As usual, she did not disappoint! I loved this book! It took me a while to remember what happened in the 1st book but she does a good job at reminding you how messed up it was!

i loved the first book and was so excited to get back into hanna's head!
she is SO TWISTED. it is fun being in someones head who does such despicable things tbh

Dear Readers, She’s Back!

Our favorite child psychopath is back and she’s all grown up!

What another wild ride to venture into the mind of Hanna once again. I found child Hanna to be disturbingly creepy and while adult Hanna is just as psychotic, the story is different in a way that almost makes you want to feel for Hanna…almost.

While Hanna still deals with her disturbing thoughts, she’s found a way to keep them at bay. And now she’s found a family, a new husband and a step daughter who she grows quite fond of. That is until something happens to upend Hanna’s new existence.

This book was just as disturbing as Baby Teeth and just as suspenseful. Honestly I was rooting for Hanna by the end. There’s also a twist at the end that took me for a loop and just goes to show you how unwell Dear Hanna really is. Fully recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Amazon Publishing for this copy of "Dear Hanna."

It's the sequel to "Baby Teeth" where Hanna is now 24 and she's a phlebotomist and amateur artist.

Although not necessary, I was able to read "Baby Teeth" and "Dear Hanna" back-to-back so I was pretty immersed in Hanna's world.

Both books were so good and I wish there was a third that covers the time period between the two. Keeping my fingers crossed!

When I first heard that Zoje Stage was writing a sequel to BABY TEETH, I was thrilled. DEAR HANNA did not disappoint.
I adored this book. This continuation was a beautiful second chapter to the life of Hanna. I actually teared up at the end - anyone who has a “complex” relationship with their parents will probably have a similar reaction. Bravo, Ms Stage. Can’t wait for what’s next!

Hannah is back and she is still the same demon that we all know and love!! I loved this sequel- I will read anything by this author as she is one of my all time favorites

First off I want to say this was an alright read. It was kind of fun seeing what Hanna is up to and how she is living her life. How she is managing in the real world and just how things are going. I loved Baby Teeth when I read it, so when I saw there was a follow-up with Hanna I had to read it. I was reading this one and enjoying it enough, but not absolutely loving it so about halfway through I thought maybe I should go back and re-read Baby Teeth. I didn't remember the details of that story and well I wanted to see if I still loved it. And I did. The writing, the story, everything is so much better. More enthralling, couldn't put it down, couldn't wait to see what happened next. But Dear Hanna? It was missing that. The writing is missing something for me and I am not quite sure what. It's not as compelling. Still an alright read, but not top of my list as Baby Teeth was.

One of the issues I had was the way hot-topic issues were seemingly ham-fisted into the story. Now I don't even disagree with the thoughts of the characters about them it was more the way it was written felt off. It didn't seem to fit the characters for me. It seemed like they were just added to add these talking points into the story and it didn't work. Every time one of them came up the way it was written took me right out of the story. When I first got back to this book after my re-read I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe I just needed to be in the same headspace and after reading young Hanna this is going to be amazing! But then more things came up and I was so confused by the reactions from some of the characters. And maybe I am just out of touch, but it didn't work for me.

Now outside of these issues? The story was fun. I enjoyed seeing a slightly older Hanna and what she is doing and how things started to unravel. I enjoyed seeing her be an adult and how she got around in the real world. Her job. Everything was really interesting to read. I guessed the big reveal early on, but the way it happened was not at all probable. There is like no way the characters would have done what they did to enable it to happen. No way.

I didn't hate this book, I got enjoyment out of it, but I didn't love it either. It was interesting enough seeing what happened to Hanna and I did really enjoy her overall. If you loved Baby Teeth this is worth a read if you are interested in seeing where Hanna's story goes.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Hanna has curbed her dark thoughts and violent impulses.. mostly. Now she is a wife and stepmother with a steady career. When her teenager stepdaughter starts to change, Hanna goes back to old tendencies.

I was about halfway through this one before I realized it is a sequel to Baby Teeth. It’s been four years since I read it but a few parts clicked. This book can 100% be read as a standalone. You won’t be missing anything and a lot of the major points from Baby Teeth are explained. I loved this one because it was slightly creepy, without being overdone. It was realistic but gives the reader an off-putting feel throughout the read. It’s also unusual because you find yourself rooting for someone you maybe wouldn’t typically.

