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nicolepaul_ine's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I’m just so confused as to what I just read. .. I made some notes halfway through reading this that I’ll post here:
White teeth
White teeth
I don’t like the cliches of queer life - might be the reality for the author though but I wish the book had taken the portrayal of queer beyond the stereotypes that are already out there…
The characters are super unlikeable which I understand is the point but I personally just get more excited to read a book with at least one character I like.
Also there are a Bunch of random events that never get mentioned again - attempted kidnapping, swimming lessons where sammie cheats on her wife, therapy and stalking the neighbor (okay most of these come back later in the book but like too late??)
The amount of times there is drunk driving blows my mind - is this normal to some people? I don’t understand it at all!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
what a dark, cool, weird ass book. the further i got into the story, the more i started to realize it was an exploration of depression and alcoholism, and specifically how this can impact your closest relationships, which in this case were parent/child and intimate.
i wish i could read it again but from Samson’s perspective.
cw: fat phobia, body shaming, kidnapping, miscarriage, alcoholism, unhealthy relationship, depression, difficult parent/child relationship
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
caseythereader's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- This book was by no means an easy read - like Arnett's previous work, it was even downright difficult and uncomfortable at times. However, I truly appreciate that we've arrived at a place where not every queer character must be a perfect person, and we can explore messy and unlikable characters.
- I was there for the examination of queer adult/married life, and how the characters struggled with trying to match heterosexual norms while also losing their connections to other queer people.
- Every character in this book is just horrid and makes such terrible decisions, and yet you can't help but feel for them. It's quite a trick, and Arnett is the master of it.
- I was there for the examination of queer adult/married life, and how the characters struggled with trying to match heterosexual norms while also losing their connections to other queer people.
- Every character in this book is just horrid and makes such terrible decisions, and yet you can't help but feel for them. It's quite a trick, and Arnett is the master of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thanks @riverheadbooks for the e-ARC!
In WITH TEETH, we are taken through a journey with Sammie, her wife Monika, and their son Samson. It is weird, darkly humorous, anxiety-provoking literary fiction about lesbian parenthood, expectations, obligations, love, aging, and the helplessness of parenthood (was this supposed to make me terrified of having children??).
I was on the edge of my seat for this entire character-driven book. Sammie is paranoid & hard to trust, desperately clinging to her family and the nostalgia of their past, even as she’s actively picking apart those memories and hyperfocusing on the negative. She seems to feel equally consumed by her family’s looming presence and needs, and the inertia of her life in their absence.
I read this in three gulps, only stopping when I had to force myself to put down the book so that Sammie’s internal dialogue wouldn’t take me with her as she spirals into chaos. Her impulsiveness had me skipping pages ahead to make sure she’d make it through, even as I questioned why I thought she deserved to get away with anything. Her parenting style was infuriating and controlling and ableist and yet maybe not entirely unrealistic. The Florida setting made me feel all the more uneasy: the sweaty humidity fills every page, making it hard to breathe as you realize the outdoors are just as claustrophobic as their house.
One note - at the end of many chapters, we were given POVs from random side characters. I think leaving these out would have made the book a bit more effective, allowing us to truly lean into the ambiguity of the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism and Violence
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