Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

34 reviews

callmetheyo's review against another edition

dark slow-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

2.25

It was a decent book.  It had 2 "wow they really did that" moments and that was it. I would recommend it to readers who wanted to dip their toe into horror/mystery books. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Blood, and Chronic illness

lucyyybee's review

medium-paced

2.5

Super disappointed in this book. The title, reviews and cover art really convinced me this would be good. I can’t imagine someone actually finding this book horrifying or thrilling. Several times I believed the book was finally getting creepy but it always went back to underwhelming. “You’ll be desperate to discuss the ending once you’ve recovered from the shock of it.” WHAT? I was shocked at how boring it was. I was hoping the end would have a major twist or insane explanation of the rest of the book. Don’t judge a book by its cover, this is truly the definition of anticlimactic. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

karsenmwilkins's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

minimicropup's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Energy: Alarming. Devious. Contentious. 

The Scene: 🇺🇸 A modern minimalist home in a gentrified neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The POVs: We follow a parent living with chronic illness and conflicted feelings about parenthood. We also follow their non-verbal gifted child with big thoughts limited by their childlike understanding of the world.  

 

🐕 Howls: Nitpicky but this kept nagging me - Suzette has a phone with her 24/7 but never attempts to document Hanna’s antics for proof. 

🐩 Tail Wags: The writing and character choice for the multiple perspectives. The conflicted, twisted, heart-wrenching Feels. That ending.  I love when a story points out that having kids means having a total stranger in your life that you are fully responsible for (for almost two decades). 

---- 

🎬 Tale-Telling: The writing is gritty, direct, with touch of surreal. The multiple perspectives worked well here since it built a bit of sympathy for each character at the start and adds suspense over whether there’s hope for this family.  

 

👥 Characters: The characters were a spectrum from relatable to unhinged villainy and back again. I loved the character development centered around the parent-child rivalry and mismatch. I liked the descriptions of the characters - not everyone is ‘beautiful’ or ‘handsome’, they’re refreshingly real. 

 

🤓 Reader Role: Psychic insight getting the lowdown on every thought and fear from both Suzette and Hanna. We’re also a fly on the wall watching each moment unfold and seeing the past and present collide knowing their experiences and perspectives. 

 

🗺️ Ambiance: Nailed the unsettling, claustrophobic atmosphere, and I loved the contrast against the family’s modern, minimalist home that was designed for them and should be their safest space. 

 

🔥 Fuel: The story's engine runs on the battle of wills between mother and daughter with escalating actions and reactions. Every rational (and irrational) move by Suzette and Hanna somehow made sense in the context of their relationship. Usually I find the ‘husband in denial’ trope contrived, but in this story it was used well and was surprisingly deep.

 

📖 Cred Rating: Semi-realistic but don't think too hard about it. Suzette's survivals and Hanna's genius felt eerily plausible (but also kind of theoretical, so not fun if you’re prone to overanalyzing).

 

🚙 Journey: From zero to twenty to a hundred. For the first half I found myself alternating between hating each character and rooting for them. I’d describe this as a slow burn that escalates exponentially until it becomes fully unhinged domestic horror.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

• Exploration of creepy kid nature vs nurture and personalities
• Psychological horror with a cat-and-mouse parent-child clash 
• What would you do conundrums with ‘how far would you go for your child’ and ‘how far would you go for your spouse’
• Exploring themes and commentary around communication styles, misunderstandings, parenting challenges, regret, resentment, the dark side of family life, manipulation, chronic illness, pregnancy, nature vs nurture, childhood mental illness, destruction, denial, and trauma

 

Content Heads-Up: Medical (Crohn’s and inflammatory bowel, surgery, pregnancy; recall and experience; on and off page). Psycho/sociopathy/personality disorders. Narcissistic parent (recall; descriptive experience off page). Blood. Attempted murder. Fire/fire injury. Institutionalization. Sexual content (descriptive, observed, on page). 

 

Rep: Heterosexual. Cisgender. White and ambiguous Americans and Swedes. Chronic illness. Non-verbal communication. 

 

👀 Format: Library Hardcover

 

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

tokki_reads's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Cursing, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Blood

mlynn2004's review

challenging dark tense 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

1.5

If the author truly wants to continue writing horror, she is going to have to figure out how to reign in her overwhelming ableism. I think— I hope— what she was attempting to do is destabilize the reader’s sense of reality: an admittedly effective way to incite horror. But in actuality, the most horrifying about this book is the nagging concern that the author is either compassionless, uninformed or hell-bent on pathologizing a seemingly neurodivergent and obviously traumatized child. 

Under the circumstances of the plot, this could have been a challenging an honest look at parenting through generational trauma, but instead the author chooses to demonize a child that is clearly suffering, even while presenting good reason for that suffering. It is a baffling choice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Ableism, and Blood

Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse

kirahaycock21's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was a little slow for me… I had to stop about halfway through and read two other books, then come back to it. But it was a really interesting book; it had me questioning the main characters motives and mental stability. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Alcohol, Confinement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Vomit, Blood, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

hazle_363's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was compelling but I was anxious the whole time I read it

I didn’t like the open ending, I wanted to have Janna’s brain explored a bit more and a resolve to whether her and her mom would reconcile

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Self harm, Blood, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, Gore, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror

ericaburns1's review

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Disappointing ending. Almost wish there was a sequel. Too many loose ends. Big drama and complicated feelings from both Suzette and Hanna kept me hooked and shocked. The book goes back and forth from mother’s to daughter’s pov. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Chronic illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Medical content

Minor: Child abuse and Death

Mentions of possession/demons/witches

schnanko's review

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have read books that have made me uncomfortable, grossed out, fascinated...this book was genuinely terrifying. I was on the edge of my seat to an extent I haven't been in forever. It was amazingly written and the plot was absolutely incredible. I just finished it and I want to read it again. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Bullying, Cursing, Excrement, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship