Book Review- Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth: A Novel (July 17, 2018) by Zoje Stage

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press (July 17, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1250170753

Entertainment Weekly writes that Baby Teeth was like “We Need to Talk About Kevin meets Gone Girl meets The Omen....” I’m still a bit haunted by We Need to Talk About Kevin so I hoped that I would like the book.

The book description:

Suzette is a devoted stay-at-home mother doing everything she can to connect with her seven-year-old daughter, who cannot—or will not—speak. But ever since Hanna was a baby, Suzette couldn’t help but feel despised by her. Manipulated. And scared to death.
Alex, Hanna’s father, wants to believe his wife’s accounts of Hanna’s cruel and unusual behavior. The only problem is that Alex has never really seen it, himself: Hanna shows him nothing but love. Which is driving Suzette literally crazy. Could it be that Hanna is just a typical, naughty girl—one whose everyday antics toward her mother point to intelligence, creativity, maybe even charm? Or is Hanna, as Suzette fears, actually trying to kill her?
A powerhouse, razor-sharp novel of psychological suspense from blazing new talent Zoje Stage, Baby Teeth raises more questions than it answers—and will leave you guessing until its shocking conclusion.

The story is told in alternating points of view between the mother, Suzette, and the daughter, Hanna. I did not really want to read a seven-year-old’s point of view at first but even this turned out to make the book creepy. At times this narration was a bit too omniscient for my taste but by the end of the story it worked.

Unlike We Need to Talk About Kevin that includes a much longer period of time with the *I’m-glad-he’s-not-my-kid* Kevin, Baby Teeth sticks to a much shorter time period.

What’s creepy: Hanna does not talk. Except, of course, when she conjures a French accent for her first (creepy) sentence to her mother. This very much reminded me of Richard Matheson’s “Drink My Red Blood” with young Jules who “never spoke a word until he was five. Then, one night coming to supper, he sat down at the table and said, ‘Death’.”  Hanna’s phrase is not explicitly problematic but I doubt it would sit well with any parent.

I liked that the narration lets us see how Suzette speculates about Hanna’s condition: is her daughter possessed? Is her daughter a psychopath? Is her daughter being molested by her father, whom Hanna adores?

There are specialists, counselors, special schools, and Suzette is more likeable than Eva (see, I keep going back to We Need to Talk About Kevin) but she is whiny.

Dad is in major denial but I doubt you will hate him for it.  He is also Swedish, which brings an interesting aspect to the book since some phrases are purely in Swedish with no translation. There is an emphasis on Swedish traditions. Further, there is a witch theme and they celebrate Walpurgisnacht, which surprised and delighted this reader.

In some ways, the book nods more to Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts, which to me is the ultimate compliment because that book was amazing.

I was not too surprised by the ending but I also liked it; and, if you know me, I cannot stand neatly *tied up with a happy bow* endings so be forewarned.

The first ten chapters are currently available on Amazon Kindle for free. Follow the link for access.

... a haunted house in a cemetery, a seance, and a secret locket: A review of Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead...

“The best way to predict the

future is to create it.”

~Abraham Lincoln

Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead by Cindy Callaghan

Age Range: 9 - 13 years

Grade Level: 4 - 8

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: Aladdin (March 7, 2017)

ISBN-10: 1481465694

ISBN-13: 978-1481465694

I’ll be honest; I picked the book because of the cover and then kept it because of the first line: “Even though I hated vampires and just about anything scary, I’d seen Fangs for You five times.”  But, before I get into the review, here’s the book description from the publisher:

West Coast girl Sydney Mackenzie moves to Delaware after her parents inherit a cemetery—and becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the Underground Railroad—in this M!X novel from the author of Lost in London, Lost in Paris, Lost in Rome, and Lost in Ireland.

Sydney Mackenzie is an aspiring actress and average less-than-popular California Girl. So when her parents drop the biggest bombshell ever—they have inherited a cemetery called Lay to Rest, which means a move to boring Delaware—Sydney is NOT happy. And to make matters worse? Their “new” house is actually right on the cemetery grounds—and it isn’t exactly California chic.

But after settling in, Sydney discovers that the creepy old house might have more history than she once thought. And someone—or something—is encouraging her to delve deeper into a decades-old mystery that dates back to the Underground Railroad. Will Sydney’s filmmaking skills and the help of some new friends be enough for her get to the bottom of the mystery of her new home?

At the start of the story, Sydney is desperately trying to fit in with the rich pseudo-mean girls of California who do little more than name drop brands they’re wearing. Sydney tries to fit in but she is not wearing designer clothing because her parents just can’t afford them. Her on-again/off-again best friend is Leigh who is the one, when she approves of Sydney’s hair/outfit/shoes, that goes out to eat fancy frozen yogurt with Sydney. Leigh is rich and can afford all the designer things that she deems important. Sydney thinks she wants this kind of life. Then when her phone breaks and she cannot afford a new one (because Sydney actually had to use her own babysitting money to buy it), AND learns that her parents inherited a cemetery and a Victorian house in Delaware, Leigh doesn’t show much interest in remaining Sydney’s long-distance friend. California-Sydney is completely unlikable in the beginning of the story… but then there’s Delaware-Sydney: a girl just trying to find friends so badly that she’ll do anything to just fit in. The cool thing is that these new friends like her for just being herself.

