Thank you to the NetGalley team at St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the privilege to read an egalley of Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage. The following review contains thoughts and opinions that are entirely my own, and my rating is not influenced by being given this for free.

Baby Teeth tells us the story of Hanna, who loves her Daddy more than anything else, and her Mommy, Suzette, who struggles with the guilt of wondering why it seems that Hanna is trying to hurt her. At first are moments where Suzette thinks she’s losing her mind, then she has a fright at something Hanna does but dismisses it. But then, it’s becoming evident to Suzette something’s really wrong, but it sounds crazy when she tries to talk about it.

Zoje Stage has written a nice thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. I do wish Hanna’s age was older because at times it’s difficult to believe a 5 year old could think or do what’s going on. However, this aside, the story offers good entertainment in how a family can look perfectly normal from the outside and have a very different dynamic going on inside. A sweet little girl couldn’t really be that bad now could she?

Something is amiss in this family of three. Only Suzette and her daughter Hanna are aware of it. Suzette’s husband just doesn’t see it. The reason? His daughter Hanna acts like an angel when she is with him. Yet when she is with her mother Suzette, she is a very different little girl and her behavior, for a seven year-old is downright disturbing and well at times, terrifying. Suzette is scared and well, she should be.

“Baby Teeth” is a suspense novel by Zoje Stage. For me, there were things about this novel that just didn’t quite add up and on the whole it just wasn’t for me. That said, it was an extremely quick, easy read and I got through it in a day.

Thank you to NetGalley, Zoje Stage and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 2.3.18.

If you want to read about “possessed” children, try A Head Full of Ghosts. If you are interested in precocious, barking children, watch Six Feet Under. If you are looking for a frustratingly implausible book, read Baby Teeth.

The premise of a child so obsessed with her father that she hatches a plan to get rid of her mother is a strong hook, and I would have bought into it if the execution wasn’t flawed from as far back as the concept. Hanna’s early pranks—going to the bathroom on the floor to make the baby sitter clean it up out of spite, flushing her mother’s diamond earrings down the toilet—seemed feasible, like something a seven-year-old might do, but as the book continued, I quickly decided two things: no matter how brilliant Hanna might be, her actions are far too complex for even the brightest child, and I can’t take any more lengthy exposition about Suzette’s, her mother’s, bathroom habits.

This book has been compared to We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is a far different offering, similar only in that it’s about two parents who have a problem child and only one is willing to admit it. Hanna’s father behaves inappropriately throughout, but where he started to really feel like another in a long line of plot problems is when Hanna, after eavesdropping on her parents having sex (and commenting about how she can’t see her father’s full penis when she creeps into their bedroom post-coitous), takes a naked photograph of her mother, which her father later prints for her with little more than an offhanded comment, something to the effect of, “I’m glad you want to make mommy a present, but does she need to be naked in the photo?” This child, who we’re reminded every time she is in a car is in a car seat, somehow is smart enough to look up death photos and make a collage with her naked, sleeping (aka “dead looking”) mother at its center. I mean, really?!?

I can’t. I just can’t. Then this kid who hasn’t said a word her entire life (let’s think about that for a minute, because what the author is proposing is that this child who doesn’t speak solely to frustrate her mother has harbored such ill will as to have never spoken to her, even when she was a toddler) learns perfect French. You read that right. She assumes the identity of a girl formerly burned at the stake for witchcraft. Did I mention she’s SEVEN? So on this charade goes, this child acting out, and her mother focusing on her own childhood, which is terrible, but serves little purpose. On the one hand, Suzette’s feeling guilty about not being the mother Hanna deserves, better, in fact, than her mother had been to her, and on the other, there’s this woman constantly cussing this seven-year-old out.

Suzette’s character is wholly unlikable, not only because she’s clearly uninterested in parenting and would do whatever she could to get this homeschooled problem child out of her hair so she can focus on reducing her carbon footprint, but because she’s self-centered, and completely preoccupied with her malfunctioning intestines and the possibility of a colostomy bag. I don’t believe for one moment this post-surgical, long-ailing woman would be nearly as sexual with her husband as this book pretends.

There’s a scene where young Suzette is bleeding through her bandages (she’s had intestinal surgery for Crohn’s disease which has caused a fistula, or opening to the skin’s surface, that needs packing) and her mother is disgusted by having to do the dressing for her, but Suzette delights in her mother’s displeasure at having to complete this chore more than she cares about her gut being packed like a stuffed animal. How very Hanna-esque. If I never read another book about poop it’ll be too soon.

