This is one of the creepiest books I've ever read. But I loved it!!

This is not a review about the book, this is the story of me experiencing this horror. This was the most disturbing book I have ever tried to read. I failed. I don’t consider myself to have a weak stomach for disgusting topics or taboo stories.All the Ugly and Wonderful Things was a beautiful love story to me, if you can imagine that. We Need to Talk About Kevin was a masterpiece, I read horror novels with a smile on my face, I shiver with excitement when I meet a well-written villain. I hate DNF-ing books, I almost never do it if I make it through first 10% of the story. But this one… I hope I will lose this uneasy feeling that has been following me since I first started reading this one MONTH ago. My tactics for conquering books that are difficult to get through is simple - I divide the number of remaining pages with 7, because one week is the most I can lose on them. After that, I soldier through those pages and I get it done. So, imagine my state of mind when I couldn’t get myself to read more than 10 pages every day. I would experience nausea, my stomach would get twisted and some horrible fear would follow me. I had to recover by reading a bunch of romance erotic novels, just to take my mind of this.
The reason why I suffered was this author’s writing. She was so damn good! I love the parent-child psychological struggle story as much as the next person, but they are not always good. I can see that this is the good one, but I simply can’t experience these feelings any second longer.

I can’t remember any villain more terrible than this little girl, the self-made mute who is torturing her mother with mind games. This child just made me want to scream. How this author managed to do this, I wonder if she had some similar experience growing up? Evil children, evil to the core, always make me wonder. I grew up with someone, who I know now as an adult, and let me tell you, those quirks never really go away. This book reminded me of We Need to Talk About Kevin, because they both explore mother’s grief and regret, memories of what-went-wrong and they both leave you pessimistic, you can just tell that things are going to go to hell by the end. What I liked here is that the author portrayed the mother just as I would expect her to be. She was tired of hearing no and letting her daughter always have her way, so when she gives her a reward for basically not being that big of an child asshole, I could understand that. She just doesn’t know what the hell to do anymore. And I appreciated her inner monologue where she hated herself for encouraging disgusting behavior. The father figure, (because he is just a figure here, this is all about the two of the girls), really contributed to the feeling of helplessness that Suzeta had. His inability to see through his daughter’s character, him being unable to listen and see his wife took away some of his better qualities. He was supposed to be caring, but if you listen and don’t believe, that is just as helpful as leaving your family.

So, to me, the best part about this book was my constant struggle how to get inside my Kindle and shake the child, yell at the husband and comfort the mother. Isn’t that good writing here?
I don’t know how this book ends. It is strange and I will probably wonder if this devil of a girl got what she deserved in the end, but I just - can’t!

Baby Teeth was an interesting read for me. Fast-paced and deftly, written, I enjoyed the character motivation and this story really hooked me at the beginning. I read it in two sittings and was engaged. But this is not a true thriller for me. There are really no reversals and it felt a bit predictable and one-note to me at times. Hanna wants to kill her mother and she tries. And tries again. And tries again. The father is so robotic at times. Where is the twist or underlying secret? At the end, there is a hint that all is not what it seems within the parents' motivation but for me to really latch onto that, it needed to be stronger. I needed to see more and I wanted more.
I sympathized with Suzette in this story but some parts did not seem realistic. There is so little scenic variation here. The setting, although personal, becomes bland. I think I am most "meh" about this one because I wanted to be surprised, not only horrified. A faced paced, well-written story - yes. A true thriller, no.

This book was amazing! I am still left wondering what actually happened. It is really a book about how each individual views their world. This book is told in alternating perspectives, however by the end I still didn’t know who the “villain” was. Excellent characters and writing. I highly recommend!

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

I first found this book in a NetGalley email advertising it as Read Now. I immediately logged in and downloaded it. It caught my eye nearly instantly! It looked like such a good book, I knew I had to read it.

And oh my goodness was it so creepy good. I devoured it. I was absolutely enthralled by Hanna and Suzette’s story.

The only reason this one didn’t get a 5 star rating is because I had a little bit of a hard time accepting that a 7 year old could actually be as evil as Hanna. At one point it flashes back to when Hanna was like 2 or 3 and she realized that Mommy was going to fail her “test”? I mean, come on – I have two children, almost 6 and almost 3 years old …. there’s no way at 2/3 a child could think in that manner. And to imagine that at 7 she could be actively plotting to kill her mother? I’m not sure that I buy that either…. And we won’t even talk about the unhealthy obsession Hanna has with her father. Yikes.

