Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

10 reviews

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

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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

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. 

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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

imrath's review against another edition

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Excrement

frankieray's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I almost couldn’t get into this book because it triggers me so much. I still don’t know if I should have read it, it stressed me out a lot, but I also think it was well written and the story was intriguing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship

lilacwhisker's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Very crazy and made me want to vomit. It likes how at the start of the book the main focus is on Hanna’s mental issues/psychotic behaviors, and then near the end we also get to see how Suzette reflects many of these. I thought the comparisons of mothers and their daughters throughout the story (Suzette’s mother, Suzette, and Hanna) was interesting even without the horror bits. Even so, this book could be a little repetitive at some points and I can understand why some people didn’t like it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Eating disorder and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and Incest

a_wren_that_reads's review

dark fast-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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Ableism, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Mental illness, and Body shaming

Moderate: Sexual content

casber's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Child abuse, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abandonment, Classism, Body shaming, and Death of parent

vivireads99's review

I really wanted to like this book but it fell flat. The back and forth POV got boring. It would have been a lot more unnerving without Hanna’s POV.

Also hate how they portrayed mental illness as this evil thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Violence, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

beckyremillard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

Hanna is a seven year old child who refuses to speak. Suzette is a stay at home mother who doesn’t know how to help her daughter. Her daughter who hates her guts. 

The story is told from Suzette and Hanna’s perspectives. It’s interesting to see both sides and I think there was one instant where I almost felt bad for Hanna. But overall she’s an absolute brat. 

Nobody in this story was likable, except for the psychologist that showed up occasionally. Hanna is evil, Suzette is selfish, and Alex is clueless. 

Overall, the book was written well. I definitely had to finish. But it was creepy and not what I expected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

thesincoucher's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

BABY TEETH has been on my radar for a long time. The premise is so good: daughter hates mommy and will do anything to destroy her, mommy knows this but is anyone going to believe her? I expected Stage to go a bit crazier with it but I was so pleased about how grounded everything was. 

Hanna is seven years old and an evil child but she only does things that a seven year old would do. She is not an evil genius - all her plans are things that a seven year old would be capable to do. To me, that makes it even more unsettling than if she climbed up the roof and vomited all over Suzette. She is a precocious child with an ability to concentrate that I envy, and she loves her dad and hates her mom. 

Suzette was also incredibly grounded. In any other book, she would have taken Hanna to an exorcist and called it a day but she never gets herself carried away even though Hanna tries really hard. She has no illusions about her daughter and no doubts about her abilities. On this, they feel in a very equal ground on how they are able to perceive each other so well. What I really really loved is that Suzette, even though she wishes Hanna was not evil and (because Hanna is trying to make her go away) they could go back with her husband to a time when they were not parents, she truly does love her daughter. There are these little moments when Hanna gets hurt that Suzette first reaction is to worry and protect her child, and that was heart-warming. I also really loved that Hanna wasn't adopted; I'm tired of the orphan being evil. 

Alex, the dad, has the devotion of both, Hanna and Suzette, and he loves them both deeply. He was the biggest surprise, I think, because he was supportive of Suzette while doubting that the apple of his eye was capable of such things, which is a fine line to walk. His reactions when confronted by teachers about Hanna's behaviour were believable to anyone who has had to talk to parents in a tutor capacity. It was lovely to see Suzette and him being so in love and friendly towards each other.

I think this was a book difficult to pull off but Stage manages with ease and I'm going to read anything she writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Torture, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Blood