Baby Teeth by Zoe Stage A Clinical Psychologist’s Strongest Endorsement

Brief Summary: Hanna is a mute seven year old girl who acts sweet and angelic around her father Alex and torments her mother Suzette to the extreme of wanting to seriously harm her. As a result, she gets herself expelled from every school to stay at home with her mother. This is a psychological thriller of a novel that highlights the impact of mental illness on family dynamics and the importance of mental health treatment. But Stage doesn’t stop at mental illness, she also adds invisible disability into the mix as Suzette has Crohn’s disease. It is incredibly controversial and I hope it continues to make people think and talk about how to handle mental illness. Full disclosure, I’m a clinical psychologist and I commend Zoe Stage for giving us a book that shows us the value of psychology.

Highlights: This book is incredibly scary for parents and future parents: what would you do if your child hated you? Or you could not control your child? In the beginning I struggled with this book, I did not have any empathy for Hanna or like her as a character. I did not enjoy her tactics nor her mothers difficulty in managing her behaviors. I literally kept turning the pages because I wanted to see what role the psychologist would play. If you’re like me don’t give up on the book, because I absolutely loved it. In addition to the psychology factors mentioned below, Stage also highlights what it’s like to live with the invisible disability of Crohn’s disease. Suzette worries about her husband maintaining his role of her husband rather than her nurse, her body betraying her, and loss of control of bodily functions; all very real fears of those who live with this chronic illness.

Explanation of Rating: you probably aren’t surprised that I’m giving this five out of five stars (5/5)! Stage won me over with the strong role the psychologist plays and her accurate portrayal of invisible disability.

Psychology Factors: The psychologist in the book says the best “Mental illness is an illness.” Stage highlights so many important issues: stigma, reluctance to seek mental health treatment, and most importantly that mental illness isn’t anyone’s fault. While Suzette certainly struggled with proper behavioral reinforcement of her daughter, Hanna’s mental illness was certainly not the result of bad parenting. Stage also presents the impact of mental illness on loved ones; how it divides families, the feelings of helplessness Hanna’s parents experienced, and that they also benefited from psychology treatment. One of the most powerful moments in the book is when Hanna’s parents realize how badly their daughter needs treatment despite how difficult it is for them.

I really hope that this book inspires readers experiencing mental health issues or with loved ones with mental health problems to seek mental health treatment sooner. This is an excellent read for parents, teachers, professionals who work with children, mental health practitioners, and anyone who has been affected by mental illness and invisible disability. This is a book club pick you won’t stop talking about! Stage leaves the ending open for a sequel and I hope she gives us one!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Angela Kuemmel, Ph.D., ABPP

Just finished reading Baby Teeth by Zoje Sage. This is definitely one of the best and scariest books I have read in a long time. It is about relationships in a family which mostly end up in two against one in all situations. It just depends on what the specific situation is at any given time or day. One of the best parts about this story is that no matter whose side you are on you are never going to win at any precise moment and at the end of the book you are hit with an ending that can turn the hopefully next book into just as terrible as you can imagine. This was the most fascinating book I’ve read in quite a while and I would love to recommend this book to others who enjoy thrilling psychological mysteries. Without a doubt a five star book! Many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Suzette and her husband Alex are very worried about their 7-year old daughter Hanna. She won’t speak but clearly is very intelligent. But, is she really evil? Is a child’s love for its mother, and also a mother’s love something that should be taken for granted?

As the reader learns more about Suzette’s past and the damaged relationship she had with her own mother, as well as her chronic health issues, it is easy to sympathize with her, as she struggles with an increasingly violent and frightening child.

Hanna, although mute, is extremely manipulative, and determined to have her father all for herself. She really, really wants her mother to die and is devoting all her resources to a plan which will get rid of her once and for all.

The characters were well developed – Hanna could sometimes appear like evil incarnate, perhaps a sociopath, but in the next moment, a child who simply wants to please and love her father. Suzanne, trying her best to be a good mother, is also capable of lashing out in frustration at her child, and putting on the act of a calm and perfect mother in front of Alex.

This is a novel you will not want to put down, a chilling, well-written page-turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off saying this book scared the beejeebies out of me. I still have not figured out who was more disturbed the mom, Suzette, or the daughter, Hanna. Alex, the dad, should run very far away from the both of them.

Hanna appears all sweet and angelic to everyone on the surface especially to her never-can-do wrong daddy. When she is alone with her mom she turns into the devil child. What makes this even harder is Hanna is mute. Her form of expressing herself is with screams, grunts and the occasional bark.