The ending (or really lack thereof) was a little disappointing. But I can totally understand why Ms. Stage chose to end it as she did. I can appreciate that, but I would have liked a little more closure than I got. Maybe a teenage Hanna will re-emerge in a few years?! 😉

I’m nearly positive this is going to be one of the most talked about books this summer. It’s definitely buzz worthy. It’s controversial. It’s enthralling. I’m glad that I read it and I’m looking forward to Ms. Stage’s future ventures in writing!

While I can fully appreciate that this book would not be for everyone, it’s definitely a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

*Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* Wow. I am not really sure where to start with reviewing this book. First of all, I feel it is relevant to mention that I read it in 24 hours. Not whilst on holidays, but during a normal working week - I just found time where I could to keep reading it! This is gripping fiction at its best. Suzette and Alex seem to have the perfect life, living in a perfect house with their perfect little girl, Hanna. However, all is not as it seems with this family. With hints of 'We Need to Talk about Kevin' and the 'Bad Seed,' this novel will keep you on your toes.

5 disturbing stars for Baby Teeth. This was a full on psychological character driven story. The reader is introduced to Juliette and her 7-year-old daughter Hannah. The chapters alternate between each of their perspectives. It's a fascinating glimpse into the world of child psychopathy and its effect on family system dynamics.

I will admit I'm a sucker for books that delve into the psychology of psychopaths. This is perhaps one of the reasons I loved this book so much. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into the folds of a family struggling with their young child's abhorrent behaviour. Unfortunately Juliette is the target of Hannah's hurtful pranks and frightening violence while Hannah's father is only exposed to her sweet manipulative side. This divides loyalties and causes chaos among the three of them to the point where Juliette starts losing her ability to cope. Again the psychological damage of abuse is portrayed in this story accurately but interestingly it's Juliette who suffers the symptoms by being bullied by her daughter.

Baby Teeth is incredibly character focused so there are no twists and turns or hidden reveals. Instead we are given a taste of the horror of what it would be like to parent a child with psychpathic characteristics. The author keeps a balanced outlook as we sometimes wonder is Juliette to blame? Could the family have done something different to avoid this from happening? We are also met with the difficult decision of what to do about it?

If you enjoy full on psychological literary fiction this is a riveting read. I burned through it in a day and a half because I couldn't put it down. A gracious thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy. This was truly an unforgettable book!

I found this to be a great book, overall! A bit more character development would have added another star for me.

Baby Teeth sounds interesting and oh so creepy - maybe it's because I don't have children but the idea of an evil child seems like it'd make for an unnerving, uncomfortable yet entertaining read. To some extent, it is. But just barely.
In the beginning I was hooked. The book alternates between the POV's of Suzette and Hanna. Suzette is a stay-at-home mom suffering from Crohns and Hanna is her mute daughter who HATES her mother and wants her out of the picture. Honestly, I didn't find Hanna's character very believable. She is a smart, devious child but considering her actions...it was all too far-fetched for a child her age.
I've yet to read The Omen but I've seen the movies and I was hoping this would be somewhat similar. Sadly, this just isn't what I expected.
I see many 4 and 5 star ratings for this so if you're interested in reading this, I'd say to give it a try. Everyone's opinion is different and just because I don't like it doesn't mean others won't.

Alex is a happy husband and father. He has the absolute adoration of his 7-year-old daughter, Hanna and the love of his wife Suzette. Life is perfect. Except Hanna is nonverbal and a very disturbed little girl who hates her mommy. Suzette grew up with a cold mother and hoped to do better for her little girl. Unfortunately, her little girl has made it her life's work to get mommy out of the picture permanently.

Told in Suzette and Hanna's alternating points of view, we have a story about a mother struggling to homeschool a little psychopath while dealing with a debilitating illness and a husband that refuses to see his child's issues. It is not her fault that she was expelled from so many schools, it must be the teachers' fault, etc. Suzette is not entirely an innocent victim but you wonder if the over the top reactions are a sign of her own psychosis or PTSD.

This was an interesting book, closer to We Need to Talk About Kevin than Gone Girl. I was expecting a more surprising ending than what we were given. Overall, I would recommend this book and I thank Zoje Stage, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read it.