I’m in the minority hating this book, but the voices, both Hanna’s and Suzettes, and the characters, including the clueless Swedish eco-friendly husband whose pet names for his family drive me nuts, seem conveniently crafted to support an impossible narrative. I can’t believe people would behave this way, not even for the sake of attempting to enjoy this book, which I didn’t. There’s shock value, for sure, but if you analyze the concept, the age of this child and her actions, the entire plot unravels.

As a postscript, I’m not sure which marketing person decided this novel bears any similarity to The Dinner, which is a Dutch translation and a commentary on privilege, social class, and culpability. That slow burn at least culminated into something resembling a cohesive plot. Baby Teeth never does and feels like a gratuitous train wreck with scene after scene struggling to uphold the idea that this child is evil with none of the introspection of why as is explored in We Need to talk About Kevin.

I received this as a free advance copy from Netgalley. (Thanks!!)

I am giving this a 3 out of 5. I really enjoyed the premise this book was built on as evil children are such a fascinating topic, especially when as this book mentions, the child comes from a <i>"good"</i> wonderful home. But there were a few things that for me, personally, just didn't work.

1.The blurb doesn't make it clear how <b>SMART</b> Hanna is. In the book we get to see how while Hanna is still a child she is also smart and dangerous as hell. For me the level of intelligence in Hanna made a difference because it's made very clear very early that <b>NOTHING</b> she does is an accident or just mischief being managed but is in fact a well thought out usually malicious attack against her mother, all in an attempt to be alone with her father.

2. The father spends like half the book being almost deliberately obtuse. Every time Suzette mentions anything wrong he basically plugged his ears and walked away until it finally got to a point he had to admit defeat. It was so very frustrating.

3.Suzette spent soooo much time wondering and worrying about her husband no longer finding her attractive when really she should've been putting Hanna far far away from her.

4.Maybe it's because I got an advanced copy but I feel like the book could have use a few more chapters. So much happened in like a two week period and I felt like we needed more. I needed a chapter from Dad's POV and the ending seemed so abrupt to me.

But as a Pittburgh-native I really enjoyed the setting of the story because it was so familiar that I could see parts of it in my head. I also enjoyed every time Suzette struck back. Every time she thwarted an attempt to kill her or actually yelled back it showed that underneath it all was woman who was willing to fight even if it was against her own daughter.

In all honesty while it wasn't my favorite book so far of this year it wasn't the worst. I feel like it's definitely not on the same level as <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i> but it's not overly horrible.

This is a scary book, not the ending i expected but more scary. Your child is trying to kill you so Daddy can be all hers. And no one believes you. She is only 7 years old after all.
It is screaming sequel, and I don’t know if i can handle a sequel. Did I mention this is scary.
Thank you netgalley for the early copy, I think.

I almost didn't respond to the offer to get an ARC of Baby Teeth. I just have so many other books on my shelves that really need to be read. But, I read the synopsis anyway and decided that YES I WANT TO READ A STORY ABOUT A WILLFULLY MUTE, POSSIBLY PSYCHOTIC CHILD!! And I'm so glad I did.

Baby Teeth kept me on the edge of my seat. It's written from two perspectives - that of Suzette, and her mute, manipulative, highly intelligent seven year old daughter, Hanna. (As if being a parent wasn't hard enough on it's own, haha). Sometimes I think books that are written with multiple perspectives are jumpy and weird, but Zoje Stage nailed it in my opinion. I really looked forward to Hanna's parts of the story. It was interesting to see how she ticked, what her motivations were.

The character development in Baby Teeth was seriously awesome. I feel like I personally know the Jenson's now, like I went on this journey along side them - and that is the best thing ever coming out of a book!

I don't want to give the plot away, because I personally hate when I get too much info going into a Thriller, but if you like creepy kids and some moral-greyness, this will be your jam.

Majorly disturbing book, especially when you consider the little girl is only 7 years old... but it does make you wonder how common this is.

This book grabbed me right away. I loved hearing the story through the eyes of a seven year old.

I could not put this book down and now I can't wait for the sequel! This book is not for everyone, as it is extremely disturbing. It is narrated by Hanna, a charming 7 yo on the outside but on the inside she is seriously nuts and her mother, Suzette, whom Hanna basically wants out of the picture, as in DEAD. Hanna loves her Daddy and wants him all to herself, literally, and she will stop at nothing to make that happen. Witchcraft, violence, extreme crazy behavior, harming others etc.... she plots and carries it all out slowly. Hr mom figured it out pretty quickly. Eventually her slow but well-meaning dad catches on too. I was on the edge of my seat as the plot unfolded. It was seriously scary to read! Gret writing and thee story flowed well. Absolutely terrifying. I had NO idea what was going to happen in the end and that to me, is the sign of a great thriller! Definitely worth reading but also not for the faint of heart. Thank you NetGalley!!!

