Book Review ~ Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth

by Zoje Stage

Expected publication: July 17th 2018 by St Martin's Press

Sweetness can be deceptive.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

Click HERE to add to Goodreads

Hannah is an adorable looking seven year old who worships her father….she is definitely a daddy’s girl through and through.  However, this sweet looking child has a devious mind and her goal is to get rid of her mother, no matter the cost so that she can have her father all to herself.

This story is told in alternating POV’s between Suzette, the mother, and Hannah, the seven-year old girl.  Hannah chooses not to speak, but her ‘voice’ is loud when it comes to the hatred she has toward her mom.  As a mom myself, I really felt sorry for Suzette. She wanted to love Hannah so much, but it is hard to love evil…..and trust me, Hannah is pure evil.  It was hard for me to connect with Hannah’s character because she seemed older than her young seven years.  It was difficult for me to comprehend that a young child would even contemplate such adult behavior.

While this psychological thriller started out strong, I felt it fizzled out in the middle and the flame totally died out at the end.  I wanted to know more, but the story just ended without any real conclusion and left this reader feeling unsatisfied.

The audio version of this book is narrated by Gabra Zackman and while her voice of Suzette was great, I had a really hard time with her portrayal of Hannah.  I felt as though Hannah was a seventy-year woman instead of a young girl.  Perhaps that is why I could not connect with Hannah, other than the fact that she was a psychopath.  The production quality was great and the narrator spoke clearly and concisely. 

Story - 2 stars

Performance – 3 stars

Overall – 2.5 stars

Amazon * Barnes & Noble