Book Rating: 5/5

I started reading Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage during a cross country flight and was 80% of the way done when we landed. This novel is gripping - I’m so glad I saved it for the plane because I didn’t want to put it down.

Baby Teeth begins by introducing you to the Jensen (pronounced Yensen) family and their 7 year old daughter, Hanna. All Suzette wanted was the best for her daughter but Hanna’s calamitous and calculating behavior is evident to everyone around her, except her father. She a master at manipulating him, transforming into the perfect daughter when he’s in the room and although she’s already been kicked out of two schools for some seriously disturbing behavior - like hurting other children and setting a fire - he refuses to see it. Hanna’s mental state is frightful; like getting a look inside the mind of a child psychopath. She’s determined to eliminate her mother while keeping Daddy all to herself; wrapped around her little finger.

Its impossible to not become transfixed on the relationships in this story. You’ll follow the struggle of parents trying to come to terms with who their child is - longing to love her but terrified of what she’ll do next. Then you’ll follow Hanna through her own shrewd and calculating thoughts. You’ll be frightened by the strength of her own delusions and her determination to get what she wants. This novel is gripping, dramatic, powerful and twisted; you won’t be able to put it down.

Baby Teeth is set to release in July 2018 - if you’re a fan of thrillers this is one you’re definitely going to want to put on your summer TBR list!

(Review will go live on nikaleighreads.com on 5/29 at 8:00am EST)

Hanna loves her daddy. And she knows her daddy loves her. But everything would be so much better if mommy would just disappear and die. Dead Mommy. Bye bye Dead Mommy.

Move over, Damien. Hanna is here.

This book is so creatively creepy. The seemingly sweet little girl who hides so much. The mother who wants so badly to love her daughter, even if she's afraid of her. And the father who is trying to make sense of what is happening to his family.

The thought of a truly psychotic and dangerous villain wrapped up in the cute visage of a little girl is truly terrifying. At first I was a bit angry at the father for not noticing what was going on.....but then I thought...wait a second....would I believe that my little girl was capable of that sort of vicious behavior when I never saw it myself? I would be just like the father wanting to protect and make the proper decisions for his child, perhaps even blaming the adults in the situation rather than the child. After all, children aren't really capable of malice, deviousness, and murderous intent. Right? *Shiver*

This book gave me the same shivers that I got from The Little Girl That Lives Down the Lane when I read it years ago. A child hiding dark secrets, dark thoughts, and dark deeds. Baby Teeth is even more psychologically terrifying because the girl involved is only 7. At first, I was thinking a 7-year old couldn't possibly cause much damage. But once the story sucked me in and I couldn't put it down, it dawned on me that this little girl is capable of even more harm than an adult. Because nobody expects it.

Baby Teeth is Zoje Stage's debut novel. I'm definitely going to be reading more by her in the future. This first novel creeped me the hell out.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley. I was warned by a friend about this book and she did not lie. It is intense, thrilling, and addictive. I actually stayed up Thursday night and finished this because I knew I wouldn't be able to read for several days. I had to figure this out. I have to say I am still not sure who was crazier, but all the characters were driving me crazy. I do hope there is a sequel. I really need one. This is a must read!

Hanna is nearly perfect, at least according to her daddy. So what if she still isn’t speaking at age seven? She’s clearly very intelligent, and more than capable of communicating in her own way. Those schools she’s been expelled from? They just didn’t understand her. Suzette, Hanna’s mother suspects something is wrong. Her precocious child is displaying worrying tendencies towards manipulation and violence. While her husband remains blind to Hanna’s problems, Suzette begins to suspect she may be the target of Hanna’s wrath.

Let me say at the start that my interpretation of the book may be a bit different from most. I am emphatically childfree, don’t really care for children in any case, and tend to regard most of them as tiny little psychopaths until they reach their midtwenties. Am I justified in this point of view? Probably not. But that’s the mindset I’m coming from when reading this book.

And it was nightmarish. The book is great, don’t get me wrong. It is tightly written, and the alternating points of view between Suzette and Hanna let us truly get to know the central characters. I had to take a break from the book about 100 pages in because it was keeping me up at night. The utter despair and hopelessness of Suzette’s situation is wrenching. She is trying (though imperfectly) to do right by her daughter, though years of abnormal and worrying behavior from Hanna have made her a bit ambivalent about motherhood. Compound this with her husband’s need to see only the perfect, upper-middle class family he desires, and Suzette is entirely alone to deal with her daughter. This I find terrifying: when dealing with mental and behavioral abnormalities in childhood, it is generally left to the mother to wonder where she went wrong, and what she could have done differently. And in all cases, motherhood is a condition with no escape. Someone may regret bringing a child into the world, but there are few socially acceptable ways to divorce oneself from parenthood, especially when being “a good mother” is considered the epitome of female (and especially middle class) success.

