Have you ever thought, "I'm just too comfortable around children. I want to feel a healthy dose of fear when a six-year-old grabs my hand or a toddler smiles at me. What if my instinct was instead to lock them outside and call the police?" Buddy, have I got a book for you.
If the effect of the twins in The Shining is just starting to wear off, you need to read Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage. Hanna is of great concern to her mother, Suzette. Hanna does not talk. She occasionally growls...or barks...or causes problems so major she gets expelled from school. But actual conversation, not so much. Don't worry, Hanna has no problem getting her point across.
Suzette, who has suffered with health problems all her life, wants nothing more than for her daughter to grow up healthy and happy. But as Hanna's frightening and uncontrollable behavior escalates, Suzette realizes she wants those things less for Hanna's good than for her own sanity. The gulf between mother and daughter widens as Hanna displays a new facet to her personality--possibly a new personality altogether.
And where is daddy dearest during all this distress? He's often at work and only sees Hanna at her cheeriest, which is clearly intentional on her part. She's a daddy's girl and as we find out during Hanna's chapters, her fondest wish is for it to be just the two of them with no pesky mommy to get in the way. But how can she achieve this end?
I had absolutely no idea where this story would take me as Suzette's life spiraled out of control and Hanna's wicked little plans took shape but it was quite a ride. The ending? Simultaneously satisfying and anxiety-inducing.
I got a free advance ebook of Baby Teeth from NetGalley for review purposes.
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