St. Martin's Press, 320 pp.
Published July 17, 2018
DISCLAIMER: I received a free physical ARC of this title from the publisher for review consideration. This did not inform or influence my opinion in any way.
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.
Great characters can do wonders for a somewhat predictable plot, which is precisely what makes Baby Teeth such an unsettling and engaging psychological thriller. Suzette and her daughter Hanna play against one another with all of the high stakes and high tension of the arch-nemeses in a comic book. The conceit of a psychopathic seven-year-old may turn off some readers, either from the onset or as the battles between she and her mother grow more pitched. While there are some moments that justify a scoff of disbelief—and more than a few that will make you cringe with discomfort—the taut pacing and character development kept me engaged.
As a young woman with neither children nor the pressing desire for them, I immediately empathized with Suzette's discomfort, uncertainty, and occasional panic over raising her daughter. Granted, Hanna is a special case beyond what the average parent must cope with, but I found the general sense of inadequacy immediately sympathetic. Fueling her feelings of insufficiency as a parent is a fear that the blame for Hanna's problems will fall on her, particularly in her husband's mind. Suffering from Crohn's disease has led her to rely on him during her exams and myriad treatments, creating a quid pro quo mindset that mistakenly makes Suzette believe she takes more than she gives in return. This often keeps her from sharing the full extent of Hanna's depraved behavior, although it skews so disturbing at times that simple embarrassment can suffice, too.
Hanna presents more of a problem as a narrator. Her voice is undeniably creepy, although it walks the line between child and adult in a way that might stretch the bounds of credulity for some readers. She's capable of both complex problem-solving and situational analysis, while still thinking with the limited vocabulary of a first grader. What is indisputable, however, is the outright creepiness of her chapters. Hanna exhibits a flagrant level of disregard for the feelings or safety of others that should chill most readers, particularly coming from one so young.
The biggest shortfall in this simmering family drama was Alex, husband to Suzette and father to Hanna. Although his initial skepticism might fall in the realm of believability, given Hanna's aversion to any misbehavior in front of him, as incidents pile up and Suzette clearly starts to come unglued from the stress, its flat-out astonishing how oblivious the man is. As a character he's far from paper thin, even when compared to the two leading ladies, yet this staggering lack of awareness feels more necessitated by the plot than a genuine trait.
Stage rarely pulls her punches in the escalating conflict between Suzette and Hanna. A couple of moments lean so heavily into their shock value that they risk losing readers, although I was simply enticed to continue reading. Violence and its aftermath are common, though often described clearly without indulging in a "gross out" factor. Particularly squeamish readers may find it too much, but I found it to mostly fit in with the overall tone.
Even after several, increasingly violent disputes between Suzette and her daughter, Stage opts for the safest way out. A darker or more adventurous ending might have jeopardized her audience's final impression, yet I can't help but feel as though I was put through the wringer for a ho-hum payoff. The unique structure and character choices still make Baby Teeth an enjoyable, noteworthy thriller that breaks up a monotonous genre. A handful of over-the-top moments and a concessionary ending keep it from true greatness, though.
RATING:
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