Well, enough ranting. I did, obviously, pick the book back up (and finished the remainder in one sitting). In the interests of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’m going to say little about the latter part of the book, but I will say that I was surprised by the direction the story took.

In sum, this book is a nuanced look at motherhood and psychopathy, at the loneliness of being a stay at home mother, and the frustration of being an atypical child. This book intimately describes the horror of finding out that, rather than the sweet, beautiful child you may have dreamed about, you have given birth to a monster, and are now tethered to its side.

I’d be curious to see what more maternally-minded people thought of his book? We’re their sympathies (like mine) fully with Suzette? Or do they see something redeeming in Hanna? Do they feel the horror as “that could have been me”? Or does the horror lie in “Suzette should have done x,y,z”? I would love to hear your thoughts, feel free to leave me a comment or two!

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Team Suzette!!!!! I enjoyed this fast paced page turner. Every chapter kept me wanting more. This is a perfect book to curl up with on a rainy night in any season, or to crack open on the beach.
This novel shows a very interesting mother daughter relationship, one to be very nervous about. Great read!!!

Seven-year-old Hanna is a beautiful, sweet, and adoring child. To her father. To her mother, she’s something else entirely. She wants Daddy all to herself, and she will stop at nothing to get rid of Mommy...
The rest of the review focuses on analyzing the characters with no plot spoilers.
This book is a compelling and quick read. However, I found the writing style to be lacking. The story is narrated by Suzette and Hanna, the mother and daughter respectively. I wanted to feel more for the characters, but the way that it’s written distances you from the narrators. This approach makes perfect sense for Hanna, the little girl who’s possibly a sociopath, but for the mother, it would have been beneficial for Stage to build that connection between the reader and this character. The stakes are high, and it would have made for a stronger read if I’d been able to care about what happens to Suzette. It isn’t clear if Suzette truly loves her daughter, which adds to the sensationalism of the novel, but also makes it difficult to relate to. I think this issue stems from the fact that the novel begins in the middle of Hanna "acting out". This may have worked if the author had included flashbacks to before Hanna became such an unruly child, to show how Suzette once loved her unconditionally, to demonstrate how her feelings have devolved into fear and almost—dare I say--indifference. She cares about her daughter’s well-being, but seemingly only because she wants her husband to be pleased, and she wants to present the picture of a perfect mother to the outside world.
While the mother’s feelings for her daughter are one of my main criticisms of the book, it also manages to become a strength. This ties into Suzette’s own mother, and how she was treated as a child. Her fears of becoming her mother are becoming actualized. Suzette has overcompensated for her mother’s inability to control her emotions by being a robot—a picture of a perfect mother—to her daughter. Hanna senses this insincerity and interprets it as a lack of love for her. Is she right about this?
While this book is very interesting, I found that Hanna’s Machiavellian machinations were a little contrived and not particularly original. The things that she does earlier in the book are more unique and unsettling, and while they do escalate, they become slightly less “intelligent”, which goes against the theory that a character like this, an apparent child genius, would evolve and grow and learn from her mistakes.
One thing that I did appreciate in the book was that Hanna did sometimes act like a (relatively normal) child. The story she reads with her father (and the way she tries to recreate the monster/best friend under her bed) is a rare glimpse into how she really is quite young and possibly all she wants is something to love. I liked the uncertainty this scene brought. How can she be a sociopath if she cares so deeply about this toy she’s built? The book would have benefited from taking this moment of uncertainty and allowing it to grow and fester in the readers, causing them to doubt themselves and not know what to believe.
I honestly wouldn’t have finished this book if it hadn’t been such an easy and quick read. I felt compelled to find out what Hanna would do, but, as I said, I wasn’t attached to the characters. It would have made for a different reading experience if I’d actually been invested in the mother’s safety. By the end of the story, I was left disappointed that the book didn’t quite reach the heights of twistedness that I was hoping for. That said, I give this 3 stars for its fast pace and relatively unique concept.

I have mixed feelings about Baby Teeth. I could not put it down- so that is good! The concept was just so creepy that I needed to figure out why Hannah behaved like this. But I felt like the story moved too slowly for me. There were parts that I felt were extraneous- the mother’s dreams. And I was not satisfied with the ending. So it would be hard for me to recommend unless I have caveats to the reader

Hanna is an extremely bright and creative seven year old that has chosen not to speak since she was a baby. Her parents, Suzette and Alex, are desperate to find answers regarding Hanna's odd and often troubling behaviors. Hanna's manipulation and often violent outburst are primarily reserved for Suzette, quickly transforming into Daddy's perfect little girl any time Alex is present. As Hanna's intentions towards Suzette become more malicious, Suzette begins to fear for her safety and pleads for her husband to intervene. Hanna loves her Daddy and would do anything for him but he doesn't see that Mommy is getting in the way of that love...that's why Mommy needs to disappear.