One of the best books I have read in quite a while. Scary but very believable. I now know why I don't completely trust children.

The description of this novel does not do it justice. I was expecting an easy, average read, but was I wrong. I throughly enjoyed every word of this book!
In this story we get to see both sides of the struggle between a mother and her daughter, who may be a 7 year old psychopath?
Im curious if there will be a second book? Great story!

Baby Teeth was not what I expected at all, it was so much better. The author did a wonderful job of not making this book another run of the mill evil problem child story. There are so many things I want to tell you about this book but I refuse to spoil it for you. Hanna is a little girl that has problems. She wants her daddy to herself and her mother is in the way. Each character is interesting, but Hanna…she keeps the story moving with her creepy plans, words and actions. Is she possessed? Does she have mental issues? How far will she go to get what she wants? I read this book in a day without feeling the need to skim even a single page. Thank you to Zoje Stage, the publisher, St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

WOW! Love seeing this tale and the dark corners of storytelling used. I won't ever forget this book and felt it delivered as advertised by the blurb. Tremendous!

Unfortunately this novel left a lot to be desired. From the poor quality of the writing to the improbable brilliance of the child involved, it had the reader wondering how these particular instances could have occurred

The parenting skills or lack thereof opened up a wide chasm to reality. There is not a chance that a pediatrician, a teacher, a principal would not have waved a red flag on the various behaviors of Hanna. . A child does not get to the age of seven without some professional alerting the parents and the school about what a danger a child presents not only to themselves but to others.

So in essence, this book presented quite an unrealistic view of what in reality would occur.

The writing itself was poor, there was no polish to its words and it definitely lacked any of the fine tuning elements authors and their editors employ. Unfortunately, this became a major drawback to this book.

While I applaud the author for bringing forth the problems of Chrohn's Disease, it seemed to be used as an excuse for the poor parenting skills of the mother. It is always important that we are focused on the mental issues of all people,including children most especially, but this novel did nothing to forward the thinking that children need to be diagnosed early, treated by professionals, and allowed to receive treatment that possibly will make a difference. In that, this book was a disservice to those who treat, care for, and help those with mental problems.

Ultimately and unfortunately, this book seemed to pander to the shock value and not to the fact that there are people out there who need help, guidance, and counseling to tackle the problems they face.

It looks like I'm in the minority on this one, but that's O.K.

For the few others who weren't loving this book the turn offs seemed to be how graphic it was, how evil the child was, the sexual elements. None of those were the case for me. I'm used to reading some pretty dark stuff. I guess, for me, I had issues with the psychology. For much of the book, I wasn't buying what the Hanna character was selling, so that made it hard to stay interested.

But first the pluses...I rather liked the mom character (other than her screaming things like "for fuck's sake, Hanna!" at her kid. That seemed ridiculous). I actually think Suzette was pretty well written. Her issues with her own mother and her Crohn's disease seemed well thought out and added some nice depth to the character. As a mom, I thought her vacillating between worrying that her child was evil/being afraid of her, and loving her and imagining that this evilness was all her own fault rang really true.

Hanna on the other hand was hard for me to take. I think it is really hard to do POV for a psychopath. I get that many are effectively "born bad," but there was not much in Hannah's inner dialogue to suggest why she was this way (so, for me, having the book toggle between the two characters POV was a drawback). Only once did Hanna seem a little freaked out by the darkness in her own brain. I would have liked to see more of that sort of thing.

If Hanna is indeed, brilliant she would understand that most normal kids don't want to kill their mothers, and think about why she's not like them (even if it's just to contemplate why those other kids are so lame.) Basically, I felt like a 6-7 year old would have more self awareness. Did she even really believe she was possessed? Did she actually believe in witches? We never really know if any of these things are actual beliefs, simply strategies she's employing for freaking out her mother, delusions, or just plot devices. Basically if we're going to spend half the book inside this kid's head, I want to see more of what's inside there.

I also wasn't buying *spoiler alert* Hanna's intricate web searches, careful murder plots, skill in rolling her eyeballs back inside her head, framing others for her own self-harm, etc. Again, I understand that I personally do not know any psychopathic children, so maybe they are all this brilliant. However, to me, those things felt more like the actions of a psychopathic adult (while the witch stuff, etc. felt more like childlike reasoning.)

Ironically, after flat out hating this book for the first half, I stuck it out and found the back half (in particular the back third) to be really solid. The book did away with flirting with supernatural elements and focused more on one supremely messed up kid and two parents' genuine struggles to stay healthy, alive and sane in parenting her. I would have really dug a full book that had that flavor.

