This was certainly a unique book! I appreciated the tone the author captured - it felt very gothic and strange, but that was both the strength and the weakness of this book. The inhuman creatures at the center of story, Eleanor and her family, were characterized perfectly and felt very 'other,' but I did feel a lack of a connection to them because of it. No one was especially likable, even Eleanor, and there weren't really any deep (healthy) relationships in the book, even though Eleanor was technically becoming closer to her family by the end. The affection she felt for them wasn't often reciprocated, because her family didn't really know how to love.
Plot-wise, What Big Teeth kept me engaged. I was intrigued by the set up and the incremental reveals and kept reading out of curiosity, especially about Arthur's secret/what Grandmere was. I think more than the characters, it was the eerie reveals that kept me reading.
Overall, I will recommend What Big Teeth, but probably to my bookclub of bookstagrammers, since I think some of them will be intrigued by the unusual premise. It's darker than most YA and I have a hard time thinking of a comparison.

A fun enough tale of a very different family. The author’s description of the “house” is really cool. All the characters and their quirks are original and new. The mother!?! What the heck? Will definitely appeal to a lot of teens and adults who enjoy YA books. Would make a very interesting movie!

This book is very reminiscent of Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but very different at the same time. More horror-like and fantasy, while holding to stronger ties of real family and what that means to different people with different strengths and weaknesses. Even though this is not often my go-to choice of YA genre, I truly enjoyed reading this story.

Wow, I haven't read anything quite like this before.

It was the right amount of creepy and twisted. I found the "monsters" interesting and trying to puzzle out the relationships was complicated for sure.

I think this will be something that gets picked up because its fresh and creepy!

Right from the first chapter, I could instantly see the Addams family comparisons. They live in a dark creepy manor, they seem relatively tight knit, yet you know instantly something about them is off. Like how her sister literally hugs her with flesh stuck in between her teeth. Oh, and the rest of the family has retractable teeth too. Yup, definitely off.

The majority of this story centers around family secrets and why the main character is different (to the point where other family members are scared of her) when really, they themselves are also just as creepy lol. They’re weird and creepy with no explanation, just like the Addams family. But I actually really like that, seeing a family so out of the norm.

I don’t know, I had trouble getting into this one. Not sure why. Not high enough stakes maybe? I half heartedly skimmed through most of it, barely paying attention but still getting the gist of it. I liked the end but the first 80% I wasn’t really into. It definitely isn’t a bad read though, so don’t let that deter you if you want to read this. The whole concept is WEIRD. Really weird. When you find out the secret at the end it’s confusing and EXTREMELY strange. I don’t know how the author came up with that so props for creativity cuz I never would’ve guessed anything like that lol. If you’re into the dark academia aesthetic, this book fits right in!

This is most likely the weirdest book I have read this year and I’m not even sure how to feel about most of this.

When it comes to uniqueness, I have to give it all the points. When it comes to everything else, it’s kind of a mixed bag.

It wasn’t hard to get into the book from the beginning. It’s always nice to see a strong first chapter that sets up the story a bit and pulls you in. In a way, it was also terrifying. The book is about Eleanor and her not-so-normal family and there are a lot of secrets surrounding them. There is a lot of mystery and that’s really the one thing that kept me going with this book. The first 50% of the book is interesting and throws out clues here and there but as I continued on, it was easy to lose interest because more secrets are coming out but nothing ever gets resolved until the very end which also makes the ending feel full and rushed.

I can’t say that I ever connected with the characters either. They are interesting because they are mysterious but they lacked a lot of character development with Eleanor having the most.

The book does have relationships/romance but it’s not your typical relationships. If you don’t like love triangles, I’m not sure if you would like it. I wouldn’t say it’s your typical love triangle though. These relationships were also pretty underdeveloped and I couldn’t get into them. There is a big reveal to it all but it still left me feeling nothing. 🤷‍♀️

Overall, it was okay. My feelings are kind of mixed about this one. I’m going to go with maybe it’s just me and others will enjoy this book. It does have a lot of unique things about it and I can see it doing well with the right reader.

