Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Baby Teeth

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

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.

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_lars_'s review

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3.5

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hart_ley's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

5.0

3/24/ 24 - 3/29/24 (2nd)

idk who i was when i rated this a 4.5 but this is one of my favorite books, i think about it constantly. just one of the most perfect suspense / horror / thriller books - & told half from the perspective of a SEVEN YEAR OLD?? the author really knows how to write intelligent characters, while still maintaining their independent characteristics

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drpeeper's review

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challenging dark sad 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

3.5

Not as bad as I feared, some inaccurate pop psychology that would likely only bother folks that work in the field, maybe some ableism/not ideal depiction of mental health but not egregious. Chapters from kid’s POV were deeply cringey but i could see how that would be hard to avoid.

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minimicropup's review

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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).

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🎬 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

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