Baby Teeth is probably best described as a psychological thriller in which a manipulative and highly intelligent seven year old with sociopathic/psychopathic tendencies is desperate to rid herself of her mother in order to gain the full attention of her father. This is probably one of the more disturbing novels I have read in a while and after finishing it I'm still not sure exactly how I feel about it. Overall it was entertaining and well written but some components of the story felt unnecessary, a failed attempt at shock and awe, which left me questioning the author’s motives for including it at all. Although I didn't particularly care for any of the characters, the author did a great job of allowing the reader to see both the perspective of Suzette and Hanna as certain events play out. I didn't dislike this novel but I didn't love it as much as some other novels I have read with similar subject matter. I would still recommend it to readers who love "Bad Seed" novels and I will be very interested to see how other readers react to this novel once it’s released.

Baby Teeth is reminiscent of We Need to Talk About Kevin and Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child. Alternating perspective chapters tell this story of a psychopathic child and the harm she inflicts on her mother. I wish this book felt more realistic. Suzette has emotional baggage and a severe physical ailment (Crohn’s Disease and a cold uncaring mother), but her life with her perfect husband still seems too, well, perfect. Even how the book ended left me saying, wait—insurance would pay for that? A fast paced read that will appeal to fans of the current domestic thriller craze. It’s ok.

4.5 Stars

Move over stalkers and serial killers, little girl psychopaths are the new scariest thing.

This is by far one of the most, if not the most, disturbing thing I’ve ever read. No there isn’t a ton of gruesome scenes or mutilations; there’s a (possibly) psychopathic little girl.

Hanna’s character is so well-written and perfectly creepy. As an elective mute who adores her dad and despises her mom, she toes the line of sanity, playing innocent one moment and completely unhinged the next.

Suzette left me with some questions. It was hard to get a read on her true character. On the one hand she’s clearly a victim of her daughters, but I couldn’t help feeling that we weren’t seeing a certain darker quality of hers.

Alex, the husband and father, was probably my least favorite character. His unwillingness to see Hanna as she really is, his promise to be there one moment but then overwork the next, his wishy-washy-ness in decisions...I don’t know. He just irritated me.

The only issue I had was the ending. It’s left open and as far as I know there’s no sequel planned. I would have liked a little more finality, but with the rest of the novel being so dreadfully wonderful it’s easy to forgive this.

i was in the mood to read something different than what I'm used to and "Baby Teeth" satisfied that need. I mean even the tittle sent a little shiver of unease down my spine. My uneasiness heightened as i frantically flipped the pages to find who will win the battle of wits between a mother and her seven year old daughter. It was a war of the roses if you will, and these roses have thorns. There is nothing more terrifying than a fractured bond between a mother and their child. It makes for a twisted plot and a good story. Imagine your beautiful child plotting to get rid of you by devious means. Picture Amy Dunn from "Gone Girl" as a seven year old girl, now you see Hanna. But who is the true villain of this story, Hanna or Suzette? In the end you start to wonder, but guess what? You will never know. for sure. This is a story that Steven King would write. Will be looking forward for more works from this author. Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC.

Thanks to St.Martins Press and Zoje Stage and a Netgalley for this ARC. This is a new author for me and I am looking forward to more books by her. To say this book was creepy, is a compliment. The author gives us a child whom I wasn’t sure was a demon spawn, a witch, or a reincarnation of a witch. This mixture of possibilities was quite a great idea from the author.
The author had me feeling sorry for the mother, Suzette up until the very end, with the phone call from Hanna where she asks her mother if she loves her, and Suzette says “not enough “. That is one great line ! I read this book in 1 sitting, it was fabulous , I thoroughly enjoyed every creepy aspect of it !
I mentioned this book to my mystery/ thriller book club, and they were like “Oh, no! ” but we all voted it in for one of our book club reads anyway. 👍🏻😊
I will give my 5 Star review on Amazon, Goodreads, a Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Wow. What an absolutely terrifyingly good story. I finished this book in one day.

I will start by saying that this book likely will not be for everyone. recommend steering clear if you are a first time parent or soon to be!

Hanna is a truly horrendous and smart yet mute child, who happens to hate her Mommy. Daddy however, hung the moon! She has decided that Daddy must be under Mommy's spell and it is up to her to save him so that Hanna and Daddy can live happily ever after.

Suzette is a woman that gave up her own passions to take care of her child. She loves her but can feel the hate that rises off Hanna when Daddy is not around. As the story continues, she starts to become afraid of her own child, who of course acts like a perfect angel the second Daddy gets home.

