Baby Teeth
by Zoje Stage
A battle of wills between mother and daughter reveals the frailty and falsehood of familial bonds in award-winning playwright and filmmaker Zoje Stage’s tense novel of psychological suspense, Baby Teeth.
Afflicted with a chronic debilitating condition, Suzette Jensen knew having children would wreak havoc on her already fragile body. Nevertheless, she brought Hanna into the world, pleased and proud to start a family with her husband Alex. Estranged from her own mother, Suzette is determined to raise her beautiful daughter with the love, care, and support she was denied.
But Hanna proves to be a difficult child. Now seven-years-old, she has yet to utter a word, despite being able to read and write. Defiant and anti-social, she refuses to behave in kindergarten classes, forcing Suzette to homeschool her. Resentful of her mother’s rules and attentions, Hanna lashes out in anger, becoming more aggressive every day. The only time Hanna is truly happy is when she’s with her father. To Alex, she’s willful and precocious but otherwise the perfect little girl, doing what she’s told.
Suzette knows her clever and manipulative daughter doesn’t love her. She can see the hatred and jealousy in her eyes. And as Hanna’s subtle acts of cruelty threaten to tear her and Alex apart, Suzette fears her very life may be in grave danger…
❃❃Baby Teeth releases July 17th❃❃
Kobo
Momma Says: 5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Baby Teeth is as disturbing as disturbing gets. For me, there's nothing scarier than a creepy child, and they don't get much creepier than Hannah. She's absolutely diabolical. I'll admit that I did have a problem with Hannah's young age and the things she's able to accomplish, but given her intelligence combined with access to the internet, it's not as big a stretch once I gave it some thought. The thing that got me was even though Hannah's planning and conniving seemed beyond her years, she still had that childlike innocence in terms of the details when carrying out those plans and the consequences. With parents who are ill-equipped to handle a child so manipulative, not that any parent would be prepared for this child, it's not hard to see where this one is heading and I found it impossible to put down as Hannah's actions escalate. We do have an open ending, which is as chilling as the rest of the book, and I'll be interested to see if there's a sequel. I believe this is one of those books with little middle ground in terms of opinion. You'll either love it or you'll hate it, and I am firmly in the love it camp. With this debut, Stage has proven, to this reader at least, that she knows her stuff when it comes to building tension and creating a dark, twisted, and even sinister tale.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press
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