I had a serious love/hate relationship with this book while I was reading it. When I first started it, I was thoroughly engrossed. The mystery of this family was so intriguing and we're just as left in the dark as Eleanor when she returns home. She doesn't get answers and neither do we. Even the time period is ambiguous. Technology is nonexistent and there's a few mentions of "the war," but nothing is particularly explicit.

There was a point, though, where it just felt like the story was dragging on. The mystery was getting to be TOO mysterious. It's frustrating when you know something is seriously wrong, but the character you're on this journey with simply refuses to see it time and time again. Of course, that's life when you have a dysfunctional family. Well, a less-than-normal family anyway. You tend to look at them sideways, afraid that if you stare too hard you'll realize just how less-than-normal you are too.

It wasn't until the last 10-15% of the book did the payoff finally happen and, boy, was it a payoff. It almost made me angry how worth it it was. I'm not sure I've ever pulled so many "WTF?" faces during a read. It ended just as abruptly as it started and, in a way, it was fitting. Cathartic. There are still some unanswered questions, but we're in this with Eleanor and she may never get those answers, so of course, neither do we.

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

"Somewhere inside of you is a crack. Why don't you try to open it?"✝

What Big Teeth was a wonderfully atmospheric rural gothic. It tells the story of teenage Eleanor returning home to her monstrous family after several years away at boarding school. Szabo takes us on the chilling ride of Eleanor unlocking buried memories and discovering the hidden truth of her own and her family's dark history.

This was a *deeply* unsettling read, but, like, in the best possible way. The imagery was sheer perfection. I felt that slithering crawl up my spine that one gets when watching a particularly potent horror film. I was uncomfortable and enraptured. I’m talking inescapable full body horror.

10/10 would do it again. I would say I want this to be a movie, but I don’t trust it to be done justice. (P.S. If you enjoy Rory Power, you'll enjoy this.)

✝check against final text

This book delves into the modern reimagining of the horror genre; however, the exploration loses its wonder as the plot takes a little too long to develop. By the 50% mark, it still isn't clear what the main plotline is and the other characters are still presented as one-dimensional. By the end, more is revealed but for me, it came a little too late and made most of the reading experience seem like a chore. I hate to say that because the premise is a new take on the genre, but the plot needed more grounding to cement this as a "breaking debut".

This is bizarre, ultra disturbing, mind shattering, shocking!

After seeing this impressively beautiful but also extremely terrifying cover that gives you churning stomach, shaking hands, flabbergasted mental state : you truly expect something evil comes out to haunt you down!

You’re not mistaken my friends, this book froze my blood, I keep trembling since I read the impactful prologue! Somebody has wider teeth to create a true bloody massacre!

This book is creepier than entire Tim Burton movies ( and Helena Bonham Carter’s entire wardrobe) It’s like triple scarier version of Dark Shadows meets Addams Family with a little Beetlejuice Vibes ( unfortunately the villain of the story is not like adorable like Mr. Keaton- my one and only Batman-)

Let’s take a quick look to the synopsis for giving you more juicy details to help you understand why I am still screaming after closing the last page of the book! (And entire neighborhood already witnessed high capacity of my poor vocal cords)

Eleanor has been sent to Saint Brigid Boarding School by her grandmother Persephone, haven’t heard from her family for a long time. With her whiteish hair, pale face and sharp dental structure, she’s a easy target for the bullies of the school but one day she decides to become hunter after being prey for a long time. She did a bad bad thing ( background song: Chris Isaak’s Baby did a bad bad thing ) and ran away from the school, jumping on a train to go back to family house!

As soon as she arrives she finds out her not so sweet grandma already sees her arrival via cards and entire family organized a dinner to welcome her with open arms!

We are introduced to the weirdest and creepiest family members you may hardly imagine! Her mother looks like half sea creature lives in a washtub. His father seems like he isn’t pleased to see her. Her sister acts weird, extra cheerful, keeps wrestling with their bulky, threatening cousin and her grandpa Miklos is half wolf who likes to eat fresh animal inner organs for dinner!

