Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston is a contemporary middle grade novel about a young girl and her siblings experiencing home difficulties due to their mother's alcoholism and neglect, as well as verbal abuse. While this might be a tough read to some due to the subject matter, it is handled with grace. There is a fantastic narrative voice that drew me in as well. While Kita's mother is most definitely an abusive mother, I appreciate learning the backstory as to why she is like this, and how abuse can be a cycle.

We know, from the start, that things are not going to end the way that Kita want them to. Her situation is too unstable. So we can largely predict where this book is headed. That's okay. It's more about the path than the end point. We have a plot with strong characters who are realistically portrayed. They make mistakes, keep secrets. While the ending has some idealized moments, it isn't too unrealistic for a middle grade audience. While the scenario may be too intense for some kids, for most this will be a solid read.

I only made it partway through the book before I stopped reading. I might pick it up again someday; I wasn't in the right frame of mind to finish. This poor girl has a lot to carry on her young shoulders. Her family situation is so hard. I'm sure too many readers will relate to her in some way. The story is compelling and real and raw. If you're looking for a light hearted story with a HEA, I'd look elsewhere.

Note- trauma, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol abuse, mental/emotional abuse, foster care

I just finished this book and rushed to write my review.

What a devastating, heartbreaking, beautiful, important book. This is one of those middle grade books that transcend age. Adults and kids alike will get something out of it. I read a lot of books, and I can't think of any that I've read in recent memory that sheds light on what it's like for a twelve-year-old girl to be responsible for her entire family. Kita pays the bills, she takes care of her disabled little brother and her little sister. She feeds them and clothes them and gets them to school, suffering all along the way. Her mother is incapable of being a parent to her, but Kita wants more than anything to keep her brother and sister with her, so she lies to adults that care deeply for her about what's really going on at home. I KNOW there are so many kids in the same situation. I think this book can really bring to light important conversations and hopefully build some empathy for kids going through this. And for the kids that are, I hope they are able to read it and feel seen. Sherri Winston did an incredibly beautiful job with this book.

Kita is trying hard to keep her family together-her 5 year old sister Lili and her disabled 8 year old brother Lamar but their mom is struggling with how to be a good parent. Can Kita continue to act as the stable parent in their house, or is she going to need some help? This is wonderful story of hope and finding help. I think kids are going to love this one.

Shark Teeth is a heartbreaking but beautiful book. Kita is such a strong character and my heart was constantly breaking for her and her siblings. I had a love/hate relationship with the fact that Kita didn't express her struggles to the people who clearly cared for her, but that's so real. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my library.

This was a well told story from Sharkita's perspective, but really tough to read at times, due to content. It's a challenging topic to approach, especially with this age group. I think it will be good to have in the collection, but it's not for everyone!

Sharkita (Kita) has plenty of stressful things happening in her life. Due to her mother's neglect, leaving for days at a time to party with friends, Kita and her two younger sibs (as she calls them) are left to fend for themselves. As the oldest, Kita is the one who shoulders that responsibility. She takes very good care of all of them, she pays the bills, keeps the house clean, and everyone fed because she hopes this will keep her family together. She already knows what happens when they get put in foster care - they get split up. It's happened before.

Winston tackles some heavy but important themes in Shark Teeth. The reader gets to see Kita's life and the toll it takes on her. As she works hard to keep the family together, anxiety and panic begin to wrap around her, occupying her mind so much that sometimes she's frozen in place by it. Kita's inner monologue is genuine. I felt like I knew her. The dialogue is natural and believable. Readers will be able to relate to Kita from her insecurity about her smile (shark teeth) to her desire to be a kid and have fun with friends. This is a great addition to any junior high library or classroom.

Wow! This reminded me of Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This book takes deep, heavy, dark topics and presents them in ways that are authentic to the middle grade reader.

Kita is almost as older as her mom was when she had her at 15. Her mom has never been a great parent and Kita knows too much about the foster care system. She's also had to do too much growing up and has to play mom to her two younger siblings far too often. As she grows, she must come to terms with the fact that her mom can't be trusted while also not losing hope that things may turn better in the future.

This won't be for everybody. I can see it being triggering for some who have walked too closely in Kita's shoes, and I can see it being too much for readers who have never experienced neglect. However, for those who connect with this story, it could be a lifeline.

At 12 years old, Sharkita - or Kita - knows it's up to her to take care of her younger brother and sister, especially now that they're back together after being put in separate foster homes for a little while earlier in the year. Even though mama is back and seems to be making good on her promise to be a "real" parent this time, Sharkita can't help but wonder when her mother will disappear again. Feeling guilt over the separation earlier in the year, Kita tries her best to keep her home together and hide it when mama starts staying out and leaving them to fend for themselves again. But when her mother's neglect nearly leads to tragedy, Kita will need the support and love from her found family in confronting her own trauma.

