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A review by nickartrip102
Milktooth by Jaime Burnet
4.0
I requested and received an eARC of milktooth by Jaime Burnet via NetGalley. Sorcha is over hook-ups and the gay scene, she's ready to leave that behind with her twenties. Now thirty-one what Sorcha craves more than anything is the opportunity to have a baby. She formulates a plan to ensure this result, but then she meets Chris. With her plaid and DiCaprio hair, Chris is irresistible to Sorcha. Although her friends express concern, Sorcha quickly becomes serious with Chris. It isn’t long before Cris becomes increasingly volatile, constantly impressing her criticisms and insecurities upon Sorcha, the two of them isolated together in “domestic bliss” in Cape Breton. When Sorcha becomes pregnant Chris's abuse escalates, she realizes that she must escape.
I was very impressed by the writing in this book. The way Burnet unravels the story and these brilliant little glimpses of Sorcha's character are very compelling. The emphasis on her family history really made me understand and sympathize with her. Once I started this book I really felt as if I had been put under some sort of melancholy spell that made me supremely uncomfortable, but I couldn't break away from. There’s a delicate balance between the bleak and hopefulness in milktooth that I really came to appreciate while making my way through the story. The mood mirrors Sorcha's feelings and experiences quite nicely.
The first half of this novel is incredibly tense and well-written. Intimate partner violence among the queer community isn’t something I often see reflected in literature, but I think Burnet does a great job of handling this issue with sensitivity and without any sort of narrative blame. Sorcha has an incredible group of friends that I really enjoyed getting to know, all very rooted in queer culture in one way or another. The second half of the novel, which does contain tension of its own, felt much more like a salve. Burnet has a lot to say about abuse, familial trauma, found family, and rediscovering yourself and does so in a spectacular and affecting manner.
I was very impressed by the writing in this book. The way Burnet unravels the story and these brilliant little glimpses of Sorcha's character are very compelling. The emphasis on her family history really made me understand and sympathize with her. Once I started this book I really felt as if I had been put under some sort of melancholy spell that made me supremely uncomfortable, but I couldn't break away from. There’s a delicate balance between the bleak and hopefulness in milktooth that I really came to appreciate while making my way through the story. The mood mirrors Sorcha's feelings and experiences quite nicely.
The first half of this novel is incredibly tense and well-written. Intimate partner violence among the queer community isn’t something I often see reflected in literature, but I think Burnet does a great job of handling this issue with sensitivity and without any sort of narrative blame. Sorcha has an incredible group of friends that I really enjoyed getting to know, all very rooted in queer culture in one way or another. The second half of the novel, which does contain tension of its own, felt much more like a salve. Burnet has a lot to say about abuse, familial trauma, found family, and rediscovering yourself and does so in a spectacular and affecting manner.