Let’s not forget their family friend tempting Arthur: it seems like everybody likes him way too much ! (Eleanor has to fight with her sister and cousin to earn his attention! )

Weird family, very awkward and dysfunctional relationship patterns and after one of them dies, everything gets out of control!

I’m stopping here but I assure you the things you’ll read from now on is getting crazier, more confusing, frightening! I had at least 100 WTH moments! Expect the unexpected!

I love creative craziness that gives me fidgeting, goose bumps! More anxious I get, feel more connected with the story !

I’m rounding up my 4.5 stars to this unusual, unconventional, dark, bloody, horrifying 5 stars to this nightmarish story!

Especially the last revelations and unexpected twists were well developed. Never ever see that coming!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children Publishing Group/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I loved this one! Horror is my favorite genre, and I love monsters! This was definitely a book for me. I don’t want to give anything away, because I dislike spoilers, but Eleanor’s journey to really come into her own, and claim her own future was great to see! I love her family, strange as they may be. I equal parts cried and rejoiced in this book. If you love the Addams Family, monsters, and plenty of mystery, this is the book for you! Will DEFINITELY be purchasing this at our library!

One of my favorite books this year was Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power. It was this dark, twisted thing based in real life that felt like it lived in a world far beyond ours. It was weird. It was gross. And it was raw. Like Burn Our Bodies Down, What Big Teeth does much the same, bringing in so many realistic family pains and tribulations humans experience, but turning them on their head, manipulating them until they are a dozen times worse than what we've experienced.

And it is fantastic.

The reader is thrust into the world of What Big Teeth via flashback that is confusing and wolflike and tells us very little of what we need to know when starting the book, but enough to draw the reader in with immense foreshadowing and vague descriptions. From there, we know that the narrator has left her boarding school, for something that sounds like it's terrible and the narrator, Eleanor, may or may not have eaten one of her peers. When she arrives in Winterport, her hometown, she feels lost, afraid, and welcome all at the same time. She hasn't seen her family since she was so small that most of her memories are gone. We're introduced to her family in a scene that feels like its from Alice in Wonderland: a mute, screaming aunt, a polyp-covered mother in a bathtub, potentially three werewolves, lots of whitish grey hair, and a witch of a grandmother. From that moment, the reader is fully invested, wondering where the novel will go from there and just what story it is going to tell. When an unexpected death happens, the novel is flipped upside down, almost literally, becoming an entirely different novel that keeps you on the edge of your toes, trying to piece the events together before Eleanor figures them out. And let me just tell you...you won't be able to connect them before she does.

In an absolutely remarkable whirlwind of a novel, Rose Szabo does a great job at telling their story. Through the narrow focus of Eleanor's narration, they manage to give you only what you need when you need it, creating so much worldbuilding in such a tiny space. The unique amount of creatures and beings that make up the world add so much to the story, each having their own systems of interacting. It takes a brilliant to create a novel just like this and Szabo's debut novel is so amazing because of it.

YA has moved to this dark and gritty style of writing that I'm in love with and I'm thankful to Szabo for writing this novel and giving me something to fill the void Burn Our Bodies Down left in my heart.

First of all, can I say what a great title and book cover this is? Any writer would be jealous. If you like weird, this is your book. This family is like a more serious Addams family-- but weirder and darker. Eleanor Zarrin has been away at boarding school for about 8 years (?) and it's as if the distance from her family has made her lose her memory of them. Her grandmother the witch, her werewolf siblings (and other relatives), her mom (almost like a half-squid?) are all monsters to be feared, but Eleanor loves them despite the threat she thinks they are to her and vice versa. This is a strange unraveling of the fabric of the weirdest of families-- one that touches bird guts to see the future, makes tarot cards, grows some weird things in the greenhouse. But you can't stop reading about them.

Eleanor runs away from her boarding school after an incident and returns to her family after not seeing them for 10 years. Her family lives in a small town, where there’s magic, wolves, and bizarre things happen. Eleanor struggles to find her place among her family after being away for so long, all while a mystery unfolds at her family’s residence.

