“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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The most original book I have read in years. The perspective going back and forth between mother and child is an incisive picture of the making of monsters…both mother and child.
Didn’t like the ending at all
I was intrigued from the start. An interesting and disturbing story of mental illness in a child. Is is nature or nurture? That thought kept running through my mind. A great book which keeps you wondering.
A reimagining of The Bad Seed.
Only read the sample so far; pretty twisted.
Currently reading very good
Excellent book
simply could not put it down even though it really freaked me out. I truly hope there are no real children who are like Hannah.
Wow, this is a great book. Reminds me of a popular movie (maybe book too) from the 1950s called The Bad Seed. I have Baby Teeth on audio, and my husband and I went through it in one afternoon/evening. And he doesn’t care for books! The story just pulls you in and won’t let go. The only problem with this book – and it is a big one – is the ending. Just really isn’t one. You read the last page and feel puzzled and cheated. I recommend it, though; maybe it’s only me who doesn’t like the ending and other than that it is a fantastic book.
Hanna is seven and she is out to get her mother, at least that’s what Suzette believes. Others see a quiet girl who plays best alone, but Suzette knows otherwise. Hanna wants mommy out of the picture and she’ll do anything to get rid of her.
I came out of this pleasantly surprised, finding myself aching for Hanna and Suzette and the unaware Alex. Baby Teeth has been surrounded by controversial hype for months, labeled a creepy thriller you won’t be able to put down. Alternating chapter viewpoints give us insight into little Hanna and her mother, Suzette’s, daily life. I admit the psychological aspect is what drew me in, I really had no interest in a creepy seven year old, but ultimately I found myself enthralled by Hanna’s perspective. She’s incredibly smart, a gifted little girl, and mute. Suzette is a difficult character, almost unreliable as a narrator. She’s focused on her image, missing a normalcy she’s created in her head, and nearly obsessive compulsive about cleaning. I found myself both understanding her fear of Hanna, but also pitying her for her immature viewpoints. She’s naive, selfish, and very hard to root for. The two, ultimately, are out to get each other.
What starts as creep, and had me fairly scared of finishing the novel, soon turns into more of a psychological drama. As readers we hurt for secondary character Alex, caught in the middle between a mother and a daughter who, quite frankly, don’t seem to really like each other at all. It’s a he-said she-said battle, one that ultimately made my heart ache. Suzette deals with a debilitating illness throughout the novel and I found that Hanna really just was a child gone undiagnosed, no creepiness to it. I don’t think this should be considered a thriller, with no plot twist and no real fear built into it, but as a general read it is enjoyable.
ARC provided.
Gripping. Hanna and Suzette are disturbed. I couldn’t stop reading to see what Hanna would do to Suzette next and what Suzette would finally do about it. Hanna is evil and I found myself feeling a certain way throughout the day. This book stuck with me physically and had an actual effect on me! This was an amazing read. Stage wrote an amazing book and had an excellent way of telling the wicked ways a child could be. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC of this as well as to St. Martin’s Press for not only the published ARC edition, but also a fantastic audiobook I could listen to, in exchange for my unbiased review. I have been beyond excited of all the press this book has gotten from the publisher and that I have been included!
This book can only be described as weird, but entertaining. Hanna is a child who won’t speak unless she feels like it and who has her father charmed and thinking that she is a perfect angel. Her mother Suzette has tried vainly to enroll her in preschool, but she keeps getting expelled because of her abhorrent behavior. So mom Suzette has to homeschool the little darling who resents her and wants mommy out of the way so it can just be her and her adoring daddy. What a dysfunctional family! The style was also strange, skipping between the point of view of the various characters and letting the reader truly feel the frustration of the mom, the blindness of the dad and the pure evil of Hanna.. As I stated, the book was weird; I read it for the entertainment, but I am not sure that most people would stick with it since the family is so dysfunctional that there is nothing believable about the book.
Disclaimer:. I received a free e-galley of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This was one disturbing book.
Hanna is a very evil child who hates her mother and wants her gone. She will do anything to see that happen. All she wants is her daddy. I’m not really so sure that would make her happy. I think she has something missing inside.
Suzette is a mother who was not loved by her own mother and I got the impression that she wanted so badly to love Hanna. She tried on so many levels but Hanna would not have it.
The dad, Alex, does not see any wrong in his little princess. I don’t see how he can miss so much. Hanna is just pure evil.
I really liked this book even though it was a bit creepy and more of a horror story that I first thought. It pulls you in and you will want to find out what happens. I was not disappointed in the ending though thought it could have been a little bit more. I kept rooting for Suzette.
Thank you #NetGalley and #St Martin’s Press for the honor of reading this book.
Baby Teeth is deeply unsettling in the best possible way. Absolutely unforgettable and unflinching, it digs right into the painful nerve of family, obligation and dependence — it’s a hell of a debut.
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is a psychological thriller. This will be the book that everyone is talking about! It is so very disturbing and will definitely creep you out. I read this book in small doses. It’s a lot to digest all at once. An evil, master mind in a very tiny package. That is the only way I can describe little Hanna. Hanna wants her Daddy all to herself and she will go above and beyond to make that happen. Suzette, Hanna’s mother is the prime target or shall I say victim in the story. Alex, Hanna’s father is blind to Hanna’s cruel behaviors and tricks. Hanna is unlike any child I have ever met. She is down right evil. This is one majorly dysfunctional family. With this being Zoje Stage’s debut book, I can’t wait to read the next. There are very few authors that can write a story that can freak me out like this one. This book will stay with you long after you finish it.