The themes of parental neglect and abuse in this book are handled delicately with care, with the author not shying away from portraying the harm Kita's mother is doing. Winston shares a nuanced, thoughtful portrait of a girl wrestling with her trauma, the complex emotions of loving those who hurt us, and her fierce loyalty to her siblings and friends. Kita is a engaging character, and readers will root for her from the start. A beautifully written story that does a good job tackling difficult experiences.

Shark Teeth is an excellent look at the realities of absent parenting and abuse for middle grade readers. The struggles felt realistic and well thought out and the consequences of actions felt accurate without being preachy or judgmental. Winston's ability to show readers that sometimes foster care is a better situation than being with a biological parent felt profound and accurate, though it does show a rather idealized case as all foster care situations don't work out that well. Perfect for fans of Fighting Words and A Game of Fox and Squirrels, this book is an important entry into middle grade fiction.

Another great book by Ms. Winston. Real and yet positive that there are good people out there to help kids in distress

Wow this is a really beautiful book.
Kita is holding her family together and raising her siblings. Kita is such a strong, enigmatic character. I was drawn in from the beginning from the writing, but stayed for the beautiful characters.
This has some really deep tough topics, but it is all looked with such hope.
A deep and touching read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Sherri Winston (The Braid Girls and more) will break readers’ hearts and then put them back together again with this middle grade realistic fiction work for grades 4-7. Sharkita, a 12 year old seventh grader, has been mom and older sister to younger siblings Lilli and Lamar while trying to do well at school. Mom’s habit of leaving the three minor children alone while she parties with friends has resulted in regular encounters with social services and one significant placement in foster care with the siblings separated. Enduring the stresses of trying to keep everyone fed, clean and safe brings on panic attacks and sleep paralysis for Kita but with her dysfunctional mother warning her that she had better keep those issues quiet or be labeled crazy as well as putting the responsibility for the earlier separation squarely on her shoulders, it is no wonder she is close to a breaking point. But maybe this time will be different? Important topics of neglect, bullying, mental health, substance abuse, and speaking truth are investigated in this sad-happy heartwarming book and may give another child in a tough situation the strength to seek out a trusted adult. Certainly, eyes will be opened and hopefully some understanding developed in those who have never experienced trauma, anxiety and/or neglect. An assistant principal and a school counselor are portrayed as trustworthy and caring as are supportive friends and a social worker. Contrasting with these positive characters are several school bullies, an unkind and oblivious teacher, and a grandmother who is almost as damaged as her daughter. A little extra included by Winston-several children’s and early YA books are mentioned by name and play an important part in the lives of Lilli and Sharkita and illustrator Jerry Pinckney is given a significant shout out.

Text is basically free of profanity; best friend Niecy does call the insensitive teacher a word that rhymes with witch but in print, it is shown as “b—-“ No sexual content but Kita does begin a “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationship that has no more than a brief brush of the lips on a cheek and a little hand-holding. Mom is not physically abusive towards children but neglect is extensive. One instance of fighting occurs in defense of Sharkita being bullied.

I loved this story! The honesty of poverty, growing up, parent conflict, and sibling rivalry was all very real and believable. Many kids could identify with the main character and her family’s struggles. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me this advanced copy.

Kita is a really identifiable character, a girl going into grade 7 whose mission is to look after her younger siblings, keep their home life on track amid her mother's partying and absenteeism and cruelty, and most of all keep the family from being split up into different foster homes AGAIN.

She’s also got hyperdontia, two rows of teeth. The kids at school call her Sharkita or Shark Teeth. She's heard all the hurtful phrases that everyone who is physically different faces, and by now expects them. Which new person would ask her what’s wrong with her teeth? Which would say no offense before saying something that could only seen as offensive? Or, what hurt the most: which would pretend she wasn’t there at all?

Kita wants to join after school activities like her friends do. She wants to be a kid. And that seems to be what the new assistant principal is encouraging. Even when she’s trying out for the dance and twirl team at school, with her mother's blessing, Kita’s stressed about whether Mama is actually looking after the younger siblings or has gone off again. She has episodes of severe muscle spasms, but her mother just tells her they’re a sign of being crazy. If she tells anyone about them, she could get locked up. Mama's really an expert at cutting off Kita from anyone who might help her.

This is a touching story of Kita's struggle to become a kid again: to learn to trust others to look after her siblings better than she can, to accept help and support and even love from people who truly have her best interests at heart. Foster kids will see their own struggles here, and other kids will relate to Kita's insecurities as well as learning empathy for classmates who too often are mocked for their poverty, their enforced maturity, their visible differences.