I felt like I saw this book everywhere for a while so I was super excited to dive into it! Unfortunately I was very disappointed by it. I thought that it was weird and almost trying too hard.

This book was uncomfortable to read, but it definitely kept me turning the pages! Would recommend with reservations only because I think some readers would be uncomfortable with a child being portrayed as so cold and calculating.

I LOVED this book because, even given both point of views, you were left guessing for some time on WHOSE side you should be on. Little innocent baby Hanna? Mama Suzette? And HOW could dear old dad be so clueless either way? If you're like me and love a wonderful, suspenseful, psychological thriller you will fall in love with this story from page one to shocking conclusion

[SPOILER ALERT]

In simple terms, this book is weird. This book is supernaturally creepy, on a whole new plane of existence level weird. I went into Baby Teeth thinking maybe the child was going to be a little disruptive and it was going to be hard for the mother to cope with her. Nope. A whole new level of messed up. 

Baby Teeth is creepy from the outset. Off the bat it seemed to be an intense case of Freudian psychology, the Electra complex amped up to about 11 on a scale of 1-10. For those of you who don't know what the Electra complex is, it basically suggests that daughters view their mothers as competition for the father's love, so they want to get rid of the mother. As Hanna herself says:

"...when Daddy returned to his un-spelled self, his eyes bright and full of love, he would understand why she had to do it. Why mommy had to die so he could be saved. In the end, he'd thank her."

The lengths that Hanna goes to in order to get rid of Suzette are deeply unsettling: cutting off her hair while she sleeps, sticking pictures of Suzette in collages of dead women in coffins, laying thumbtacks on the floor, burning her, trying to attack her with a hammer. Hanna was such an intense antagonist, it was super terrifying to read about. I definitely felt sympathetic towards Suzette throughout this. If it were me, I don't think I could have coped with a child that claimed to be possessed by a centuries-old French witch, or the tricks she was constantly playing. 

Where Suzette tries so hard to understand and please Hanna, Alex is the complete opposite. It actually pained me to see him being so ignorant to the whole situation. I mean, there's denial and then there's just oblivion. I don't think he had the right to be so disbelieving of everything Suzette told him when he was never home in the first place. His parenting was questionable, too. What parent allows a 7-year-old child unlimited access to the computer and the internet, giving her all his passwords and allowing her to print off photos of her mother time and time again even though he knows she uses them for voodoo collages? Hell no, Alex! He doesn't care about what his daughter sees or accesses, and then has the nerve to suggest that whatever Hanna is doing is all a figment of Suzette's imagination? Once again: hell no, Alex!

I have to admit, the book was a little slow and repetitive at times, hence the 3.75 rating rather than the 4 I was originally willing to give it. I didn't really see the point of the reams of writing that focused on Suzette's fear of her own Crohn's disease. It didn't seem to add anything to the story or the plot, so it felt like a waste of words. However, halfway through Baby Teeth started to make more progress into understanding Hanna's behaviour which is where it got more interesting. There was a plot point about Alex looking like a "Scandinavian Devil" with a beard, which really played well with a highly disturbing scene in which Hanna pretended the 'Devil' was having sex with her. Super creepy Electra complex behaviour right there.

The ending was quite satisfying, actually. Seeing Hanna finally getting help, really seeing the true side of Suzette not wanting to have Hanna around again. The very final chapter which saw Hanna vow to be "the best girl ever" so that she could go home and terrorise her parents again was definitely something out of a horror movie. With Zoje Stage's background in filmmaking and scriptwriting, I can definitely see how Baby Teeth came about. Stage works in the right amount of detail and eeriness to allow the book to exist as a film-style novel, and the ending absolutely works as your perfect Hollywood cliffhanger. With a few tweaks here and there, this could have been the perfect psychological thriller. As it stands, it's close enough.

This book defies characterization. I read it like a person trying to rubberneck at an accident knowing that the best view will both intrigue and haunt me. This book will make you think about how diabolical raising kids can be!