The Delaware friends are cool, especially Johanna who pretty much constructs a Ouija board- MacGyver style. She also studies a few books over the weekend to learn how to do a séance. And, it just so happens that Johanna is a natural.

There’s a somewhat-believable-not-hokey-at-all ghost. There’s the cemetery IN HER BACKYARD! There’s a scary tunnel that leads somewhere. They find a secret locket and a secret message. There are boy crushes and boy characters who are actually pretty good characters while simultaneously acting like young boys. And, there’s a pretty interesting somewhat-historic conclusion. How's that for holding back the spoilers!?!

I loved reading this book. It was high-interest kid-lit, and a great deal of fun. At 244 pages (for my Advanced Readers Copy), I was a bit disappointed that some of the storylines and characters didn’t have more, well, storyline and depth of characterization. For example, Elliott, the landscape designer for the cemetery who wears a clock and decorates the cemetery with holly berries. He was well-read and interesting so there was so much potential there. I wanted him to be more involved in the storyline. While I liked the conclusion, it was wrapped up too quickly and neatly.

But overall, this was a super cute story for your kids, your siblings, or your inner-child.

...book review: _Vampires on the Run_...

Vampires on the Run: A Quinnie Boyd Mystery (March 1, 2017) by C. M. Surrisi

Age Range: 10 - 13 years

Grade Level: 5 - 8

Hardcover: 296 pages

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (March 1, 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1512411507

ISBN-13: 978-1512411508

Description:

In the months after Quinnie Boyd cracked the mystery of her missing teacher, she expected life in her small Maine town to snap back to normal. But two writers from New York City have arrived in Maiden Rock, and there's something not quite right about them. Sure, Ceil and Edgar are pale. And they dress in all black. And they don't go near the sunlight. But could they really be vampires? To find out, Quinnie turns to Dominica new kid in town who's an expert on everything geeky. Together, they'll risk their necks to find an answer . . .

I'm always looking for a good book to fit into my Adolescent Literature course. I decided to read this book based on the description (and because it has vampires!); it turns out that the story itself was even cuter than described!

Main character, Quinnie Boyd is 13 years old and has a knack for solving crime, that is when she isn’t getting grounded for going out in the middle of the night with new neighbor and potential crush, Dominic (described as wearing a “Black t-shirt with a small pi symbol on the chest. Not-too-baggy jeans. Vans). Okay, so I even had a little crush on him. One of the parts that I loved was that Quinnie and Dominic hang out without all the older YA flirting. Gasp! They’re actually friends! 

I didn’t realize until I was already into the story that this novel is part of a series (sigh! Why is everything part of a series now?!?) The Maypop Kidnapping (2016) was the first novel but Vampires on the Run completely works as a stand-alone novel with only a few references to the previous book and Quinnie’s adventures.

The basic plot is that novelist Victoria Kensington, which is actually the penname for Ella’s (Quinnie’s best friend) aunt and uncle writing-team, Ceil and Edgar, who may or may not be actual vampires! They’ve just released their latest novel Transylvanian Drip and come to the small town of Maiden Rock, Maine for a bit of rest. The town is so small that Quinnie’s mom is the real-estate agent, mayor, postmaster, and sheriff! And just like many small towns, news travels fast so everyone wants to read the famous author, especially since rumor has it that a real vampire tells Kensington the plot to each of her novels.

Because the famous author is in town, Quinnie’s teacher, Ms. Stillford decides that they will do a comparison of Transylvanian Drip and the Dracula. I love that this was included and Ms. Stillford seems like a great teacher although respectfully, I’m really not sure that the author C. M. Surrisi has even read Dracula. Much of Quinnie’s comments reflect some major misunderstandings; I’m chalking that up to unreliable narration since Quinnie is 13. And, because I have the Norton Critical Edition right beside me…seriously, I do!, I don’t know any Eighth Grade teacher who would assign 327 pages of Dracula plus whatever the length of the fictional Transylvanian Drip during the last week of school before summer break. But, it does fit into the plot so again, I’m not complaining.
While reading Dracula, Quinnie becomes completely freaked out by the story and cannot sleep. She texts her new buddy, Dominic and the two decide it’s a great idea to go walking on the beach together. It’s all good clean fun until their parents find out… and until they realize there is a mad dog/coyote/wolf/ vampire on the loose.

Quinnie’s imagination becomes overactive as she notices how Ceil and Edgar both dress in black, have white skin, bloodred [sic] lips, creepy long nails, and they cover the mirrors in the house. I overlook these stereotypes because Quinnie really isn’t a reader of vampire fiction (her words) and she tends to jump to conclusions.

While Quinnie is focused on vampirism, she and her friends actually expose a pretty serious scheme that leaves readers engaged until the end of the novel.

One of my favorite parts- Quinnie considers Dominic’s bite on her neck with fake fangs as her first kiss. Well, there is an opportunity for a real kiss but as Quinnie says, “There’s the whole summer ahead for that.”  I also love that Quinnie and her friends remind me so much of the collective characters in Dracula during their ongoing chase scenes. It’s also a little bit like The Lost Boys (1987) and the Scooby gang.