4 Disturbingly Good and Twisted Stars to BABY TEETH!

Why I wanted to read this one……This book was a Traveling Sisters Group Read that I missed out on reading and with the so many strong reactions and thoughts towards this book I just knew that I had to read it! I don’t think I have ever been so interested in finding out what my thoughts would be over a book like I was with this one.

So what did I think…….Well, I quite enjoyed it! Now there were a few scenes intended to shock the reader which I think would definitely make this book not an enjoyable read for some but, for this reader to be totally honest once I read those scenes they were totally forgotten. Until, after finishing the book and then discussing it with Brenda then I was like oh right, I forgot all about those scenes. I was just so entertained in how devious and manipulative Hanna was towards her mother, Suzette that I really needed to know how this story would play out. When I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it.

BABY TEETH by ZOJE STAGE is a disturbing, uncomfortable, and downright creepy tale about a 7-year-old girl named Hanna that wants her Daddy all to herself but her Mommy (Suzette) stands in her way of her happily ever after.

ZOJE STAGE delivers quite the chilling tale here that was well-written with an easy to read writing style to make this quite the fast-paced read. The story is told in alternating voices and perspectives between Suzette and Hanna, I enjoyed both of their perspectives equally. The things that Hanna was capable of was downright diabolical and creepy!

What I didn't like…..The only thing that I questioned here though was if a seven-year-old was actually capable of doing some of the acts that she did in this book.

I was totally immersed in this tale and found it quite the entertaining and enjoyable read but I do understand that this book will not be for everyone so with that I recommend with caution. If you love a good horror or a dark psychological thriller you should really enjoy this one though! I know I do and did!

Publication Date: July 17, 2018

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Zoje Stage, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I really loved this book! It was well written and a great psychological mind bender. The plot fascinated me all the way through. I could not put it down. I found myself white knuckled, gripping my kindle as I swiped through each page, eager to know what would happen. This was a one click read for me! The book wraps up nicely, but leaves room for a possibility of a book 2 (please oh please let there be a book 2). This story was flawlessly written and very unique for its genre. Was the daughter really possessed or just crazy? Did the father do something to the daughter or not? I have questions and I need answers in the form of book 2 now! I've never read anything by this author before as she is relatively new, however this will definitely not be the last book i read by her. This book has climbed to my top 10 list of 2018 thus far! 5 stars from me!!!!

At first, I thought this book was a horror/thriller, but as I got to the ending, the book became something more than that. This was not another retelling of The Bad Seed, although at first it seemed like it might turn out that way. The characters were emotionally complex, and it became a portrait of how parents struggle with mental illness manifesting within their child.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook.

Meet Suzette, just your average stay at home mom doing everything she can to be the best parent she can be to her 7 year old daughter, Hanna. Except Hanna is mute and Hanna may be evil. Wait, an evil 7 year old? That cannot possibly be true can it? A 7 year old that purposely goes out of her way to be insidious towards everyone around her except her father, Alex. But she's just trying to get people to understand her and one person stands in her way. Mommy. Hanna has been expelled from schools, has no friends, talks to no one and plans her attacks quite carefully. All Suzette wants is a perfect family and a perfect little girl and she cannot possibly understand why Hanna has a vendetta against her but it grows increasingly dark and more disturbing.
Baby Teeth is probably one of the best books I have read in a long time. Twisted and suspenseful with bouts of sadness and hope, this book had me turning pages late into the night. As a mother myself -who has a child with autism, I felt it easy to identify with Suzette-wanting the best for your child, wanting to communicate with your child and trying to understand what is going on in their mind. I couldn't fathom what it would be like to have a child with such a dark side though as I tried to put myself in her shoes many times throughout this book and even questioned "What would I do?". I found this to be a fantastic read for anyone who loves a good suspenseful, deeply psychological thriller. I was even more excited that there could be a possibility for a sequel.

This was one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I normally don't like books that jump from people to people but I really like how that worked with this book. I do wish that there was a little more from Alex point of view in the book. But the book really did grab you from the open pages and make you want to read late into the night. Great story development and I love how it wasn't a tied in a bow perfect ending. I can see a book 2 coming.

Well, I ended up just busting through the last 70% of this book this weekend!! Thank you @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!!
And what a debut novel it is for @zoje.stage_author!! Five GIGANTIC stars for me!
This book fucked my mind and didn’t even use lube! 😂 is that too nasty? Oh well, I’m going with it!
This book was everything for me! Apparently, as I think back on my previous reads I’ve not read a bad seed book before, so I didn’t KNOW KNOW the world of fucked up children. I’ve seen plenty of movies about bad seeds but not books!
This got me from the beginning. And it never let up for me! Hanna is one badass psychopath of a seven-year old!
The writing was amazing. Smooth. Realistic to me. Switching from mom’s perspective to Hanna’s perspective was seamless in my mind. You really got to see how Hanna’s mind worked. How some things were so adult in her thinking and some were still so childish.
You REALLY question Suzette’s (the Mom) thinking and wonder in the end if she’s a good mom or bad mom and that really fucked me up too!
I just loved every part of this book. If I had ONE complaint it was that I wish Suzette would have tried to record with her iPhone the crazy ass shit Hanna was doing. Why didn’t that ever cross her mind?!
I will for sure be buying this in hardcover when it’s released!!
I know one person LOVED it like me and I buddy read it with my friend Chandra @wherethereadergrows and it was just alright for her so I guess you’ll have to make your own assessment when you read it! And be sure to let me know! I’d love to talk endlessly about this one!!

I have never hated a child (character) so much. And I mean that as the greatest compliment to Zoje Stage. The characters are real, believable. I was sucked into the novel from the beginning and couldn't wait to finish to see what happened. There were a few times I had to stop reading because I found myself worked up over the actions of Hanna - which is unusual for me to be involved in the characters' emotions. Wonderful read!

The book opens on Alex, Suzette and Hanna. On the outside, they appear to be a model family. They are good-looking, he's an architect who gutted and renovated their stylish home himself, mother and daughter are fashionable. Kind of a stereotypical "golden" suburban family.

But there is so much lurking underneath the surface.

This was hard for me to get into. I think maybe it's because I didn't really identify with any of the characters. That normally isn't a problem for me. But in this book, there are very few ancillary characters. Without giving away too much, I'll bottom line it.

Hannah hates her mom, loves her dad--and is willing to do what it takes to get rid of her mom. Suzette is fragile, suffers from a crippling autoimmune disease and will do anything to keep her husband, who she adores, happy. Alex (the husband) is completely in denial that there is anything wrong with his perfect family.

While I did feel bad for Suzette and her predicament, I also felt that she was partially to blame for her circumstances. She's not great about taking initiative, merely seems to sit back and hope it will get better. I also didn't understand how Alex could be so in denial. I mean, maybe at first. But by the time the book starts, there have been huge problems for YEARS. Come on!

I thought the writing was good. To me, this was more horror than psychological suspense. But again, it was extremely creepy, but also sad to me as I saw Hanna as a deeply disturbed child with an illness. And I think the story highlights a family's struggle with trying to appear perfect to the outside world when they are living a nightmare behind closed doors.

I would recommend this to people who are fans of horror, and enjoy the occasional "bad seed" type of tale. It's definitely creepy!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I feel weird for saying this but I loved this book! Does that make me crazy????!!! About half way through, I started wondering who was more crooked, me or the author? I couldn’t stop reading it though!
Alex and Suzette have the perfect marriage along with a daughter, Hanna who is seven. Hanna is a sweet little girl who is mute. They have tried putting her in several schools hoping she will start talking but they’re never lucky.
For some reason, Hanna does not like her mom and starts plotting to get rid of her so it will just be her and daddy. This part was creepy and I kept waiting for the book to turn towards some incest or something (then I would’ve put the book down) but it never did. I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the little girl’s ideas. Am I sick or something? I was telling my oldest daughter about it laughing. However, because of my description she said she may try reading it (and she doesn’t read). Who is more sick, her or I?
Seriously, the book is good and makes you wonder what you would do in that circumstance. I could see it being a Lifetime movie easily if not a theatrical movie. I loved how Alex supported his wife through it all for the most part. Of course he had his doubts as anyone would but their relationship was my favorite part of the book.
I only gave it three stars on Goodreads only because of the ending. I am thinking their needs to be a sequel. However, because of this ending, I could see it easily made into a TV series as well. I think it would also be a good Book Club book since it brings up so many topics.
How would you react if your child was trying to hurt you?
Would you keep the signs from your spouse as long as Suzette did?
I received an ARC of Baby Teeth in exchange for my honest review. Thank you netgalley.com. The release date is July 17, 2018.

Hoooooly shit what did I just read?! This book was so disturbing in all the right ways! Hanna is the perfect little monster, and Suzette was so sympathetic. I’m now heavily considering not having kids.