Suzette has lived a life of exclusion and loneliness due to her severe Crohn's disease. She never felt complete until she met Alex. She loved the time when it was just the two of them loving and being each other's whole world. She loves her daughter but the more her daughter becomes "unnormal" in her eyes the more she longs for it just to be her and Alex again.

This book was totally out of my norm. I like the occasional thriller that makes you think but one with a child who is seriously disturbed had me disturbed. Can a child so young really be as bad Hanna was portrayed? I pray I never meet that child.

If you are a puppy and rainbows kind of reader then I would say this book is not for you. If you want to try something new and want something that makes you think then grab this book when it comes out on July 17, 2018 in the USA.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

What do you get when you mix a medically and emotionally fragile women and and an extremely intelligent but verbally uncommunicative child with an overactive Electra complex? You get a train wreck. A train wreck called Baby Teeth. This book wasn’t very pleasant to read unless you are a fan of horrific accidents. The mom making poor choices. The kid making assumptions. The dad is oblivious to most of what is going on (though to be honest, this is mostly due to one of the mom's poor choices.) The book was well written I guess the topic wasn’t something I enjoyed reading about. There seemed to be no satisfactory resolution, just a lot of sympathetic people in a really bad situation.

Suzette and Axel had an idyllic relationship. They met, fell in love, married, and looked forward to beginning a family. Even with Suzette's medical problems, they were excited about having their child and initially Hanna was everything they could have imagined. She was a healthy and happy child. But then she never talked. They took her for various testing to ensure there was nothing physiologically wrong with her and were assured that nothing was wrong. Then Suzette enrolled Hanna in kindergarten. She was asked to leave after only days there. Suzette homeschooled Hanna and saw a side of her daughter than Axel never saw, but she wasn't afraid of her. Then Hanna turned six and they tried to enroll her in first grade. Hanna was once again asked to leave the school and, once again, Suzette was back to homeschooling her daughter. Suzette knew that Hanna was incredibly intelligent. Her daughter could read, write, and do math beyond her grade level. The only thing Hanna couldn't do was talk. Now Hanna is seven years old and Suzette is recovering from another surgery to help with her Crohn's disease. Suzette knows that Axel will never be able to see Hanna the same way she does, but she's hopeful that perhaps this is the year that Hanna can transition to school. But then Hanna does begin talking only not as Hanna and the things she says can only be taken as threats, threats to Suzette's welfare. When Hanna is expelled from a third and then a fourth school in less then three years, Suzette takes the advice of specialists at the schools and makes an appointment to see a child psychologist. Her only hope is that this psychologist will be able to provide help before serious injuries occur.



We're all raised to think that little girls and boys are cute and innocent. Little girls are supposed to be made of "sugar and spice and everything nice." Hanna is not that child, by any stretch of the imagination, although she presents as sweetness and love to her father. Hanna is a child with a severe case of the Electra complex, meaning she's in love with her father and wants to kill her mother so she and her father can live happily ever after. If that doesn't scare you, think about this, a seven-year-old child is devious enough to think of ways to kill her mother and even tries a few. I found Baby Teeth to be an engrossing read but perhaps not one for the faint of heart. This twisted tale is told in the alternating voices of Suzette and Hanna, and I was disheartened reading about everything Hanna did from Suzette's perspective and downright chilled to read about it from Hanna's perspective. Ms. Stage has crafted characters and scenarios that are not only plausible but spine-chilling. Once I started reading Baby Teeth I couldn't put it down (yes, it was just that good). I enjoyed the characters, the action, and the settings. If you're looking for a thrilling read this summer, look no further and grab a copy of Baby Teeth to read. Baby Teeth is going to be one of my must-read recommendations for this year. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Stage in the future.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This book is the craziest psychological thriller that I have ever read. Being a stay at home mom is a taxing job but being a stay at home mom to a sociopathic child is a whole new ballgame. While Hanna seems like a good girl with a speech issue to her dad, her mom knows what's really going on. I never would have been able to handle a child like Hanna. This book makes me thankful for my normal routine and my quiet, talkative, and sweet children.

I feel conflicted about the debut novel from Zoje Stage, Baby Teeth.

Suzette, the mother, is raising Hanna, a nonverbal child who may be a bad seed. The UK version of this book, in fact, will be released in 2019 under the name Bad Apple.

Hanna spends her days thinking up devious plans to get at her Mommy. In Hanna’s ideal world, Mommy would be out of the picture and Hanna would live blissfully alone with her beloved Daddy. Alex, the father, means well but is willfully obtuse to Hannah’s misdeeds and the toll they’re taking on Suzette.