However, again I'm seemingly in the minority. I don't think most readers who like the dark stuff really care that deeply about why the darkness happens, it if rings true, what psychological underpinnings may account for it, etc. In the end, I'm maybe not the best match for the material.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

WOW! What a captivating story! BABY TEETH is Zoje Stage's debut novel, and what a novel is it. It is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a family that tries their best to appear normal, but is really ripping apart at the seams. I couldn't put the book down because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

Seven-year-old Hanna is the apple of her daddy's eyes, and they both adore each other. The only problem is that Mommy keeps getting in the way and stealing away some of Daddy's affection that Hanna feels should only be for her. Things would be so much better if Mommy would just go away so that Hanna could have Daddy all to herself. And the incredibly smart and manipulative Hanna is determined to make that happen.

Suzette knows that something is wrong with her daughter. Even though she is seven-years-old, Hanna has never spoken a word to anyone other than a few recent utterances that she's made to Suzette while claiming to be a witch from 1600s France. The doctors can't find anything physically wrong with Hanna that might be preventing her from talking. And since Hanna can make sounds and be vocal otherwise, it's becoming clear that Hanna just won't talk. Suzette tries to be the best mother that she can be - making up for the lack of love and care that she received from her own mother. But Hanna rejects her mother's love and instead torments her. Suzette can't get away from her daughter because she is stuck with her all day, every day. Hanna has been kicked out of every school she has been admitted to and no babysitter will come back. Suzette, who has her own medical conditions, is becoming more and more stressed out over dealing with her difficult daughter. Suzette sees a side of Hanna - an evil side - that her husband refuses to believe is possible in his sweet, affectionate daughter. It isn't until Hanna becomes violent towards Suzette that Alex finally accepts that something is seriously wrong with his daughter. Alex is forced to take action to protect his wife and "cure" his daughter, and the only action he can take is to send Hanna away to a special school that can help troubled children like her. But that's not okay with Hanna. It's not okay at all. And Hanna knows the only way to get back to Daddy is to play along and pretend she is getting better. Only then can she go home and finally get rid of Mommy for good.

Now just because Hanna is pure evil, that doesn't mean Suzette is all goodness. In fact, she's not always very likeable. The way she speaks to her daughter can be horrendous - but I can't really blame her considering Hanna is trying to kill her. But the fact that Suzette isn't the most likeable of characters left me cheering for Hanna on occasion. I didn't exactly support Hanna's psychotic, matricidal thoughts/actions, but I could understand (at least on some level) why she might want to get rid of Mommy. Like Suzette, I wondered if Hanna was born this way or if Suzette did something to make her daughter into this evil little person.

Despite being a creepy, thrilling novel, BABY TEETH was also a fun read. Seeing it from both the mother's and the daughter's perspectives gave a well-rounded picture of the dysfunctional family. The father's prolonged oblivion and denial that anything is wrong with his little princess shows how and why it has taken this long for the little girl to get the help that she needs. It also shows how the family has gotten into the dysfunctional mess that it is in. If you're into chilling, psychological thrillers about evil/creepy children, BABY TEETH is the novel for you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

As soon as I saw the cover of this book without even reading the synopsis, I knew I wanted to read it and boy oh boy, what a wild ride! This book will completely stun you from beginning to end, I couldn't put it down, as the mother of a toddler daughter, I don't know what I would do if I was in Suzette and Alex's situation. A fabulous read, would recommend.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

I am officially crazy about stories with evil children, demonic tots, bad seeds, and devil's spawn.  In this story, the child in question is seven year old Hanna.  When with her mommy, she whines and keens and snarls, but does not speak.  Hanna only has smiles and sweetness for her daddy, but remains mute.  Things would be just about perfect if Mommy was out of the picture.

There was a little too much going on here.  I agree with the reviewer who takes issue with the synopsis' comparison to <i>The Dinner</i> and <i>We Need To Talk About Kevin</i>.  There isn't much subtlety or nuance going on with this one.  I would liken it more to <i>The Bad Seed</i> than anything else.  That being said, I liked <i>The Bad Seed</i>.  And I liked this one okay, too.

Wow, this book was so good. The writing was excellent and the characters were wonderful. I found the book to be very suspenseful. I did not want to stop reading. I am hoping there will be a sequel, I would love to know what happens with these characters. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the way it would jump to the next day without warning. I had to backtrack a few times. I loved this book and would recommend!

Creepy, spooky and at times terrifying that a child so young can be so evil. Reminiscent of Patty McCormick in the Bad Seed.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.