As you read you are introduced to Suzette and her daughter Hanna. At the age of seven Hanna still doesn’t speak and Suzette is at the end of her rope with how to help her daughter. They are at another doctors visit, one that tells them the same thing all the others have told them, there is nothing physically wrong with Hanna. It may not be that she can’t speak, it may be that she just won’t speak and that is the crux of the situation. As the book progresses you look through the eyes of not only Suzette but through Hanna. You learn of the medical issues that Suzette faced from a teenager on, and those that she still faces and worries with daily. You delve into the mind of Hanna who views life through a different set of eyes than any seven year old you’ve probably ever met. Along the way you begin to get a clearer picture of Hanna who even at such a young age seems more adult than a child her age should ever be. You begin to form a picture of a woman who has spent years trying to help her child, a father who only sees what he wants to see, and a child in the middle manipulating things to fit into a world of her own making. This book was riveting from the start, it took me on an emotional ride that left me feeling drained at the end. It was disturbingly dark and had me wondering how many children out in the world are like Hanna. It was an exceptional read that had me on edge the whole way through. It is a definite must read!!!
This is a creepy, twisted, terrifying tale of 7 yea old Hannah. She hates her mommy and thinks she’s put a spell on daddy to make him not love her anymore. Hannah who is nonverbal ( is it by choice or is she not able) invokes an imaginary friend, Ann Marie who was burnt in the witch trails , to help her get rid of mommy. Together they execute heinous acts on Suzette to get rid of her, each one getting worse and worse. Does daddy believe mommy or is Hannah’s plan working?
This book was so good and creepy! I couldn’t believe the things that Hannah was doing and how well she played things off! I cringed every time for Hannah’s perspective wondering what she would do next!
I loved the writing style, the only thing that I didn’t love was all the diet talk, it just felt like to much of it.
Thank you to ST. Martin press and The Author for the Arc.
3.5 Creepy ‘lil Stars…
I am going to be completely honest here; I had a hard time getting into this book initially because the idea of Hanna being so hateful to her Momma was a hard pill for me to shallow ~ but I am so glad that I stuck with it! This was definitely a riveting ride. My heart went out for Suzette, I have to say at one point I was questioning her sanity were these things really happening or was she overreacting? Being inside Hanna mind was a little freaky, but it is what really made the story for me.
Wow! Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage was full of surprises. This was my first read by this author and will definitely not be my last. I am not sure if this would be classified a psychological thriller or horror story, all I know is I was at the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. I am not sure how readers will feel about this one, but I was captivated by the story.
Alex and Suzette Jensen have been happily married and in love. Though Suzette suffers from her condition on a daily basis, she is determined to love and cherish her daughter, Hanna, the way she never was. But there is something about Hanna that is disturbing and honestly, sometimes scares her, but she does all she can.
And Hanna is an entirely different story. Though there is no explainable reason for it, she does not speak. To anyone. Though she does read and write. Instead she is insolent, had wild outbursts in anger and refuses to listen to anyone. Now she is homeschooled, but this only seems to increase her dislike of her mother. So, she continues to act out. Except for her father, who she loves and does not understand why he keeps her mother around.
And so, begins this diabolical story of a child who detests her mother and a mother who wants to love her daughter, but sometimes fears for her safety. Alex never sees Hanna at her worst, so he believes his daughter just needs more understanding and love, but Suzette sees what is in her daughter’s eyes.
First, as you are reading this book, remember, it is fiction. If you can get past that, this book will grip you from the start. All I wanted was to keep reading, but at times I just had to put my kindle down and let my heartrate slow. Even long after I finished it, I thought of it often. Told in both Suzette and Hanna point of views, this tale is dark and wicked look at a dysfunctional family (which is quite the understatement).
Happy reading!
I was not part of the majority with enjoying this book. I definitely think it is a good read, I just felt some scenes weren’t necessary to convey the story.
A complete review can be read here: http://bit.ly/RAPTReviewBabyTeeth
Wow, just pure evil. I thought after a few chapters in I was going to have to have someone perform and exorcism on this book it was that demonic. The first few chapters were kinda slow but picked up and got better as it went along.
This was on of those books that mess with your mind. It’s in our nature to love and care for all children and to only see the good in them but this book totally goes against the laws of nature. It made the mother in me feel guilty for hating a child so much.
This is one of those books that I didn’t really like any of the characters except for bad tooth woman and the therapist.
Both parents seemed self involved and worried too much about having the perfect everything. They seemed to hide from the realities of life. The child is extremely bright and genus and the plotting goes well beyond her years but that is why I call her genus.
I can feel the mothers pain and hopelessness when she tries to tell husband what is going on and he just doesn’t believe her because the child is good as gold when he is around.
I tell ya, this would make you change your mind about having kids. Perfect plotting and well written devious plans by the author. Kudos in giving me the heebie jeebies, a true devils spawn.