This book stopped me in my tracks! It was twisted. It was demented. It was chilling and disturbing. It was difficult to read and hard to put down.

Mother v. Daughter doesn’t even scratch the surface of this horror novel about a 7 year old girl bent on destroying her mother.

I can see how this topic of this book and the overly-adult way Hanna carries herself would put some readers off. But if one wants to be pushed, confronted with something truly terrifying it will be a memorable read.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in return for a fair review.

I haven't really read a book with homicidal children, but now that I have I understand that it's kind of a subgenre in horror. Baby Teeth was certainly enough to give me a few chills here and there.

This story is told in alternating points of view between a mother and daughter who cannot get along, and each has their own reasons for having a difficult time dealing with one another. Suzette is a mother who's been forced to stay at home the past few years because she and her husband have not been able to find a school that can handle her defiant and behaviorally complex daughter. Though she has the support of her husband, he dotes on Hanna and does not see the abhorrent way she treats her mother. At times this makes Suzette feel like an outsider in her own home. Hanna is 7 years old. She's nonverbal, and the only person she even remotely cooperates with is her father. Hanna has been ejected from every school she's been sent to, and it's clear she wants her mother out of the picture. What's scary is how far she's willing to go to accomplish that.

Absolutely the most amazing part about this book is seeing just how Hanna thinks, and how cold and calculating she is. I think some might say the way she plans things is very much above the level of a typical child her age, but she's not typical and I believe some of her strategies could not be out of the realm of possibility for a highly intelligent child.

It's also interesting to see how much Suzette is truly struggling with whether or not she loves her daughter the way she should, and how she can't stop obsessing about where she might have gone wrong. We are given some background on Suzette's life as well, which helps build up the basis that the way you parent is really decided years before you become a parent.

At its' core, the book is about recognizing that something might be wrong with your child and how long it takes you to figure out that you cannot deal with their behavior on your own. Almost every parent I know prides themselves on how they've raised their child, but when you've done the best you possibly can and things still haven't turned out normally, where do you go from there? I kept waiting for a happy, concrete ending to Baby Teeth, but just like real life, the future of this child is uncertain.

I would recommend this book for parents and also those who like a good look into the mind of an abnormal person, no matter what the age.

Baby Teeth was an addictive read, which made you want to stay up all night reading. Chilling to say the least. I really enjoyed the book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher/author for a copy of BABY TEETH in exchange for an honest review.

Disturbing, chilling, terrifying and mind warping. What a crazy unique and vexing read by Zoje Stage. I could not put this one down!

Suzette wants to be a good mom, but Hanna only has eyes for her dad and is determined to eliminate her mother from that equation forever. What does it feel like to fear your seven year old daughter? Read this book and you get an interesting perspective, both from Suzette and from Hanna, both of which will leave you questioning all you knew about the relationship between mothers and daughters.

The level of sinister content in this book is not going to be for everyone, but if you enjoy a good, dark, shocking read, this may be the book of the year for you. It left me unsettled and spooked, and deeply disturbed, but all in a good way. I really loved this one!

This book was very emotional. I'm a foster parent, so I've dealt with many different disorders and problems in my kiddos. This book shows the real struggle of parenthood. Do we over compensate for our own childhoods, love harder, give more discipline, or need a professional to intervene?

The relationships in this book - mother and daughter, daughter and father, father and mother - shows real life scenarios and how one person can feel left out of the 2 person relationships. The ending was a surprise and I really crave to find out more about these characters. Great Read!

Weird, Gripping, Oddly Truthful - just a few words to described this page-turning thriller. At times, I considered not finishing this story because certain scenes, freaked me out. In the end, I am glad I did finish. This one will stay with me for awhile.

I did not care for this book. None of the characters were appealing. None of them had any redeeming qualities. Plus, Hanna was much too worldly for a 7 year old who had been never been exposed to anything besides her house and mother's care. And I didn't believe that Suzette would not at least try to record Hanna talking. I finished it to see how the author resolved the mess the characters were in but then the ending seemed to set up the novel for a sequel which was very unsatisfying.

