzette lives a seemingly perfect life. Married to a loving and successful man and is a mother to a little girl. But nothing is as it seems since her daughter, Hanna is out to get her and remove her permanently. Talk about scary! I must say this book was something else!!! Hanna was so diabolical and the way she was able to divide the parents in the story was mind blowing. I felt myself getting so frustrated for Suzette when it came to her husband Alex. I get no one wants to admit their child has issues but living in denial isn’t the answer either. Alex had his head in the clouds at times and i wanted to reach in the book and shake him. Suzette needed to have more of a backbone and should have put her foot down WAY sooner when it came to Alex’s denial over Hanna’s behavior. I do have to say Hanna was all types of creepy in this book! The stuff she did and plotted has me thinking twice before I have kids! This book isn’t my usual genre that I read but I’m so happy I took a chance! I was in an HORRIBLE book slump and this book had me glued to the very end. I can’t believe this is the author’s first book either. It was well written, fast paced and definitely one of my favorite reads of 2018.
“Received a review copy from NetGalley and I voluntarily provided an honest review.”
I really liked the writing style of Zoje Stage, liked how each person was telling you the story and what they were thinking in their own chapters. All in all I thought this was a really good read, kept my interest throughout and I liked knowing what each character was thinking and feeling. After reading this story I’m so glad my own children are grown and out on their own! What a compelling read in my opinion but some people don’t like to read about evil, disturbed children me, I don’t mind:) Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for allowing me an ARC, and more thanks to the author Zoje Stage for writing such an interesting and disturbing book hoping for a sequel!
While short (was a audible book), it definitely was shocking, with twists and turns but as I remember it, the ending was heartbreaking.
Suzette is worried that Hanna may be Marie Doussett, a witch, it’s probably why Hanna acts out in stores, at school, and she hates Suzette. Suzette expresses her concerns to her husband, Alex, but to no avail because Hanna is sweet as can be around him. I was expecting this to be creepy, but it’s more family drama with a lot of dialogue.
This book blew my mind and disturbed me all at the same time. Amazing!
A potentially interesting storyline that groans under its implausibility. The psychological defects in the two narrators are so poorly developed as to be ridiculous. This story relies again and again on the trope of the manipulative female, searching for empowerment through the most transparent deceptions. It is a hard fought attempt at a first novel. Hopefully, the second will be better researched and less derivative.
Didn’t like the story line at all. Hard to read.
Spooky kid !!
I had to put it down a couple of times because it was disturbing but when I resumed reading it, I just had to finish it. I hope to see more from this author.
The book was interesting but I felt it dragged on too long. The ending was disappointing
Wow! I read this is two days only because I fell asleep reading it the first day. Super hard to put down! And an ending that makes me with for a sequel.
Strange and twisted little girl character. The author set up the ending for a sequel.
This would make a hell of a movie but where do you find a seven-year-old actress To play someone so evil
Hard to put down
Wish it had a different ending
Holy crap Batman! Terrifyingly twisted! My first read of Zoje Stage’s work and I am hooked. As a parent, some of the thoughts and fears here are relatable which makes if all the more interesting. It sucks you in and carries you to the last words where it spits you out to settle your nerves and reflect on how you would react.
Things the author could’ve done better:
-There were moments where Hannah sounded her age, and moments where she sounded decades older, to the point it felt out of place / poor character continuity.
-It’s never actually clarified whether paranormal activity is a thing, or this 4-year-old just somehow is decades wiser than her years and fakes it that well.
-The ending leaves things a bit ambiguous.
-This is a recycled plot. Many other books and movies have already used this exact plot.
-It was also implausible most of the time … Suzette struggled with her husband’s lack of belief at Hannah’s antics, but doesn’t just secretly record her? And it’s supposed to take place in the present? I feel like in this situation, literally everyone would set up surveillance.
Things the author did well:
-Depicted Crohn’s from a patient’s POV—I definitely related to much of what she expressed on this topic. Other medical discussions were mostly accurate as well.
-Kept the book intriguing enough to be mildly entertaining, despite using a very done-before plot.
Clearly this author knows how to write a psychopath … if they used this tactic on a character that is older than 4 and exercised a bit more personality, character development and an original plot, I expect they could produce a great read.
3 stars
Note:
I listened to the audiobook … the narration was decent. I found the Alex’s accent to be misplaced and therefore a bit distracting but the voices were pleasant enough.
I listened to the audiobook and it was fascinating. I found myself terrified of 7 year old Hannah. It was written so well allowing the reader to hear from both mom, Suzette as well as daughter Hannah. It was so easy to visualize everything as you read. I enjoyed this book so much.
I wasn’t sure what to think going into this book, I had heard so many different points of view. I really enjoyed the creepiness of not knowing what will happen. This book shows both true evilness and complete selfishness. The mix of English, Swedish and French really added a cool depth to the story. I wish they had finished with Hannah or something exciting. Overall great book that I will most likely read again
Great, original debut!!
Woah. If I ever second guess my decision to not have children, all I have to do is read this book. Best birth control ever. Hannah is creepy AF. That being said, I expected more of a shock factor for an ending. The ending was very predictable and typical. I will give the author credit for creeping me out – which is very hard to do. I was addicted from the moment I started reading it and couldn’t stop until I finished it. I HAD to know how it ended. This is definitely a good creepy Halloween read (it doesn’t even have to be Halloween) but enjoy the main plot of the story because there is no shocker to the end.