I really enjoy that this book is tolthrough letters, which gives it this intimate, almost claustrophobic feel that worked really well for the story. The tension builds slowly but steadily, and the layers are what really hooked me. There’s this quiet unease around her the whole time, and I loved not being sure whether to root for her or fear her. It’s more of a slow burn but the payoff is worth it. Definitely unsettling in the best way.

Zoje Stage’s Dear Hanna follows Hanna, a complex character from the book Baby Teeth, as she navigates adulthood, marriage, and stepmotherhood. Through a series of letters with her brother, Goose, the novel explores Hanna’s internal battles and her struggle to fit into societal expectations. Stage blends suspense with dark humor, creating an intriguing dynamic between Hanna’s unique perspective on life and her family relationships. Dear Hanna is a gripping exploration of family ties and personal identity.

Dear Hanna is the sequel to Baby Teeth, the story of a little girl trying to kill her mother. In this one Hanna is now an adult and dating a man with a teenage daughter, Joelle. Her family life is perfect, and she is totally in control. But when a choice from Joelle throws off the balance of control and changes the dynamic in her family she finds herself slipping back into old harmful behaviors. I really loved Baby Teeth, and honestly this one was a pretty good follow up to that story. Although I don’t think a sequel was necessarily needed, there was a lot of this I liked. I was pleasantly surprised by the focus on mental health and trauma that this character went through. She’s not a cartoonish evil psychopath, she’s a girl with mental health issues trying to maintain control of her life and be there for her family despite her mental illness. There a lot that surprised me in here, even if it wasn't entirely my cup of tea in regards to pacing/plot.

I expected Hanna to be more demented, but I still really enjoyed this and found myself sympathizing with Hanna. Characters are really well developed.

This was an interesting book that kept me hooked. It tells the story of a mother and daughter with a complicated relationship, filled with love, control, and secrets. The characters were well-written, and Hanna stood out as both relatable and a bit unsettling. The suspense grew as the story went on, and the tension between the characters kept me interested. Some parts were a bit slow, but the emotional moments and twists made it an engaging read. Overall, it was a good and thought-provoking book!

A follow up to Baby Teeth (which I likened to The Push on steroids), Hanna is now all grown up, but still a total sociopath. She works hard to appear normal. Recently married to a widowed realtor and now a stepmom to a teenage girl, she feels she has really made it in life. Hanna also loves her career as a phlebotomist, particularly when she can take out her frustrations on her patients while jabbing a needle into their arms. Despite seemingly finding happiness, things at home start to spin out of her control, and she will stop at nothing to make things go her way.

This book was touted to work as a stand alone, but I absolutely would not recommend reading it without first experiencing the shock that is Baby Teeth. Perfectly bingeable, Dear Hanna has much of the same shock factor as it’s predecessor, but nothing can match a sociopath who’s prefrontal cortex has yet to develop. The bar was set with the creepy kid. Set your expectations a bit lower with this one, and enjoy the chaos that Hanna now creates as an adult.

I am not 100% sure how I felt when I finished this book, or how I feel still when I think about it - I really loved Baby Teeth (which seems weird to say/write) so I was exited for the sequel.

While the writing is still so smart and gripping, has that edge of suspense that you just cannot put it down - I did not find myself enjoying it as much as the first book. This could fully be a "me" issue and the timing if when I read it. It was definitely fascinating to read about Hanna as an adult, with a man who has a teenage daughter.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Dear Hanna" by Zoje Stage is a psychological thriller that revisits the life of Hanna, from Stage's earlier novel, "Baby Teeth." Now 24 years old, Hanna appears to lead a normal life, working as a phlebotomist and married to Jacob, with whom she shares the responsibility of raising his teenage daughter, Joelle. Letters exchanged between Hanna and her younger brother, Goose, offering insights into her disturbing inner thoughts and their unique sibling relationship.

