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A review by angethology
Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper
3.25
"There is monstrous beauty in the blood-spotted skin, and beneath, an intense desire to live. A desire unfulfilled."
When Yaya Betancourt discovers a secondary set of teeth in the most unsuspecting part of her body, she has two find out what exactly is happening to her and how AlphaBeta Pharmaceuticals and their experiments have contributed to this ... and she's not going to like the answer.
'Queen of Teeth' conveys body horror in a way that highlights Yaya's discovery about herself and how she's slowly losing that identity — whether to ABP or the monster consuming her. The writing is gritty, raw, yet doesn't cross a line that lends itself absurd, especially with the incorporation of sci-fi elements. With a world becoming more dystopian-like, Yaya becomes embroiled in a dilemma constituting her agency and freedom.
Do her newfound bones protruding with a mind of their own give Yaya more power, or is she becoming someone she never wanted to be? Yaya's conundrum blunders even more when she realizes she's falling for someone that's supposed to be her enemy. Her transformation, even if not "the true her" displays all her struggles she managed to repress. She's been moulded, prodded, tested on, judged all her life. And now she's doing the molding.
While I do like Yaya's journey and the writing overall, at some point I started losing interest and couldn't really click with it. Especially when Doc came in the picture — considering her position and role, I do understand her being pulled in different directions, yet her closeness to Yaya felt undeserved and too rushed.
It's a fun body horror novel that's quick to read and definitely for those who seek gore, but akin to how Yaya feels, it's just a little unfulfilling.
When Yaya Betancourt discovers a secondary set of teeth in the most unsuspecting part of her body, she has two find out what exactly is happening to her and how AlphaBeta Pharmaceuticals and their experiments have contributed to this ... and she's not going to like the answer.
'Queen of Teeth' conveys body horror in a way that highlights Yaya's discovery about herself and how she's slowly losing that identity — whether to ABP or the monster consuming her. The writing is gritty, raw, yet doesn't cross a line that lends itself absurd, especially with the incorporation of sci-fi elements. With a world becoming more dystopian-like, Yaya becomes embroiled in a dilemma constituting her agency and freedom.
Do her newfound bones protruding with a mind of their own give Yaya more power, or is she becoming someone she never wanted to be? Yaya's conundrum blunders even more when she realizes she's falling for someone that's supposed to be her enemy. Her transformation, even if not "the true her" displays all her struggles she managed to repress. She's been moulded, prodded, tested on, judged all her life. And now she's doing the molding.
While I do like Yaya's journey and the writing overall, at some point I started losing interest and couldn't really click with it. Especially when Doc came in the picture — considering her position and role, I do understand her being pulled in different directions, yet her closeness to Yaya felt undeserved and too rushed.
It's a fun body horror novel that's quick to read and definitely for those who seek gore, but akin to how Yaya feels, it's just a little unfulfilling.