Similarly, Suzette’s ideal world would include Alex and not Hanna. Instead of personifying and solidifying their love, their child divides them.

As Baby Teeth progresses, Hanna chomps away at Suzette’s sanity. At one point, she half suspects that Hanna is a witch.

It’s a brilliant look at a dysfunctional family. The power dynamics between mother and child are brow-furrowingly complex. Suzette’s push/pull between loving and loathing her daughter gives her character an interesting ambiguity.

But the book also demonizes mental illness.

The fact that the child is seven years old, nonverbal, and has been ejected from every school because of extreme behavior makes it strange, verging on unbelievable, that the parents are only now seeking a psychiatrist. Shouldn’t the MRI, speech pathologists, and behavioral intervention come much much sooner?

Suzette does show emotional immaturity. Perhaps she could get a pass, considering her own mental and physical traumas. But Hanna has encountered enough concerned adults in her life that it seems reasonable at least one of them would have called in the experts.

But the mental illness seems significantly downplayed. The book presents Hanna as a bad seed with evil intentions against her mom. What I saw was a girl with undiagnosed psychosis, desperately in need of therapy, medication, and support.

Maybe this was Zoje Stage’s intention. Maybe she wanted us to puzzle through it and find the codependence that shuts out a girl in need. Maybe not. In either instance, it presents an interesting, layered read.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Baby Teeth has a great cover. It is essentially about a mother-daughter relationship. Gone very bad. Hanna, the seven-year old daughter, refuses to speak and does what she can to make her mother, Suzette, life unbearable and strategizes ways to scare her. Suzette has had medical issues her entire life and she is not a strong person, physically or emotionally. Doting on husband and daughter and constantly questioning her ability to parent. Hanna seizes the opportunity to take advantage of her insecurities. Each battling for the affection and attention of Alex, husband and father. He is oblivious to Hanna’s stunts because Hanna only acts out with her mother as to not upset her father. It isn’t until the situation is blatantly dangerous that Alex steps up.

Told in alternating chapters from Suzette and Hanna. Hanna is a first grader and seemed too young for her to be as calculating and internet savvy as she was, but putting that aside I was all in. This thriller (horror is more like it) is a fast-paced debut!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy.

"Dysfunctional" doesn't come close to describing this family of three: Mother Suzette, father Alex and young daughter Hanna. Reminiscent of the 1956 horror-thriller movie "The Bad Seed," Hanna is the Devil incarnate; she spends her days dreaming that Mommy is dead (and conjuring up ways to make that happen) so she can have her beloved Daddy all to herself.

Both parents have issues; Suzette, who has suffered from Crohn's disease since childhood, had a messed-up, uncaring mother and constantly worries that she won't be perfect in the eyes of her husband and even the daughter she's come to fear. Alex fuels Suzette's internal combustion by loving her perfection, whether it be through her beauty, their magazine-worthy home or the child he refuses to believe could possibly have a nasty bone in her little body. Both parents are understandably concerned about Hanna's development, but asking what she's thinking won't be much help because she doesn't talk. In fact, she hasn't spoken a single word for all of her seven years.

She does, however, have a precocious brain, clearly understanding almost everything that's said to her and a whole lot more; for instance, she knows her way around computer searches better than I do. She's also fond of barking, growling and making other ungodly noises, especially when she's around people she doesn't like and wants to upset (including her mother, of course).

Mom and Dad have tried special schools, but to no avail; Hanna simply does something so awful - like setting a wastebasket on fire - that she gets expelled every time. Dad, of course, balks at Mom's attempts to seek more help; after all, he goes to work all day and comes home to find a sweet, loving daughter who's all smiles and smooches. So what's not to love?

Readers learn early on, getting clued in on what's really happening by way of chapters told from Suzette's and Hanna's perspectives. Although there's rarely a dull moment, though, it's positively agonizing to read chapter after chapter as Suzette continues to question what she's doing wrong all the while being terrified of her own child and Alex can't see beyond the end of his own nose. And Hanna? Well, I've given it considerable thought since I finished the book and concluded there's not a single nice thing I can say about her.

Suffice it to say, then, that reading this book isn't much fun. Sure, there's nerve-wracking tension and the constant question of what could this kid possibly come up with next, but mostly I just wanted somebody to get bumped off (and I didn't much care which one bit the dust). That said, this is a well-written book that's loaded with page-turning incentives; those who enjoy psychologically damaged characters as in "Carrie," "Rosemary's Baby" and "Children of the Corn," I think, are in for a real treat. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance review copy.

