Bingo! Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

/ Theresa Smith Writes

It’s bingo Saturday once again – that rolled around fast! The square I’ve filled for this entry is:

A book that scares you

Baby Teeth definitely makes my list of scariest reads. It’s the plausibility of this novel that makes it so frightening.

Told in alternating perspectives, this story is downright creepy and utterly captivating. Hanna is seven years old, she doesn’t speak but extensive medical tests have proven there is nothing physiologically wrong with her. She is home schooled and cared for full time by her mother Suzette, an intelligent and creative woman who is sadly a prisoner to a debilitating illness, severe Chrohn’s disease. Hanna idolises her father and hates her mother. She hates her mother so much, that she deliberately hurts her when her father is not home. But her manipulations, mind games and physical attacks go beyond a naughty child, even beyond a child with special needs. Hanna is deeply disturbed, as bat shit crazy as they come, and my face was in a permanent shocked expression for the entirety of this novel.

Read my full review here

This year I’m playing book bingo with Mrs B’s Book Reviews. On the first and third Saturday of each month, we’ll post our latest entry. We’re not telling each other in advance what we’re currently reading or what square we’ll be filling next; any coincidences are exactly that – and just add to the fun!

Follow our card below if you’d like to join in, and please let us know if you do so we can check out what you’re reading.

Now I’m off to check out what square Mrs B has marked off for this round. See you over there!

8 thoughts on “Bingo! Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage”

  2. #Book Bingo 2018: ‘A book written by an Australian man’ – Me and Rory MacBeath by Richard Beasley

    I couldn’t keep my nose out of this book, totally absorbing.

    This was a surprising read as the blurb on the back cover didn’t give much away, which is a good thing and made reading the story that much more intriguing.

    This coming of age story set in Adelaide in 1977 follows the lives of a few families living on Rose Avenue, a middle class residential area. Thirteen year old Jake and Robbie are best friends and have the time of their lives playing on their street until Rory Mcbeath and his family move in and then things begin to change. I thought I was going into a lovely light read about boys growing up in suburbia, yes, the first 25% was reasonably cheery but the next 75% the reader is taken into the world of some tough issues which makes this a gut wrenching read.

    The relationship Jake had with his mother, Harry, was unique and amazing and their banter made me laugh many times. And oh gosh, the courtroom scenes were brilliant.

    A fabulous novel with engaging and strong developed characters makes this a book well worth reading.

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  3. What a phenomenal premise!! Most people seem to be shying away from Baby Teeth, but I’ve got to say books that are confronting and challenging and scary/creepy, so it’s right up my alley 😉 would love to hear more about what you think of it!!

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    • I can see why some readers might pass. The concept of a child being evil is not to everyone’s taste but for me, it kind of harks back to the gothic titles of bygone days, that stretching of our comfort zones through a suspension of belief within the realms of plausibility. This was a very scary novel, so incredibly well done, and I loved it. I think you would too. But like I mention in my review, the struggle for the parents was as much a part of the story as the evil child part, and I really appreciated the way the author showed these difficulties.

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