“The curtain would rise soon - and this was the role she’d chosen for herself. Good wife. Good stepmother.”

Dear Hanna comes our 8/13.

I didn't love this, I didn't hate it. It was an easy read and it kept me intrigued the whole time, but similar to Baby Teeth, I wanted more from this. I didn't want to DNF at any point but I just kept hoping Hanna would do more, be worse, go even further. I liked the idea of it a lot (as I did with Baby Teeth) and I liked parts of this and getting to be in Hanna's head. Overall it was fine. Like I said, I would have like it a lot more if it was pushed a bit further.

Zoje Stage can do no wrong. I can never guess the plot twist and her books keep me at the edge of my seat. I love everything she writes.

I usually really like this author. But, when I read a book, I want to get lost in a world that I don't have to think about. It's just not my style to have to bring socio/political ideas into a book. That's fine if that is what you like to read. But I don't want to read any type of agenda one way or the other. Take out the political opinions and it could have been an enjoyable book for me. I just wanted a mystery/horror/thriller without commentary.

The thing that Zoje Stage manages to do so well in this sequel to Baby Teeth is create something relatable yet disturbing, evil yet understandable, and something just downright interesting.

I never read Baby Teeth - though it is now on my TBR after Dear Hanna - but this book works perfectly as a stand-alone. I loved how the book could have so easily gone into gore and excess but instead Stage holds the narrative on a tight leash, showing restraint when many other authors would have been much more heavy-handed.

Hanna ultimately comes across as understandable and relatable in ways that I think show Stage’s ability to write humanity into a character that could otherwise be dull or one note. Worth noting especially in this book is the exceptional way Zoje Stage weaves a thread through character work and narrative, speaking reality into everything that is depicted.

I loved Baby Teeth so I was super excited for this one. It started out kind slow-ish and then really picked up. I had a couple guesses as to how it would end but I was wrong. The plot was good once the story got going, however I found the ending super anti-climatic and it felt rushed

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I found this a fascinating account of Hanna, a sociopath desperately attempting to keep hold of the security of the family which she methodically sought and obtained, her husband and stepdaughter. When her teenage stepdaughter comes home with the news that she is pregnant, Hanna is struck with terror at the thought of ending up as the baby's caregiver.

Read the book to see how far Hanna will go to avoid this situation coming to fruition.

A delightfully fun (and interesting) study of a sociopath who seems to keep her creature comforts.

A wonderfully well-written and entertaining book, created by a truly talented author.

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for an eARC of Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage! As soon as I got approved for this, I knew I needed to finally read Baby Teeth. Having just had a baby, the book was absolutely terrifying - So I immediately binged Dear Hanna.

This book is different from Baby Teeth in that it's less of a "thriller" in my eyes - but no less chilling. The book follows Hanna, now all grown up. As a young child she tried to murder her own mother - And now 16 years later, she's writing letters to her younger brother and finds herself living a seemingly normal life, married and a step-mother. That is, until her step-daughter Joelle starts changing in ways that Hanna never anticipated. Can she control her dark urges?

I love Hanna's dark humor now as an adult, and this is the perfect follow up to Baby Teeth. It can definitely be read standalone, but the two together truly bring Hanna's story to an ending that feels complete. This is a great read if you're into psychology. Suspenseful with dark humor, you'll never know what's going to happen next. At times, I found this book really thought provoking but also sad. Although I know this is likely the end of Hanna's journey, I really look forward to seeing what Stage comes up with next!

I've never read Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage but I loved this standalone sequel. I will definitely be reading Baby Teeth in the near future as I've fallen in love with Hanna.
Hanna tried to murder her mom as a child and had to go to school for disturbed children. She is grown now and trying to be a good wife and stepmom. Her stepdaughter becomes pregnant which sends Hanna into a downward spiral....
I really like this kind of horror.

Good enough thriller type. I kept waiting for something bigger to happen but unfortunately it didn't really come. Our main character grew more and more unhinged and I was hoping the author would have taken it even further than she ended up going. Could have used a little more drama and tension.

