ARC Review: Baby Teeth – Zoje Stage

 
Baby Teeth

Author: Zoje Stage
Published: July 17th, 2018

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

**Disclaimer: I won an ARC via a Goodreads giveaway**

Sweetness can be deceptive.

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 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.

First of all…the cover for this is great. The sucker represents childhood and sweetness, but not just any kind. The kind that is shattered by the psychosis of a young 7-year-old girl…Hanna. That is why we see a smashed sucker against an off-white background.

I will admit I was not sure what to expect with his novel. The title was confusing and I had to read the description before I was really pulled in. I was super excited when I received an email saying that I had won a free ARC via Goodreads!! It has been a while since I last read a good thriller novel. Let me say this, Zoje does an amazing job with her debut book. With tones similar to the film “The Orphan” at times, it gripped me from the start. Granted, Hanna really is a 7-year-old but the level of psychosis and disturbing violence is on par. I will begin this review by saying this is a dark and twisted thriller. It is not a story for everyone and that is ok.

I really liked the alternating point of views. This allows the reader to really get inside the head of both Hanna and her mom Suzette. I really loved the struggles in this novel and how each character had so much depth. First, let me address Suzette, she lives a life full of physical pain from her Chron’s disease and its resulting surgeries but also emotional pain. She had a really rough upbringing with her mother and she fears every day that she is not enough, that she is the reason Hannah refuses to talk. She knows something is wrong with Hanna, her erratic behavior seems calculated but her husband never sees any of it. To him, she is an angel…for now. Suzette has had enough and is desperate for a break. The struggles she goes through are so real. Every mom wonders if she is doing a good job, providing what her child needs. She fears much more, that she will become her mother. We see her grow as a person in the novel, she learns to take charge and do what must be done but she has to stand strong against the daughter she loves so much.

Hanna is a 7-year-old girl who refuses to talk. She has made it clear she did not want to be in school. She is a daddy’s girl but mommy is in the way. Now she must find a way to get rid of her, in a way where she will never come back. First, let me address some of the reviews on Goodreads. Yes, it may seem unthinkable but a 7-year-old can be as cold and calculating as this character. Children are incredibly smart and though they may not show it, they understand what is going on around them. There have been many cases of young children killing their parents in a calculated manner, as dark as it may be it is not unrealistic. We would like to think all children are innocent angels, incapable of violence in this way but that changes when something such as psychosis enters the equation. Now that I have addressed that…Hanna is brutal. She calculates every move and is honestly creepy. As a parent of a 7-year-old, I can imagine the fear her mother felt living in the house and being a stay-at-home mom. Children are very calculated. They know how to manipulate people to get what they want, or at least try. This character truly had me scared for her mother. Edge of my seat scared, steaming with frustration when her dad couldn’t see what was happening.

There is no need for world building since it takes place in our world during modern times. The novel is paced really well! I never felt bored, always turning pages needing to see what Hanna did next and how Suzette would respond. There were some really good plot peaks as well. There was a moment when you know Suzette was not going to take this any longer. That…is when the story really changed. You will develop empathy for the characters, it is unavoidable. How can you not feel for them and what they are going through? As for those reviews on Goodreads who say no parent would let their child do that and then beg for their forgiveness..as a parent, you want what is best for your child and you want them to look up to you. Granted, children need to be shown limits but Suzette was so afraid of becoming her mother that she did not know what to do. Despite the violence, she was still her daughter and she would always love her.

I really enjoyed this book and for those of you who love the creepy, disturbing, twisted thrillers…you will also. If you are troubled by children being the enemy, doing unthinkable and violent things…DO NOT READ THIS. Hanna is not someone you would enjoy reading about. Overall, this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I say it is amazing for a debut novel.