"Dear Hanna" can be read as a standalone, but if I was going to choose, I would read "Baby Teeth" While I appreciated finding out what Hannah was up to, I found Baby Teeth to be more enjoyable, but still a solid read. The ending was good, but a little unbelievable. Children who are sociopaths versus adults, I think, are more fascinating.

This book was a continuation of the book Baby Teeth which is an all time favorite of mine and a big reason why I was looking forward to reading this book since it provides a glimpse of Hanna in early adulthood. It was interesting to see how she developed and found a place out in society; working and creating a home. I expected Hanna to be even more malicious than she was as a child and was surprised with how much tamer she was as an adult; still not normal actions/behavior but not what I was anticipating. Overall I enjoyed the book.

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage is a chilling psychological thriller that delves into the mind of a woman grappling with dark impulses. Hanna, once a child who tried to kill her mother, has spent years in therapy, but when she becomes stepmother to her husband’s rebellious teenage daughter, her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. Stage’s portrayal of Hanna is both disturbing and fascinating, as she struggles with her violent tendencies while trying to maintain the facade of normalcy. Tense, atmospheric, and uncomfortably gripping, this novel explores the dangerous power of manipulation and the terrifying potential for evil to resurface.

I was a fan of the creepiness that baby teeth brought, so I was excited to see this title. I unfortunately did not enjoy this one quite as much. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, but not my cup of tea

I absolutely loved Baby Teeth and found it brilliant and terrifying, so I was very excited to read the sequel. Something about Dear Hanna, though, didn't quite measure up to Baby Teeth in terms of thrills and chills. I wonder if writing the story from Hanna's perspective somehow made it less scary. Whereas I voraciously tore through Baby Teeth, I found myself rather restrained and slow reading this one. Nonetheless, Zoje Stage's writing always has a unique and singular voice and I find her books weird and wonderful. I'll continue to read everything she puts out. I guess it's just hard to top the perfection of Baby Teeth. 3.5 stars.

Not as creepy as its predecessor, but Hanna being Hanna! She’s now the second wife to a widower and stepmother to his daughter. She has worked out her “tendencies”, but the past creeps back when a family event shakes up her psyche.

Quick read; I enjoyed the character development for Hanna. The ending felt full circle on the surface, but for some reason, it didn’t satisfy me. I felt like there’s more to come... we shall see!

I was thrilled to read the sequel to Baby Teeth, a book I loved. Now Hanna is all grown up and she is married with a teenaged stepdaughter. It takes a while for the crazy to start, but I was all for it when it did! Hanna is incredibly manipulative and cunning. She works really hard to keep her shit together and have a normal existence, but unfortunately things begin to unravel.

I enjoyed Dear Hanna but ultimately I was left wanting a bit more darkness. I don’t think it is completely necessary to have read Baby Teeth, but it will make the experience a bit more complete. I will continue to read anything Stage writes and always look forward to her work!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read. It was a good follow up but I may need a follow up to the follow up. It was a good read and a good move by the author.

Thanks !!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced reader copy of Dear Hanna in exchange for my honest review.

After loving Baby Teeth, I was so excited to see there was a sequel. But Hanna as an adult just wasn't as creepy as Hanna the child. She didn't do enough really bad stuff for a sequel. The story was just ok for me.

Gripping, tense and addictive, this was the sequel that I didn't even know I needed!

The terrifyingly nefarious child from BABY TEETH has returned, and now she is a happily married stepmom. But don't let appearances deceive you. Hanna still has her fair share of skeletons in her closet.

I found DEAR HANNA to be a much different reading experience than BABY TEETH. We saw more of Hanna's humanity this time around, and despite her terribly dark thoughts, she had a way of rationalizing things that makes you stop and think. She isn't 100% evil. She is a complicated character with complicated feelings, and that was really interesting to me!

I highly recommend this page-turner!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for access to the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This follow up to baby teeth left me just wanting more. I didn't hate the book but I just didn't love it either. There was a twist I didn't see coming. But I felt like I was waiting for something to happen.
Thanks to the publisher for my netgalley copy for my honest opinion.