This was a compelling and creepy read. Stage takes us inside the mind of a 7-year-old psychopath as she plots to get rid of her mom so she can have her dad all to herself. She has absolutely no empathy or remorse and in her mind all of her actions are very logical and necessary for her wellbeing. We also view the story from the mind of her flawed mother. Suzette is truly trying to be a good mother, but struggles with doubts due to a dysfunctional childhood and having to deal with Crohn's disease.

It was fascinating to see the events occurring in the household from both perspectives. Even though there were some heart-to-heart talks with Alex, the father, I still wonder if there is more going on with him than meets the eye. The story comes to a chilling conclusion.

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This domestic thriller seriously creeped me out. Something is wrong with seven-year-old Hannah and her mother, Suzette, is the only one who realizes how bad it really is. The little girl wants things her own way and will do anything to make that happen. She refuses to speak, unless her mother is the only one there to hear her, and is amazingly gifted when it comes to manipulating the adults around her. I expected this one to twist in a different direction than it ultimately did, but wasn't at all disappointed.

Thank you St Martin's Press & NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

While I have seen and heard mixed reviews on this book - I am SOLIDLY in Team THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. Holy hell, this book is the definition of a creepy, horrifying, slow-burn psychological thriller.

Synopsis: Hanna is an adorable 7 year old girl who loves her daddy. What sets Hanna apart from other kids is that she has been a mute her entire life. And she wants to murder her mommy.

Honestly, I don't think there is anything creepier than a homicidal, psychopathic child. The uneasiness of this is rooted in the idea that this is a psychosis that is simply rooted in the hard wiring of a person - not a learned behaviour, not the cause of abuse or lack of nurturing - just a dark, deadly core of a human being. Everything about Hanna as a character was so perfectly done in a twisting, methodical way that still made complete sense in the limitations of her age and experience. Each homicidal attempt on her mother's life was completely plausible as something a 7-year old would dream up, and every reaction was something that rang true back to a child trying to muddle through the results of actions.

This book was the perfect pace - letting the suspense and the frustration grow page by page. I devoured this book - its a story you can't pause or set down once you start. Watching each twist had me feeling about as sick and nervous as Suzette, right to the very last page. This story is a page turner, and will be an AMAZING book club read. If you love a dark psychological thriller, this is the summer read for you!

I didn't think I wanted to read this but once I started I couldn't put it down. Not sure if I like one line in the ending, but won't say as it would be a spoiler. A very different read.

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.

4.0 “Creepy Child” Star

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press.

This book made me question wanting children. That’s how scary Hanna was.

The blurb says: “Meet Hanna.” After reading this, I say, “Hm, no, thank you.” You can keep that girl away from me. There’ll be no complaints.

Told in dual POV, Baby Teeth is the kind of creepy story that is fun to read. At least it was for me. I practically read it in one sitting, and the story held my attention from start to finish. I blame that on the great writing style (even though I’m not the biggest fan of third person, this one was well-written and engaging) and on the intriguing characters.

I had doubts about Hanna’s POV at first, but it surprisingly didn’t annoy me. I couldn’t imagine being inside the head of a kid could be so entertainingly creepy. Her thoughts were logical and nonsensical at the same time. Sure I felt she was a little too smart for someone her age every now and then, but it could be explained by her psychopathic tendencies, if I can call it that.

I won’t call Hanna a psychopath, because I believe that’s not a diagnosis you can have until a person’s brain is fully developed, but that’s an idea of what you can expect from Hanna. She’s manipulative, violent, intelligent, shows a lack of empathy and attachment to anyone else but her father, and she’s scary AF.

Imagine being her mom and having to live with a kid who not only shows those traits, but wants you dead. That’s Suzatte’s life. Poor woman went through a lot in this story.

Unlike Hanna, I found Suzette to be an extremely likable character. There were times I wanted to shake her because she gave her scary daughter too much power, but I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, so I tried to cut her some slack. I loved that, despite everything going on, she still tried to be a good mother. She could’ve easily tried to be as awful as her daughter, but even when she tried to fight back, I felt it was more out of self-preservation and worry than being mean-spirited. In all honesty, she had more patience than I expected myself to in a situation like that.

The plot wasn’t perfect--some of the conflicts could’ve been avoided had Suzette acted like a person with full access to technology a little more--but it sure was engaging. I was eager to learn what awful thing Hanna would do next, and I was cheering for Suzette the entire time.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending, but I didn’t hate it, either. I guess it fit well the creepy factor present throughout the book.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining read from a debut author that shows promise.

