Well, I ended up just busting through the last 70% of this book this weekend!! Thank you @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!!
And what a debut novel it is for @zoje.stage_author!! Five GIGANTIC stars for me!
This book fucked my mind and didn’t even use lube! 😂 is that too nasty? Oh well, I’m going with it!
This book was everything for me! Apparently, as I think back on my previous reads I’ve not read a bad seed book before, so I didn’t KNOW KNOW the world of fucked up children. I’ve seen plenty of movies about bad seeds but not books!
This got me from the beginning. And it never let up for me! Hanna is one badass psychopath of a seven-year old!
The writing was amazing. Smooth. Realistic to me. Switching from mom’s perspective to Hanna’s perspective was seamless in my mind. You really got to see how Hanna’s mind worked. How some things were so adult in her thinking and some were still so childish.
You REALLY question Suzette’s (the Mom) thinking and wonder in the end if she’s a good mom or bad mom and that really fucked me up too!
I just loved every part of this book. If I had ONE complaint it was that I wish Suzette would have tried to record with her iPhone the crazy ass shit Hanna was doing. Why didn’t that ever cross her mind?!
I will for sure be buying this in hardcover when it’s released!!
I know one person LOVED it like me and I buddy read it with my friend Chandra @wherethereadergrows and it was just alright for her so I guess you’ll have to make your own assessment when you read it! And be sure to let me know! I’d love to talk endlessly about this one!!

I have never hated a child (character) so much. And I mean that as the greatest compliment to Zoje Stage. The characters are real, believable. I was sucked into the novel from the beginning and couldn't wait to finish to see what happened. There were a few times I had to stop reading because I found myself worked up over the actions of Hanna - which is unusual for me to be involved in the characters' emotions. Wonderful read!

The book opens on Alex, Suzette and Hanna. On the outside, they appear to be a model family. They are good-looking, he's an architect who gutted and renovated their stylish home himself, mother and daughter are fashionable. Kind of a stereotypical "golden" suburban family.

But there is so much lurking underneath the surface.

This was hard for me to get into. I think maybe it's because I didn't really identify with any of the characters. That normally isn't a problem for me. But in this book, there are very few ancillary characters. Without giving away too much, I'll bottom line it.

Hannah hates her mom, loves her dad--and is willing to do what it takes to get rid of her mom. Suzette is fragile, suffers from a crippling autoimmune disease and will do anything to keep her husband, who she adores, happy. Alex (the husband) is completely in denial that there is anything wrong with his perfect family.

While I did feel bad for Suzette and her predicament, I also felt that she was partially to blame for her circumstances. She's not great about taking initiative, merely seems to sit back and hope it will get better. I also didn't understand how Alex could be so in denial. I mean, maybe at first. But by the time the book starts, there have been huge problems for YEARS. Come on!

I thought the writing was good. To me, this was more horror than psychological suspense. But again, it was extremely creepy, but also sad to me as I saw Hanna as a deeply disturbed child with an illness. And I think the story highlights a family's struggle with trying to appear perfect to the outside world when they are living a nightmare behind closed doors.

I would recommend this to people who are fans of horror, and enjoy the occasional "bad seed" type of tale. It's definitely creepy!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I feel weird for saying this but I loved this book! Does that make me crazy????!!! About half way through, I started wondering who was more crooked, me or the author? I couldn’t stop reading it though!
Alex and Suzette have the perfect marriage along with a daughter, Hanna who is seven. Hanna is a sweet little girl who is mute. They have tried putting her in several schools hoping she will start talking but they’re never lucky.
For some reason, Hanna does not like her mom and starts plotting to get rid of her so it will just be her and daddy. This part was creepy and I kept waiting for the book to turn towards some incest or something (then I would’ve put the book down) but it never did. I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the little girl’s ideas. Am I sick or something? I was telling my oldest daughter about it laughing. However, because of my description she said she may try reading it (and she doesn’t read). Who is more sick, her or I?
Seriously, the book is good and makes you wonder what you would do in that circumstance. I could see it being a Lifetime movie easily if not a theatrical movie. I loved how Alex supported his wife through it all for the most part. Of course he had his doubts as anyone would but their relationship was my favorite part of the book.
I only gave it three stars on Goodreads only because of the ending. I am thinking their needs to be a sequel. However, because of this ending, I could see it easily made into a TV series as well. I think it would also be a good Book Club book since it brings up so many topics.
How would you react if your child was trying to hurt you?
Would you keep the signs from your spouse as long as Suzette did?
I received an ARC of Baby Teeth in exchange for my honest review. Thank you netgalley.com. The release date is July 17, 2018.