The story was a perfect fall Halloween read. It’s got creepy scenery, witches and wolves, gothic themes. The book depicts complicated family relationships and feeling like you belong. The atmospheric writing elevates the book and makes the character dynamics that much more real.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a crazy fun ride this story is! I was drawn in by the cover and then the blurb and I was hooked from page one. The story is full of mysterious actions, strange characters, and a bizarre intermingling of supernatural. The story was shocking in the best of ways, interesting and strange enough that I couldn't put id down. I was enthralled in the development and was determined to find out the families secrets. There is no way I could have ever guessed the outcome and that is what makes this story that much more fun to read. I was addicted to the twists and turns and had the most amazing time reading this story. I would highly recommended this to all readers, not just YA, who love strange, odd, gothic mystery and fun. I received an ARC via NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and I am leaving my honest review.

Talk about total book hangover! I was completely transported while reading this. I read it from start to finish in one day, just about one sitting and it is easily in my top three reads of 2020.

Reading this felt like luscious indulgence. It was gauzy and dreamlike and so hauntingly beautiful. In the beginning, I felt like I was on shaky, uneven ground. There were things just out of my grasp of understanding like I didn't have all the pieces to a complex puzzle. But, Szabo unveils all their mastery page by page, drawing you in and spitting you back out.

Eleanor is a young girl on the run from her all girls school. She did a bad thing and she is not running back home to the family that cast her out so long ago. Only now, she no longer fells like she belongs to these people or like they belong to her. They all belong to each other and she belongs nowhere. She had never been able to find her wolf, something that had come easily to her sister and cousin. And now that she is back, she is starting to remember more bits and pieces of her childhood with them... and how she was never really like them. She was different.

When a sudden death rocks the entire family soon after her return, Eleanor is tasked with looking after the family, but she is unsure how. She enlists the help of her Grandmere in France, but nobody else in the house is happy with the woman's company. Now, the house full of wolves are pushing back against Grandmere's assistance, believing her to be a very bad presence. But what is Eleanor supposed to do?

This was an absolutely stunning piece of writing. The Zarrin family is this incredible force to be reckoned with. They are all such strong presences and joining Eleanor in her journey to get to know them all again was truly a wonder. The creatures that Rose Szabo has created are some of the most marvelous characters I have ever encountered and I will definitely never forget them. These individual family members are so unique and so fascinating, but the family as a whole is this dynamic that is terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

Eleanor has to maneuver through what is the best and worst for her family, through secrets and hidden things she was never allowed to be privy to. And, she is also to learn her own strengths and the powers she beholds along the way. This book is truly magnificent and I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to read and early copy of it.

An atmospheric, absorbing novel that will have readers turning page after page in anticipation! I found this title to be excellent for young readers who aren’t ready for Mexican Gothic-type stories. Highly recommended!

First off I love this cover!!! Also I love the premise anc creepy vibe it gave off. I would have liked it to have went a different direction in certain parts because I found myself turned around and had to reread sections in order to make it flesh out better. Overall fun, spooky read.

This is a strange and utterly fascinating little book.

“What Big Teeth” finds Eleanor returning home from school following a vicious encounter with a classmate and she finds her family less than thrilled about the reunion. Feeling like an outsider in more ways than one she hopes to reconnect with the grandmother who sent her away and find a family that accepts her but soon she finds that should should be careful what she wishes for as too much love and attention can consume you.

I have to start by saying for the first half I had no idea what was going on and for the back half I made sense of it while also still being very confused but in a way that left me wanting to read and find out more rather than being frustrated.

This book almost has like a creature horror novel Seanan McGuire feel to it which I absolutely loved. We are given wolves and witches and something darker all in the backdrop of something to the tune of We Have Always Lived in the Castle and it worked together beautifully. The dynamics between the family and the few outsiders allowed within the walls was so complicated and twisted and you could see how the town would fear them and at the same time be willing to accept an invitation for dinner and I think balancing the strangeness and Eleanors real struggle to belong was managed perfectly.

There’s so much I would love to say about this book but it would be like unraveling thread and spoiling absolutely everything but I absolutely recommend this book and I look forward to anything and everything the author chooses to write next!

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

3.5/5 Stars.

I managed to read this strange and interesting YA horror novel in a single sitting. It hooked me and was such a unquie novel.