Baby Teeth
A Novel
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4.1 • 616 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Unnerving and unputdownable, Baby Teeth will get under your skin and keep you trapped in its chilling grip until the shocking conclusion.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline
"Gripping"—InStyle
"Propulsive."—New York Times Book Review
"A deliciously creepy read."—New York Post
A battle of wills between mother and daughter reveals the frailty and falsehood of familial bonds in award-winning playwright and filmmaker Zoje Stage’s tense novel of psychological suspense, Baby Teeth.
MEET HANNA: Seven-year-old Hanna is a sweet-but-silent angel in the eyes of her adoring father Alex. He’s the only person who understands her. But her mother Suzette stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.
MEET SUZETTE: Suzette loves her daughter, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. She’s also becoming increasingly frightened by Hanna’s little games, while her husband Alex remains blind to the failing family dynamics. Soon, Suzette starts to fear that maybe their supposedly innocent baby girl may have a truly sinister agenda.
“We Need to Talk About Kevin meets Gone Girl meets The Omen...a twisty, delirious read that will constantly question your sympathies for the two characters as their bond continues to crumble.”—Entertainment Weekly
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Screenwriter-turned-author Zoje Stage's debut novel drills into a provocative idea: What if your own child really, really hated you? New mom Suzette has a twisted, troubled relationship with her mute daughter, Hanna. Suzette’s endless attempts to soften Hanna’s defiance only stoke the girl’s blazing desire to "make Mommy go away." Using ping-ponging perspectives to propel her carefully calibrated plot, Stage borrows from the myth of Myrrha and The Exorcist while playing on every parent’s most unspeakable fear.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stage's deviously fun debut takes child-rearing anxiety to demented new heights. Frustrated and fragile stay-at-home mom Suzette and seven-year-old Hanna alternately narrate a cascade of crises stemming from Hanna's near-total refusal to speak, her mistrust of her mom and adoration of her dad, and the parents' frantic attempts to find a solution to Hanna's increasingly dangerous tantrums. From Hanna's perspective, Suzette is the only thing standing in the way of the complete devotion of her father, Alex, and she plots ways to "step up her game against Mommy." For Suzette, her love-starved relationship with a distant mother and chronic Crohn's haunt every attempt to bond with a little girl who barks like a "feral animal" and only speaks as a 17th-century girl named Marie-Anne Dufosset, who was burned at the stake for suspected witchcraft. For the besieged Suzette, there's also a troubling ambivalence about whether she wants to save or kill her disturbed child. Stage expertly crafts this creepy, can't-put-it-down thriller into a fearless exploration of parenting and marriage that finds the cracks in unconditional love. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Customer Reviews
Shook my head the entire time.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really good book. But the parents really worked my nerves. I hope Hanna makes her way back home and terrorizes them again!!
Baby Teeth
No twists or turns! Boring and repetitive! 3 stars for me bc it was just mediocre at best!
Twisted
I need a part 2 !