Hoooooly shit what did I just read?! This book was so disturbing in all the right ways! Hanna is the perfect little monster, and Suzette was so sympathetic. I’m now heavily considering not having kids.

I enjoyed this book! It was a page turner for me. I recommend this book for readers who liked The Bad Seed and We Need To Talk About Kevin. If you don't like the evil child trope, then you may want to pass on this book. I'm predicting that Baby Teeth will be a controversial book and people will either love it or hate it. It shows the darkside of parenting. The story is told in alternating points of view; it goes from the mother's perspective to the daughter's perspective. It leaves the reader questioning whether kids are born bad or if it's bad parenting.The scariest part about this book is knowing that kids with mental health issues with violent behaviors are a reality in today's society.

This book was a page turner! It hit home a little since I have a special child, but hopefully she doesnt end up being a psychopath! I can't wait to read more from this author.

Genre: Mystery and Thriller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: July 17, 2018


The book is marketed as a “We Need to Talk About Kevin” meets “Gone Girl” meets “The Omen.” Since I enjoyed both books and liked the movie “The Omen,” I assumed I would enjoy “Baby Teeth.” Well, I was wrong. The story is about a disturbing little girl that wishes her mother dead so she can have her father all to herself. There is suspense at first, but soon chilling turns into repetitious and boring. Just how many times do you want to read about a child viciously attacking her mother? Or read about a father who ignores, or plays down his daughter’s behavior. The story attempts to emulate the 1956 movie, “The Bad Seed,” which is also melodramatic storytelling. In “Teeth” the reader is left wondering just what was wrong with the parents and especially the little girl. Is she mentally ill, does she have multiple personalities, is she a witch? This tale shocked for shock purposes only. Instead of being chilling it is boring. Don’t bother with this one.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.


WOW! I loved this book, totally dark and disturbing! It took me only 2 days to read this, if I didn’t have a job or kids I could’ve have finished it one sitting! I just finished and had to flip back to the last page to make sure I was at the end, please tell me there is going to be sequel!

Good book overall. There were times I thought the mother was pretty dumb for not telling her husband what happened. And the ending, set up for a sequel I guess? Not sure that would be my first choice. But again, overall, well written and I read it pretty quickly as I was eager to know where things would go.

An action-packed thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat not knowing what lurks just beyond the next page. A remarkable must read

Comparing this book to "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is absolutely not doing it any favors. Nor is calling it "Gone Girl meets the Omen," as seen in some of the early marketing for the book. This novel lacks the tension of the others it is compared to, and seems set up more as a parody of young, gluten-free, hipster couples who struggle with raising precocious children than any kind of thriller.

This novel differs from others in the "creepy kid" genre in that the child's point-of-view is spelled out quite clearly, as the structure of the novel alternates between a section in the child's voice, and a third-person section of the mother's experience. There is no ambiguity as to the child's mental state or her motivations. This is a fairly straight-forward story about a young couple with a mentally ill seven-year-old, who is determined to dispatch Mommy so she can have Daddy all to herself. While there were some moments of tension, the book did not have the feel of a horror novel or of a thriller.

I enjoyed reading the musings of Mommy (Suzette) as she considers her own adolescence and rates herself against her own mother's failings. What kept me reading was wondering how far the child would go, to what level her violence against Mommy would ascend. What bothered me was that I expected this book to be a thriller or some type of very dark fiction, and it's really more a sad tale of a failed family. Compare it to "Ordinary People" and you'll have a better appreciation for the book.