I was skeptical of how well Hanna’s kid thoughts would translate to adulthood, but I really enjoyed this! It took me a bit to get into it (~10%), but then I couldn’t look away. Even for predictable moments, I was invested in the story, and there were surprising reveals.

Energy: Calamitous. Possessive. Diabolical.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in an upper-middle-class neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Perspective: We’re following a 24-year-old phlebotomist who has been struggling with homicidal traits and a lack of empathy since childhood. They aim to do better as they find a new family in their husband and his 16-year-old daughter. We also read mailed letters between the 24-year-old and their younger brother.

🐩 Tail Wags: The horrific moments and how Hanna handles or creates them. Hanna’s inner monologue. The plotting and scheming. All the characters and how wacky but real they feel. Nuanced commentary (almost points out how we all are a little unhinged sometimes). Show-not-tell style for Hanna’s true character and the consequences/complexity of treating her condition.

🤔 Random Thoughts:
We aren’t told if Hanna has been diagnosed with anything specific, but we know that since childhood, she’s had these traits. Like many, she finds it difficult to set boundaries in relationships. So, there are relatable or sympathetic moments she just handles them…differently. Some of her actions are horrifying, and others are kinda cathartic in the darkest way.

This book can be read as a standalone or companion to Baby Teeth. If you choose to read Baby Teeth after this, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the childhood and parents Hanna alludes to. If you read it before, your feelings toward child Hanna could influence how much you like or dislike her now.

Whether you root for or against Hanna (or both), this could still be a fun read. We aren’t required to like her, but she felt human, not over-the-top villainous. It is a character study, though, so it could feel like not much happens if you aren’t a fan of those.

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🎬 Tale-Telling: Straightforward and unflinchingly honest with reflective, intimate and ironic moments.
👥 Characters: Unhinged but forthright. Peripheral characters range from idealistic and sweet to unlikeable and infuriating.
🤓 Reader Role: Sitting on Hanna’s shoulder, overseeing her schemes, motives, hopes, fears, and justifications.
🗺️ World-Building: Eerie and foreboding through subtle, unsettling details and the characters' psychological states.
🔥 Fuel: A mix of character evolution, emotional investment, and moral quandaries. What will Hanna do? Will she go through with her plan? What will happen next?
📖 Cred: I almost want to say hyper-realistic in that our main character’s way of thinking mirror that of some perpetrators in true crime stories.
🚙 Journey: Mess of a disaster in the best way. Most of it was me thinking, ‘Hanna, you aren’t wrong, you should say/do something about this. Wait, what? THAT’S your plan? What’s wrong with you?!” with escalating tension and stakes as the story unfolds.

Mood Reading Match-Up:
-TV in the background. Coffee in the morning. Pencil on paper. Carlock chirps. Gently closed doors. Keys tossed. Glasses clinking. Distant vacuum. Disinfectant.
-Character study of a young adult who thinks she’s found her perfect system for fitting in
-Blended family drama and feels

Content Heads-Up: Personality disorder/psychopathy. Abortion (attempted; discussion). Attempted murder. Drugging. Pregnancy. Miscarriage (topic/discussed). Loss of a parent. Alcohol use.

Rep: Cisgender. Heterosexual. White and ambiguous Americans.

📚 Format: Advance Reader's Copy from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

This is the sequel Baby Teeth deserves. A deep psychological examination of a broken woman doing her best to function. However, it's Hanna, and her best means someone may die. This was an unexpected take on the character, and I applaud Stage's guts for taking this on an unexpected direction. This is not a simple rehash of Baby Teeth. This is an evolution.

Stage exhibits some of her best writing here. She manages to make thus seriously disturbed young woman likable. Dare I say, she gets us to root for Hanna. And although we don't want Hanna to kill someone, we do want her to conquer her demons. The ending was very satisfying. And, yes, I want a third book.

I would highly recommend.

I actually enjoyed this more than Baby Teeth and loved experiencing life through Hanna's perspective as an adult. Though I wasn't surprised by the twist, I was engrossed in this book from start to finish. Would definitely recommend this and excited to read more from this author.