“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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pretty disappointed I was looking forward to reading this I thought it was going to be very good but it wasn’t that great the end sucked
I could NOT put this book down. And when I was done with it, I couldn’t stop talking about it. My husband’s exact words: “that sounds like a fucked up book you’re reading.” 100% true.
I’m not going to rehash the plot you’ve read about 10,000 times. You get it: evil kid, scared mother, oblivious dad-in-denial. It sounds like it could be a bad horror movie; instead it’s a truly disturbing book. That’s the thing about uncomfortable topics: if you’re reading it, you create an image in your mind of what you perceive – rather than having the image given to you on a screen – and more often than not the image in my mind is far scarier.
The author has fleshed out the story in such a way that the reader is forced to really digest the terrible things. It’s not one horrifying event on top of another; it’s spaced out so that you truly think about what just happened and what it means…and what might be coming.
I was fascinated by the peek into the mind of a budding serial killer (because let’s be real, that’s what she’ll be, with Mommy as first victim when she gets out of Marshes) and how she manipulates the world around her. There are a few moments here and there where for just a second, you feel bad for seven-year-old Hanna. But then she does something horrifying and the feeling passes, and you’re #TeamSuzette once again.
I will say that Alex’s willful ignorance of the situation and absolute indulgence of Hanna pissed me off – why would your wife lie to you about this, you idiot? – and I was SO HAPPY when he finally got with the program and they presented a united parental front against their evil little minion.
May I suggest you avoid this book if you have a precocious 7-year-old child?
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read & review this ARE.
I can see this book having a sequel. Suzette the mom has a lot of baggage, but her child Hanna is a very frightening girl. A page turner!
This is the first book I’ve read in one sitting for ages. Could not put it down. It will grab you and not let go till the very last sentence.
This book is an addicting read! Hanna is an adorable seven year old who doesn’t speak. She is daddy’s little girl and loves his hugs and affection. Hanna has a dark side however. Secretly, she wants to remove her mother Suzette from the family dynamic and have her daddy all to herself.
This book is truly creepy and manages to take the reader on a very uncomfortable reading journey. Parents always want to see the best in their children and often are unable to recognize faults. What if your child is truly sociopathic or psychopathic? How, as a parent, do you deal with that reality?
Baby Teeth hones in on one of every parents biggest fears: failure at being the best parent possible. The mother in this story questions every parenting move she has ever made, worried that she is the root cause of her daughter’s condition. Did she feed her too many organic foods? Not give her enough treats and rewards? Tell her yes too much? No too often? Let her watch television more than she should have? And so on and so forth. There isn’t a magical parenting book with all the answers, but for most parents, doing they best they can is enough. In Hanna’s case, so much more is required though.
I loved that this book touched on many of the issues many parents face: worries about decision making, having enough time to spend with their children, balancing work and life, and raising a child who is going to be a successful, self-sufficient, contributing member of society. Furthermore, Baby Teeth does a remarkable job portraying the strains having a child can put on a marital relationship. A final thing I liked about this book was the additional life stressor that was included to make it more realistic. Suzette suffers from a debilitating health condition that only adds to her misery and despair. I liked that Stage showcased Crohn’s disease and brought attention to the trauma Suzette suffered herself as a result of her condition and the role it played in her parenting style.
My only complaint would have been Alex’s (the father) extreme resistance to believe that his daughter was capable of the things she was doing. I get it though. As a parent, I would never want to believe that my child was capable of doing the things Hanna does. At times, I found myself questioning why Suzette didn’t do something to prove she was telling the truth about Hanna to Alex. After some thought, I realized it was all about preserving her marriage. Too much information would have threatened what little balance their marriage had left.
All in all, I thought this book was thought provoking and definitely a page turner. I would definitely recommend it to others
I loved this book. Cannot wait to read more from this author . I read this book in one day staying up half the night I couldn’t put it down until I knew the ending. If your looking for a good psychological thriller this is it.
I couldn’t put this book down. It was a family nightmare written as though you were in the minds of the people involved.
There is nothing more creepy than a child gone bad…
Oh. My. Gosh! What a creepy story. What a creepy, evil, little girl! How can anyone be so conniving and evil, let alone being only seven years old? Everything about this story is so wrong but yet all of that wrongness was what made me want to keep reading and what made me not want to put the book down.
The suspense and twists in this book are unreal and kept me on the edge on my chair the whole time. I have been recommending Baby Teeth to anyone and everyone I know who loves psychological thrillers because this book totally fits the bill.
It is also amazing to me that this is a debut novel. I’m excited to see what the author creates next!
Truly terrifying novel.
Beautifully written with characters that will stay with you long after you close the book. Deliciously creepy!
Made me think of the play THE BAD SEED.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited to receive this copy due to all the advance publicity, but as I read it, I was quite dismayed that the evil person in the book was a 7-year old child who was jealous of her mother.
I don’t feel the book gave enough background as to why Hanna, the child, behaved the way she did. By all accounts, Suzette was a loving, attentive mother to Hanna. I understand that Hanna craved her father’s attention, but the book never explained why Hanna had such hatred of her mother, especially since her mother did so much for Hanna.
I just don’t believe that children are born with an evil streak. This book was very creepy.
Perhaps because it was an ARC, there were several places where the setting would jump to a different time and/or place without any segue. That was odd, and perhaps needs some additional editing.
#BabyTeeth #ZojeStage #NetGalley #StMartinsPress
The girl Hanna in by opinion she was possessed, and she try several times to kill her mother
She was 7 and stii didn’t speak
Her behavior got her thrown out of lots of schools
If you like Scarry books, this one is for you. Could be realistic and possible.
Good book to read before Halloween..
Often we idolize ideals which represent happiness, but sometimes those ideals are the epitome of horror. They can shatter a belief in humanity and destroy lives. Baby Teeth examines the outcome of breathing life into a fantasy that was better left unimagined and forces the reader to question why they feel the need to strive for something better, when perhaps they already have all of the happiness that they need. You won’t be able to put this one down.
Fast and interesting twisted tale of the dynamics between mother/ daughter.
WOW WOW WOW! Crazy good, original story. A parents worst nightmare come to fruition in this haunting book! The points of view from each character were amazing. I can’t even imagine what I would do and that is just one awesome thing about this story. You can’t help but think about what you would do if you were in this situation with your child and husband. Perception is everything! Very original, and definitely terrifying in its own crazy way.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Which , of course, doesn’t change my opinion of the book as that will help no one. It drops July 17th.
So let’s see ….
Suzette- SAHM, Crohn’s Disease
Hannah- 7 years old, mute but doctors can’t find anything physically wrong.
Alex- delusional AF dad
The story is told from alternating POV between Suzette and Hannah. Which I happen to like. At first I could relate to Suzette because being a parent is hard, a mom harder and a SAHM is fucking bananas. But almost right away I disconnect myself. Not that Hannah is innocent either.
The whole family is grade A dysfunctional.
I’d say the book seems like it will be controversial because of how their relationship is portrayed. I see a lot of people being uncomfortable with a lot of the book. That being said I did enjoy the book. It was well written. I liked the ending because I wasn’t really expecting it to end that way. This being Stage’s book debut in looking forward to more of her work and definitely another thriller to see if and how she ups her game.
This book is terrifying. That’s all I can say without giving anything away.