Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

 

Baby Teeth
by Zoje Stage

Reviewed by Valerie Palmer

The main reason I picked up this book was because of the buzz I had seen about it. I thought this is not a book I would typically choose but had to see what all the hype was about Baby Teeth. If you are into psychological thrillers, then you may be like me and not be able to put this one down. This book was Zoje’s debut novel.  I will say that this book is not for the faint at heart as it has some dark and twisted aspects to the story. It reminded me of The Push by Ashley Audrain which is another book I highly recommend. If you like authors like Megan Abbott, Caroline Kepnes, or Rachel Hawkins, you would like this book.

Summary

The story is about a small family, Suzette, Alex, and their daughter Hanna. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? To daddy, Hannah is such a sweet and silent little girl. He understands her and can connect with her far better than her mother Suzette. Hanna wants to live with her daddy but does not want mommy in the picture and tries to trick her to get rid of her. Suzette loves her daughter, but after dealing with Hanna being expelled from school, personal health issues, and losing her sanity she is becoming weaker by the day. Hanna’s tricks become more sophisticated, and Alex cannot fathom her conducting the acts that Suzette is accusing his sweet angel of doing while he is at work. Alex remains blind and will not understand why Suzette thinks there is something terribly wrong with Hanna and that maybe their home is not the best place for her to grow up after all. 

What I Liked

I liked how obscure this story was and how many twists and turns were in it. It takes a talented author to write a story like this and come up with such odd behaviors for the child. This was one of the “edge of your seat” kind of books for me and I needed to know what Hanna planned next and when Alex was going to see the truth.  

What I Didn't Like

I got so frustrated with Alex and his blindness to the situation. I can honestly say I don’t feel like I connected with the characters because I could not relate to the situation at all. I also did not like Hanna because of how two-faced she was throughout the whole book. But I suppose that means the book did what it was supposed to do! I was not thrilled by the ending, but overall still worth five stars.

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads. Books like this make me wonder how an author thought of such a story to even put on paper. Stage is a new author for me and has a new book called Mothered that came out in February!