Evil kids have been a staple of horror, whether they’re possessed, sired by the devil, or just a plain bad seed. More recently, as parenthood becomes more and more impossible, these books and movies seem to be making a statement about how draining it is to be a mother. Movies like The Babadook and books like The Push by Ashley Audrain, Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker, and Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage feature scary kids and confused, flawed mothers who wonder if the problem is them. Both The Push and Baby Teeth have fathers besotted by their young daughters and refusing to believe anything is wrong with them, blaming the mother for any issues.

Baby Teeth stands out by featuring the point-of-view of Hanna as well as her mother, making it clear that Suzette is right to be afraid. (Note: This review will contain some spoilers for Baby Teeth.) Now Stage has released a sequel to Baby Teeth, Dear Hanna, that picks up when Hanna is an adult. The underlying question: Can sociopathy be cured? Or do sociopaths just become more clever about hiding their disorder?

When we last saw Hanna, she was a seven-year-old being placed in a facility for severely disturbed children after trying to burn her mother to death. (The adult Hanna ruminates that she should have stabbed her mother in the eye with the burning ember, not the cheek.) While Baby Teeth was told from both Hanna and Suzette’s points of view, Dear Hanna is Hanna’s story alone. Hanna rarely thinks about her parents, and they only make one brief appearance in this sequel.

We meet Hanna again at 20 years old. She lives with her parents and works as a phlebotomist. When middle-aged Jacob brings in his 12-year-old daughter Jo to get her blood drawn, Hanna is immediately drawn to him. The two marry quickly, and Hanna settles in nicely to the roles of wife to a real estate agent and mother to a budding dancer. Her closest relationship, however, seems to be with her 15-year-old brother Goose. He’s away at boarding school, and he and Hanna exchange long, personal letters via snail mail. He seems to be the only person who knows the true Hanna.

The real action of the book starts a few years later. Jo is 16 and has a new boyfriend. Hanna feels ignored by Jacob, preoccupied with work and hobbies, and Jo, who has quit all her activities so she can hang out with the boyfriend. Wanting attention, Hanna fakes a pregnancy and a miscarriage. But the ploy backfires—Jacob wants to try again, and Hanna has no interest in being a mother. Then Jo ups the ante by announcing her own pregnancy. Furious at being sidelined, and terrified of what she might do to a baby in the house, will Hanna revert to her old tricks?

Just like she did in Baby Teeth, Stage does a spectacular job making readers understand the thought processes of a sociopath, whether she’s seven years old or 24. I hadn’t expected to find myself sympathizing with a sociopath, but I did. (Alternate view: I am also a sociopath.) At the same time, I really missed having Suzette’s point of view. I had expected this sequel to pick up with Hanna being discharged from her school, and I was surprised and a little disappointed to find her so much older, and Suzette practically missing from the sequel.

Hanna reminded me of Cassidy in May Cobb’s The Hollywood Assistant (reviewed here). While Cassidy didn’t plot anyone’s murder, both women were on the same slippery slope, and it’s a slope most of us have found ourselves on at one time or another. Everyone has a little sociopath in them.

Some readers of Baby Teeth complained that the book ended not with a bang, but a whimper. They might have a similar complaint about Dear Hanna. The final twist is easily predicted by any fan of the genre, and the denouement is quiet. Still, I’m a big fan of Hanna and I hope this book is the second in a trilogy. Seeing Hanna as a mother worried about her child’s intentions would be the chef’s kiss for this character.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for my copy of DEAR HANNA.

This was one of my mostly anticipated books of the year but it didn't meet up to where I wanted. This is a sequel to BABY TEETH, which is a book I've had a hard time forgetting and I hoped this one would sit on my mental bookshelf in the same way, it's definitely not going to. I didn't like the characters, I predicted the twists, and the meat of the book just didn't satisfy at all. I don't recommend this one.