A good read alike for The Fifth Child, We Need to Talk about Kevin, and Defending Jacob.

I want to start by saying that I think this book will be extremely divisive, it’s uncomfortable, bold and full of shocking scenarios, and very over the top. BUT, it worked really well for me and there was an originality to it, I really haven’t read anything like it before and it’s not a book I’ll soon forget.

This alternates between a mother, Suzette, a woman who desperately wants to connect to her daughter, and Hanna, a seven year old girl. While obviously I could relate more to Suzette, Hanna’s point of view was far more compelling to me. She’s a creepy little girl and I wasn’t quite sure if she was a super clever little actress, skilled in sophisticated manipulation or a child with some serious mental issues who needed professional help in the worst way. Many of her chapters were chilling, a glimpse inside the mind of a child who behaves in abhorrent ways is the type of stuff nightmares are made of!

While this was definitely a thriller it almost read like a horror novel at some points, Stage created a really creepy atmosphere in the Jensen home, one full of uneasiness and dread and undercurrents of a dark danger. She’s a gifted writer and her ability to write two distinct narratives was excellent, if you’ve read this I would LOVE to discuss it!

Baby Teeth in three words: Controversial, Twisted and Wicked.

I'm rating this 3.5 stars. For most readers, it may not be your cup of tea. You will not like any of the flawed characters. Keep in mind, this reads more like a horror novel with a touch of family dysfunction. So, if you're not ready for some Oedipus complex, this is not your book. This is a crazy whirlwind of a novel I just could not put down. It's campy, it's fun, it's extremely creepy. I felt that it could have made a really interesting short story, just not a full novel.

Suzette, mother of Hanna, tells of her fears for - and of - her precocious child. Hanna loves the way her father dotes on her, but she harbors darker feelings toward her mother, whom she sees as stealing her father's love for herself. The narrative alternates between Suzette's and Hanna's perspective. Fans of the likes of V.C. Andrews will enjoy this.

I received an advance e-book copy of this novel from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. I've always enjoyed books and movies about disturbed children, so I couldn't wait to get started on this one. From the moment I began, I had a difficult time putting it down. I thought the author did a great job keeping it suspenseful, and the creepiness factor was high. The only thing I struggled with were that I felt some of the thoughts and actions were a bit too advanced for Hanna's age of 7 years, despite her mental health issues. Overall, I really enjoyed the writing and thought the characters were well-developed. I found myself completely put off by Hanna, but also questioning some of the mother's actions. I feel like this book played with my mind, just like psychopaths manipulate in real life. It left me feeling thoroughly disturbed!

Great noir psychological domestic suspense title with unique spin. Author does a brilliant job covering two distinct voices which conflict each other brilliantly.

I really liked this book. It's very creepy and disturbing - so if you do not like those kinds of books, I would advise that you avoid it - but if you like creepy books, please read this! I also have to say that a small positive of it for me was that there was a speech therapist who appeared in it, and they got the aspects of that right, even if the speech therapist was only a small character. I found the alternating viewpoints between Suzette (the mother) and Hanna (the daughter) enlightening - I think that this is a book that needs to show the multiple perspectives because otherwise the story would not feel as full as it did. Hanna's father and Suzette's husband, Alex, is mostly oblivious to everything that is going on - something that allows his daughter to continue to torture her mother, and makes him not believe his wife fully when she is trying to tell him just what Hanna is doing. I am fascinated by this sort of subject, and I think that Zoje Stage did a very good job with her research. If you like this book, I would also recommend My Sister Rosa.

This book was good, though parts of its conclusion were not my favorite, but I fully plan on buying this when it is released!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

What a sinister tale. I agree with other reviewers who put this in the horror rather than thriller category. Baby Teeth is quite simply the Electra Complex fleshed out, with a power struggle between a disturbed/disturbing child and her weak, conventional and somewhat shallow mother. Add in the oblivious father, whose chief contribution to the family culture is denial, and the result is a stew of interlocking neuroses. Yet there wasn't enough depth for me to call it a psychological thriller -- just an ominous, unsettling story.