Hanna, aged 7 is a monster of a child. She's like the child from the nursery rhyme - "When she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!" She loves her Daddy, Alex and is sweet and loving with him, but with her mother, Suzette she is is very horrid indeed. She is very smart and manipulative to the point of refusing to speak, snarling at her mother or stamping her feet when something doesn't please her. Doctors have run a plethora of tests and have assured her mother there is nothing physically wrong with Hanna. No one will babysit Hanna and she has scuppered all attempts to send her to school creating trouble and being expelled within weeks so that poor Suzette has to home school her. What Hanna really wants is for Suzette to disappear so she can have Alex all to herself and she has some plans up her sleeve to achieve just this.

The question that I ask myself is whether it is possible for a 7 year old to be this manipulative and scheming? Can a child become a sociopath (and possibly a psychopath) that young without there being any triggering factors? I've love to hear a psychologist's view on this. The book is composed of chapters alternating between Hanna's and Suzette's point of view and this works well to give us a window into what each of them is thinking and plotting. Suzette spends a lot of time blaming herself for Hanna's behaviour and compensating for her own mother's negligence by being a model mother and housewife. What she really wants is to be able to spend some time on her own and maybe go back to work as an interior designer - if only Hanna can go to school and learn to be a normal child. Overall this was a very good debut and I will watch out for more from Zoje Stage in future. I was a little disappointed in the ending as I was expecting a horrific climax (although that came earlier), but I did enjoy the last scene with Hanna plotting her next move.

Whoa nelly that was a creepy one. Yikes. Makes me scared to have children!

So here's the sitch: Hanna is a mute seven-year-old child who adores her father, Alex, to a level that "daddy's girl" doesn't quite cover. She wants all of his love and all of his attention, but there's this pesky Mommy in the way, and Hanna means to do something about it. Suzette is a long-suffering stay-at-home mother with Chron's disease who cannot for the life of her connect with her young daughter. Suzette wants to help Hanna. Hanna wants to kill Suzette. And what happens is spine-tinglingly creepy.

I read this book super fast and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. It's definitely creepy and I thought the premise was fascinating, especially since the story was told through both Suzette's and Hanna's perspectives, but I think I wanted a liiiittle more from it? I can't really put my finger on it, but maybe more tension? A twist? Maybe there was so much hype surrounding it that it fell a bit short for me? I don't know. It felt a tad samey after a while, but I still really did enjoy it...if "enjoy" is the right word in the horrifying little universe of this story. I keep going back and forth on the rating for this one, so I think I'm settling on 3.5 stars. This book is bound to be the next huge hit that everyone will be talking about, but I suspect it will be pretty polarizing. But I figure...there's always room for a story about a suuuuper creepy kid, yes?

A very disturbing novel. I'm not sure how to rate this one - the story gave me the creeps. It seemed like horror to me, although it's described as a thriller. Hanna is a 7-year-old child who loves her father, Alex, and has an extreme hatred of her mother, Suzette. Suzette is a stay-at-home mom who has suffered greatly from Chron's disease. Her symptoms and pain are described in great detail. Suzette tries her best to be a really good mom although her own mother left much to be desired. Alex is at work all day and when he comes home, Hanna always seems to be the perfect child; but when Alex is away Hanna goes to great lengths to terrorize Suzette, ultimately trying to kill her. Hanna has to be home-schooled because every school they have tried has been unable to keep Hanna at school - she is determined to be at home.

I didn't like the characters in this book - it would be really difficult for anyone to like Hanna I think. I did feel sad for Suzette because I felt she was really trying with the child. The book was very tense for me and I just felt horrified by every ordeal with Hanna. If you like to be creeped out you will like this book.

Thanks to Zoje Stage and St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

Suzette is convinced that her 7-year-old daughter Hannah is trying to kill her. The child is non-verbal, talking only through an invisible friend, the last “witch” burned in France, a piece of trivia she researched online. Alex, her husband—Hannah’s father, struggles to believe that anything beyond selective mutism is wrong with his beloved daughter, who adores him as much as she abhors her mother. An incident forces him to confront the truth, and they must take drastic measures to save their daughter from herself.

Alternating perspectives of mother and daughter show exactly where communication is misconstrued, and the mother’s Crohn’s disease is woven into the story well as a contributing factor to her fear of being a bad mother. Though the author represents the main characters well, the father is flat and comes across as whiny and simplistic. A sense of ambiguity as to the child’s true problem and the mother’s true feelings is not achieved; rather, it feels made of conflicting storylines, with vague references left unexplored. The therapist recommended by the pediatrician seems to be poor at her job, crossing ethical lines (specifics here would be spoilers). The last line is killer!

I received a digital ARC of this story from the publisher through NetGalley.

I posted this review to my blog, and shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and will post to B&N on the launch date.