This is an extraordinary remarkable story. This was an easy book to get into right away, it certainly held my attention.

I have sat on this review for a few days now wondering how I could write a review without giving anything away, I need to say, this book won't be for everyone, and its hard to say "I loved it" but I did, for all sorts of reasons.

The authors writing is well and truly remarkable, easy to read, flows well and evenly without let up so the reader never gets bored, I felt everything that this Mother felt, and much more.

Hannah doesn't speak, has never spoken, can she or won't she?

When I had to put this book down to sleep or eat or do some boring chore around the house, I remained thinking about what I had just read. Its impossible for me to place all my varied thoughts on this in a single review.

I was talking to my husband about the subject matter. Without giving anything away I was tossed in so many thoughts and ideas within its pages, supernatural ? Nature or nurture? Mental health?
But shes a small child {I kept reminding myself}

Is this how serial killers have no conscience?
Does it start from a small age?
Is it the parents fault?

I had so many unanswered questions.

I knew I would get to the bottom of this in the end with the help of the author.

Reminding myself that Hannah was a young girl was a constant battle for me.

I felt for the Mom. You never want to admit to yourself that there is something wrong with your child. Even if you are told that you're child is a little bully, you don't want to listen.

So, its not helpful or constructive when her Swedish husband never gets to see the bad side of Hannah, she is always his little 'squirrel' his little darling.

No school can manage Hannah so its left to her Mom to school her from home, her Mom has an illness and finds it hard to cope, you see this as the days go on.

One thing I took from this fictional story [although verges on a fact] is how strong Hannah's parents were together although it seemed sometimes they weren't on the same page but like anything, there are many diversions you can go down but it can lead to the same point. The same destination, and that was, what is best for Hannah.

I warn you, sometimes you may think parts unbelievable, but each has its purpose. You may gasp and raise you're eyes to the ceiling, you will see its all worth while.
The authors research in this field has been second to none. I applaud her.

Its a book I will remember for all sorts of reasons.

As I say, its not to everyone's taste, but is sure impacted on me.

This book is reminiscent of The Omen (without the religious component) or The Bad Seed...only we get to see inside the child's thought processes. It is super creepy, but adult sociopaths were all once children, so this premise of the book is fascinating. It is also almost too horrible to contemplate and it is not a book for everyone., but for me it was a riveting read.

I was offered a free download of this via Netgalley, which I appreciate, but I'm afraid to say Baby Teeth didn't meet my expectations.
The premise of a young girl wanting her father for herself and plotting against her mother sounded quite fascinating. I was hoping for something dark, shocking and suspenseful, but honestly, this was just plain silly.
Parts of the story dragged and it contained no surprises.
I'm very much in the minority and plenty of readers seem to have loved this book, but I just couldn't buy into seven-year-old Hanna's perspective. I'm struggling to describe this as anything else but just silly. Sorry.

Judge me not, I do love creepy reads. I have read a couple of thrillers with some really dark characters. However, this has to be one of the darkest. This is mainly because of the age of the baddie.

Hanna’s parents have view different opinions about her. Mom, Suzette knows there is something wrong with her child. She has seen the ugly side of Hanna, the tantrums, abuse and meanness of this little girl. However, daddy knows a different Hanna who is just adorable and seemingly misunderstood.

The story is narrated through the POVs of Hanna and Suzette. Suzette is struggling to be a good mom. It is obvious that she loves her little girl. However, she is having some serious difficulties understanding her. And it seems that her love is unreciprocated. On the other hand, Hanna loves her dad and she wants him all to herself. However, to do that, she needs to get mommy out of the way.

There are so many chilling scenes in this book. I read it almost a week before writing this review and I can still remember the chill that went down my spine a couple of times. There are others that are so horrific that it is hard to imagine a little girl being behind such evil. However, I was totally hooked. This is one of train-wreck, compulsive reads. I just couldn’t look away. I had to see how it would all end.