The premise is that a very bright, nonverbal-by-choice young girl wages a rivalry with her mother (who lives with serious health issues) for her father's attention, affection and love. Actual mayhem ensues. If you need a life-affirming thread in your fiction, I'd avoid this. If you like to be creeped out, go for it. (I received an ARC from NetGalley.)

Really, really disliked this book. Interesting premise but entirely way too creepy..

Hannah is 7 years old, non verbal but very very smart.
She loves her Dad and would love nothing more to spend all her time and energy with him but there's one problem: Her mom is constantly getting in her way. Hannah begins to become creative and resourceful in her plans to ger rid of Mommy so she will have her Daddy all to herself.

This book was insane!!! Creepy physcopathic kid who is getting increasingly sinister and violent with her stay at home mom and keeps getting kicked out of schools. Her poor mother is at her wits end trying to deal with Hannah while also battling a chronic illness that worsens with stress and leaves her exhausted. Hannah torments her all day with her bad behavior then puts on her best good girl act for when Daddy is home so its hard for him to believe that his little girl is acting out. Its a book about a little psycho in the making and the denial, frustration and suffering that comes along with trying to raise her.
I devoured this book in a day in a half because I couldnt get enough of how uncomfortable it made me feel. I love that this book was able to get under my skin and make me feel the horror that poor Suzette was feeling. I could imagine myself in her shoes and it made it all the more intruging, albeit unsettling.
This was a pretty good psychological thriller that I would definately recommend.
Thanks to the publishers for getting me a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I really loved it!

I’m not going to lie. This book made me a little scared of my daughter when she came to my room one night that I was reading this and wouldn’t talk to me. She just stared at me. I thought I might not be able to read this book of its going to creep me out this much.

Hanna is a 7-year-old mute that has dark thoughts about wanting her mom gone... for good. She has only loving thoughts for her dad and wants him to herself. I won’t go into the whole synopsis of the book- you can read that in the description. The author did a great job of making you fear a little girl. Think “The Good Son” movie. It’s more than just a creepy book though. Hanna’s mom, Suzette, faces the every day internal struggles of parenting. What am I doing wrong? Did I not do enough of this or too much of that while she was a baby and a toddler? Constant worries of not doing the right thing for your kid as a parent. I think any parent can relate to that feeling of failure. I feel her isolation, but sometimes Suzette’s thoughts are a little out there too - provoked or not. Overall, it’s a great book but won’t cater to everyone’s taste.

CLIFFHANGER!!

I am not a fan of cliffhangers, and this is a BIG one. If, indeed, this is the true end? I should have taken off another star. Speaking of the rating, I was truly torn between 5 Stars and a DNF. I almost quit reading several times, then a sentence or paragraph would pull me back into the story.

Why was I so torn? Suzette. I had such a hard time liking her. Having a sister with Crohn’s Disease, I had sympathy, but it only goes so far. With her self-absorbed worry about her own health, which was understandable, she should have never gone through pregnancy, and raising a perfectly healthy child would have been difficult.

Hanna, was several degrees past difficult. She won’t speak, although she can. She is willfully silent. She’s also mean as a snake and hates her mother. The only one she loves is her daddy, and she wants him to herself. This child is a total mess. She needs help. I didn’t hold anything against her.

As mush as I disliked Suzette, I disliked “daddy” even more. While Hanna wouldn’t speak, “daddy” refused to see or hear anything negative about his precious daughter, ignoring the obvious stress turning his home into a war zone. He could have made things better long before they spiraled out of control, he chose not to.

To be fair and honest, this book is brilliantly written. Even when I was to the point of thinking I couldn’t stand another page of this distraut family, the author drew me right back in. That’s talent. I DO NOT hesitate to close a book that I really don’t like. I have no doubt that there are readers and reviewers who will give this book 5 Stars with enthusiasm, and others who will close it and walk away and never finish the story. This is a sensitive and controversial topic. I think it was handled well without trying to ignore the real possibilities, the danger that exist with a violent child.

WARNING!! If you have a special needs child, you might find this book too disturbing.

2shay

ARC graciously provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

this was a good read. Not my absolute favorite, but overall decent