I really hated Alex at first. He so easily lets himself get manipulated by his 7 year old daughter. H questions his wife and doesn't always believe the things she tells him about their demonic child. My heart broke for Suzette as she struggled with his denials.

Having just finished I am still in a bit of shock and speechless. The end left is seeming like there will be a sequel which I hope is the case!

This book is not for everyone!!!

That being said, it was well written and kept me engaged until the end. It's primarily a mother/daughter story and gives a disturbing picture of a dysfunctional family, where the child involved is increasingly violent.

I found myself getting annoyed with all of the characters, but especially the clueless dad. His inability to recognize the truth of his daughter's behavior and total lack of empathy for his wife was a bit of a barrier to my enjoyment.

I did enjoy the variety of perspectives from chapter to chapter, as I did feel it gave some complexity to the good/bad child story.

I didn't love this book, but I really wanted to! The characters were not very well developed. But the author did give us enough to get a sense of who they are.

Chapter by chapter you can see the psychological interplay between Hanna the 7 year old and her mother Suzanne or Susan (whatever her name was) , but it seemed to become redundant and and somewhat predictable.

If you have a defiant child, which I don't, this book is probably not for you! The book describes some potentially deadly consequences which Hanna plans to carry out against her mother.

The husband/father Alex seemed oblivious to what was occurring between his wife and daughter. I wanted to grab Alex and scream at him "don't you see what is going on?" It wasn't until late in the book that were told that he's got some sort of turmoil he's dealing with caused him to act the way he did or didn't with his family.

The book does have an unforeseen ending which wasn't entirely predictable.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

I loved this book. The characters were well developed and had strong personalities. Chapter by chapter you can see the psychological interplay becoming more and more complex. If you have a defiant child, this book will scare the daylights out of you! As a mom myself I could feel everything Suzette was going through and felt both sorry and afraid for her. My heart ached for the damaged child that was Hanna and I wanted to grab Alex and scream at him "don't you see what is going on?" It wasn't until late in the book that you realized that he was in his own special kind of turmoil as well. I was so engrossed in this story that when it reached the unforeseen end I felt like I'd been sucker punched! I highly recommend this to lovers of psychological thrillers. #chapterchatterpub

Baby Teeth is a controversial story about a 7 year old girl who loves her father and absolutely loathes her mother. She hates her so much in fact, she is certain life would be so much better for her and her dad if her mom was just out of the picture all together....

I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to feel bad for Suzette and Alex. I wanted to understand Hanna. The characters were all just so unlikable. Suzette was a complete doormat with no sense of self confidence. Alex seems blind to every shred of evidence before his very eyes that his daughter is not the good little girl he thinks she is. Hanna's behavior and motivation for hating her mother just seems shrouded in mystery. What made her hate her mother but love her father? I feel like this book was just a collection of shocking events with no real conclusion.

I saw this as a dark and twisted look into Nature vs. Nurture, and trying to break the cycle of becoming our own parents.
Each chapter's pov goes back and forth from the mother; Suzette, to the daughter; Hanna, as did which person I blamed for the way Hanna was, and which character I was rooting for.
The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat (literally clutching a pillow from mid-way to the end of the book!)

I just put this down, and I wanted to write the review while it was still fresh. Let me lead with these words: HOLY S#!T.

This book was probably the most terrifying book I've read since I read the Amityville Horror in fifth grade (I was an advanced reader). I had to sleep with my door open and the hallway light on for about a month after reading that one; I feel the same way now. Mind you, I'm a pretty desensitized reader - not a lot of stuff bothers me. This book managed to do it.

Now granted, I am a parent (my kids are 13 and 9). I think that this book will hit the spot for readers around my age who are also parents. If you're not a parent yet, this book will definitely make you think twice about becoming one. I might be keeping an extra close on my daughter...just in case. Five awesomely well-deserved stars.

5/5. 5/23/18

Hanna loves her father. She loves him too much and wants him all to herself--so that makes Hanna's mother the enemy. Hanna has other issues as well. Though she is very intelligent and learns easily, she does not talk and has gotten herself kicked out of every school her parents have sent her to. Her mother homeschools her, so the two spend a lot of time together and Hanna's behavior becomes increasingly strange and malevolent--though when her father is around she's sweet as can be, so he does not believe his wife who is getting more and more fearful of their daughter.

This was definitely a tense, suspenseful read as I both was compelled and afraid to turn to the next page to find out what this little psycho kid would do next. But I didn't feel that Hanna's problems and behavior had any grounding or basis. Where did this obsessive love for her father and hate for the mother begin and stem from? And the dad just seemed too naive and the mother just too needy. At the end, help comes so easily and quickly, it seems crazy that they never got any help before. One thing I appreciated about the book was that the author did an great job of incorporating all of the information about Crohn's disease, which I didn't know anything about.