I think that this book is more of psychological horror than thriller. Hanna reminded me of the baddie in the movie, The Orphan or Damien in The Omen. I know this might not be for everyone and I can already this title being a bit controversial. However, I am glad that I read it and I know that it is one that I won’t forget any time soon.

Shout out to NetGalley for the Advance copy, in exchange, I will provide an honest review!

Okay, okay....Hannah is a little fucking weirdo. Scratch that a little fucking psycho. And at times, her intelligence is a bit unbelievable. Yes, I understand her IQ and intelligence are discussed, but I had a hard time believing she was a young child at times. But...it certainly makes for a wild ride of a story. So I can look past it.

With this kind of story, I get worried it will resemble too closely to a Lifetime original movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the story was much better than Lifetime quality. So Stage has that going for her.

I didn't enjoy all of the story, if I am being honest. Now don't think I am completely insensitive, but I got a little bored with the Crohns parts of the story. Not because I don't think awareness is important, more because it felt like boring filler. Although, it does play a bigger part of the plot. I just, I dunno, got a bit bored during some of those descriptions.

Another incredibly large issue I had, why the hell didn't Suzette pulls out her phone when Anne-Marie came about? I mean, Anne-Marie was encountered a few times. She couldn't manage to swipe her phone to record the conversation with out baby jackal noticing? Eh...it is a pretty big hole in my opinion.

Lastly, I could not stand the dad. His denial was a bit too much for me. I was so incredibly frustrated with him for taking a child's word over his wife's. For being a weakling. For turning a blind eye. For so damn much. Big but.....I love when books bring such strong emotions out of me. Nothing gets my goat going like a book making me glow crimson over loathing a character so intensely. For that, I give the book 4 stars!

Check the little psycho pants out! Kids a trip!

This was the first book by this author that I have read ,I I have to say that I absolutely love a good thriller book ,this story was definitely that for me ,it gave me spine tingling chills at times and a real page turner .The author does a very good job of describing the torment the mother in the story lived with and how she dealt with everything her daughter put her through ,she lived a nightmare , this book is definitely worth checking out if you love a intense and compelling storyline ,hoping to see more from this author .

Baby Teeth. Holy guacamole. I've said that a lot talking about this book. It was FANTASTIC. Now that I'm thinking about it though, I'm not 100% sure where the title for the book came from. That being said, lets get back to HOLY GUACAMOLE.

I loved this book. I hated every single character. These characters were all very flawed in very compelling ways. I hated the unaware dad, and the scary daughter. I found the mom the easiest to empathize with, but she too was a little bit off. Her interactions with her daughter often had my eyes the size of saucers (I get it, your daughter is bonkers and hates you- it is totally understandable that you are having trouble handling her. But... still... )

I found that in spite of hating the characters (or maybe because of), I couldn't put the book down. If I had a spare moment, I was reading. I NEEDED to know how it would end.

I spent the entire book internally debating whether this book was a thriller/horror novel with a demon child, or just a book about a family of people without much empathy dealing with hard things.
This story is unsettling regardless of the genre.

I don't want to say too much, and risk spoiling anything, but overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a fast paced novel with complicated family relationships. I would also suggest this book to anyone who likes to be unsure of what they are reading.

I loved it. Read it. Be bothered by it. Love every moment of your discomfort.

2.5 stars, I guess. Really hard to rate this one, but somewhere between "meh" and "liked."

I read this book compulsively, but I'm not really sure I enjoyed it--And I usually love "evil seed" stories. It felt mean-spirited, I guess, with some entitled characters it was hard to feel sorry for.

There's a lot to like here--the writer establishes a sense of dread right away, and it only grows throughout the book. Characters may not be likable, but they are realistic, flawed, and very well written. The narrative voices were really strong. And I quite liked the ending.

The best horror novels have a sort of enjoyable scariness about them. We may be scared, but we keep reading, relishing the emotional outlet. This book lacked that for me. It felt dirty--empty of true meaning but not "fun" in the way horror can be. Am I making any sense? Likely not!

I think this book functions best if you think of it as a simple horror story and not anything deeper--but even then, even though I stayed up too late a couple nights to read it, it left me empty.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!