Very enjoyable book. Good mystery and was a real page turner! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

As I began writing the review, I began to realise how little I really enjoyed this. Makes me sad, it was one that I was really looking forward to reading.

This book creeped me out on a level I’ve never experienced before. I think because the young daughter was so sophisticated in her plans to hurt her mother. Those that warned me it was weird were right, and I had no idea what I was in for!!

This book kept me in such suspense that I had to set it down several times because I needed a break. It was too much! This scenario would be a nightmare for any parent, and as I tried placing myself in Suzette’s shoes, I became so uncomfortable and felt so helpless!! Most of the time, even her own husband didn’t believe her and offered no support or comfort. When he finally came around, so much damage had already been done!

The open-ending of this book scared me for Suzette. I want a sequel, but the idea also terrifies me. 😳😳

I had to read this book over 3 days because it was too overwhelming to read all at once. That’s pretty powerful!! Kudos to the author for creating a truly terrifying and unconventional book.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the story of a perfect family with a perfect little girl... well, not in this case. There is something deeply wrong with the little girl. Seven-year-old Hannah adores here daddy but wants him all to herself. If only mommy would go away. Hannah seems like the perfect and sweet little girl but she is the complete opposite. Mommy can see Hannah's true nature but Hannah puts on a fake persona for her daddy.
I found the story to be well written but was unable to connect with any of the characters but then perhaps you are not meant to like a character but instead feel the sheer horror of a psychopath in action especially one who happens to be a child. The novel seemed to be a mix of an examination of psychopathology and how it affects families and sheer horror. Overall, I did enjoy reading the book and was a bit unsettled by the ending but in a good way.

This is one of the few books I've read in which the characters' true intentions aren't revealed until the end, and in which the nature of a child is questionable. I look forward to more books by Zoje Stage.

I was a little upset when I first started reading this book because the child was so awful to the mother. I didn't understand but, after I kept reading it got better and it was finally all coming together! This was a great read! It kept you hooked from the beginning.

This book is very creepy. I didn't know what to expect. I felt I didn't like any of the characters very much. The mother was very passive, the little girl very manipulative, and the father unconcerned (or rather annoyed at the whole prospect) of caring for his family.

A classic tale response with contemporary stylings and new age sufferings. I could not help but wonder just when mother, Suzette, would tackle the question of just who and what her daughter is. A tricky stroll back down an old B&W film classic, The Bad Seed, this book makes no missteps in casting age worn concerns of new parents ever since Rosemary’s Baby haunted a generation of pregnant mommies. Good drama and plot twists and even a few moments where you are screaming at the characters like any crime tale should have you doing. A good solid read.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

This book was so disturbing yet I couldn't put it down! It really made me ponder the debate surrounding nature vs nurture. Are some people just born evil? I would definitely read more from this author.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage was unsettling and creepy. Absolutely crazy character who takes you on a wild ride...kind of like riding a roller coaster with a blindfold on.

Very creepy read. The interesting characters and my curiosity about what was coming next made this book a quick read. I was a little disappointed in the ending but would recommend to anyone looking for a page-turner! 3.5 Stars

I loved this book!!!! I didn't pick it up for a while because I was worried it would just blend in with all of the other domestic thrillers, but there was something about this one that stands out!

Hanna is the creepy mute seven-year-old daughter of Suzette. Hanna hates her Mommy and wants to kill her. Suzette loves her daughter, but has severe self-esteem issues because of a bad childhood with her own mother. She wanted to be the mother she never had, but the distance her daughter places between them leaves her with feelings of failure.

The early chapters had me regretting even picking up the book because it's so unrealistic. Like Room, this book struggled from an adult trying (and failing) to write from the REALISTIC standpoint of a child. I understand how intelligent Hanna is, but most of the time her thoughts were grown-up thoughts. The portrait of Suzette's marriage was disappointing. She could have taken pictures or videos to prove Hanna's behavior. Or, at least told her husband early on. Of course it's nice to look good for your spouse, but the fact that Suzette felt like her appearance would make or break her husband's love was terrible. Good sex does not a marriage make. COMMUNICATE.