Debut novelist Zoje Stage delves into a parent's worst nightmare in her depiction of a gripping power struggle between an isolated mother and a relentless tormentor--her own child.
Suzette Jensen is no different from most mothers; she loves her only daughter, worries over her and makes sacrifices to give her the best life possible. Parenting has brought plenty of stress since Hanna is now seven and has yet to speak a single word. Medical tests reveal no physical disability. Hanna seems highly intelligent, but also acts out so much that several schools have expelled her. Suzette homeschools Hanna while her husband, Alex, works. When the girl finally starts to speak, she speaks only to Suzette and insists she is Marie-Anne Dufosset, burned as a witch in 17th-century France. As Hanna's strikes against her escalate toward violence, Suzette agonizes over her parenting style but also grows increasingly more frustrated and angry with the child.
Baby Teeth is a taut, wicked thriller. Stage challenges the notion that a parent's love must be unconditional, showing a mother whose patience and love prove finite, then daring readers not to feel sympathy for her when faced with cruel, devious Hanna. Unlike most horror films or novels featuring the creepy child trope, Baby Teeth digs beyond the saintly mother trapped with the demon-ridden child to craft an allegory for the unspoken regret and resentment parents may feel but are not allowed to express.
A revealing commentary on the martyrdom of mothers wrapped in a suspenseful story, Baby Teeth packs a sharp bite. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads