A review by lorie336
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I sat on this review for a day because you either love or hate this book. I love it. This is not a horror book and that could be why some people hate it. This is a psychological thriller with flawed characters. You have Hanna who is 7 and won't talk, but is highly  intelligent, yet there is something wrong with her and we see the depths of that. Suzanne is the mother, who isn't an innocent party, either, as she tries to be a good mother, but isn't always and there are some things I observed that question her as a person. Lastly, there's Alex, husband and dad, caught in the middle, but I feel is temperamental and trying to stay oblivious until he can no longer do so.

We only get Hanna's and Suzette's perspectives. We see why Hanna does what she does and why. We get Suzette's history with her mother, how she's trying to be better than her mom, and how she feels towards her daughter. 

Warning spoilers next:
Here's my thoughts about this situation. I think Suzette wanted a child, but after Hanna was born she had to stay home and take care of her while Alex was free to go to work or whatever. His job allowed him the freedom to work from home, so when Suzette needed a break to at least get out of the house, did he not do that because in the book there was an incident when Hanna was a toddler where, toddlers being toddlers, was throwing food or spitting it out making a mess and Suzette force fed Hanna until the little girl started choking. It scared Hanna and Suzette, this is when Hanna didn't like her mother and where her war with her mother began and where Suzette could have used a break from her child to gather herself to never do that again. We know this never happens and the mental well being of both goes down hill whereas Alex is fine and oblivious to the mental stability of his family. I felt Suzette near the end to be selfish, yet if I had a child as mentally ill as Hanna, I don't know how I would feel except guilt that I didn't do a good job, but there are examples that I feel that maybe she could have done more and realistically why didn't she seek out a therapist to begin with if she's intelligent? I think Hanna was born with this illness that manifested early due to the traumatic event of her mom accidentally making her choke on her food. I believe it was mentioned early that Suzette's grandmother was mentally ill, her mother may have had more than just depression, and I think Suzette has a form of a mental illness, so I feel that part of what's going on with Hanna is genetics at play, but the rest, disturbing as it is for a little girl to do what she does and think the way she does, is partially to do with Suzette. I don't think Suzette had the patience then or now to raise a child, and I can see examples of it throughout the book. At the end of the book when Hanna finally speaks to her parents on the phone and wants to come home, she asks "Don't you love me?" and her mom's reply "Not enough." Then hangs up on her child. Now, knowing what Hanna did and know she's being manipulative who would say that to their child? This is where I believe Suzette should have never been a parent to begin with and I feel that Hanna after maybe 3 years will go back home and act like a good girl, but I know in the future she will probably murder her mother.


This book raised many questions and made me think why and how, but I enjoyed it and would recommend if you want a psychological thriller.
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