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Baby Teeth
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
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Baby Teeth
Buy Now for $35.08
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Publisher's Summary
A battle of wills between mother and daughter reveals the frailty and falsehood of familial bonds in award-winning playwright and filmmaker Zoje Stage’s tense audiobook of psychological suspense, Baby Teeth.
Afflicted with a chronic debilitating condition, Suzette Jensen knew having children would wreak havoc on her already fragile body. Nevertheless, she brought Hanna into the world, pleased and proud to start a family with her husband Alex. Estranged from her own mother, Suzette is determined to raise her beautiful daughter with the love, care, and support she was denied.
But Hanna proves to be a difficult child. Now seven years old, she has yet to utter a word, despite being able to read and write. Defiant and anti-social, she refuses to behave in kindergarten classes, forcing Suzette to homeschool her. Resentful of her mother’s rules and attentions, Hanna lashes out in anger, becoming more aggressive every day. The only time Hanna is truly happy is when she’s with her father. To Alex, she’s willful and precocious but otherwise the perfect little girl, doing what she’s told.
Suzette knows her clever and manipulative daughter doesn’t love her. She can see the hatred and jealousy in her eyes. And as Hanna’s subtle acts of cruelty threaten to tear her and Alex apart, Suzette fears her very life may be in grave danger....
“We Need to Talk About Kevin meets Gone Girl meets The Omen...a twisty, delirious read that will constantly question your sympathies for the two characters as their bond continues to crumble.” (Entertainment Weekly)
What the critics say
"Unnerving and unputdownable, Baby Teeth will get under your skin and keep you trapped in its chilling grip until the shocking conclusion." (New York Times best-selling author Lisa Scottoline)
"Imagine We Need to Talk About Kevin only with insight into what Kevin was thinking and if Eva had fought back. This dark, terrifying novel unfolds as a battle of wits between a struggling mother and her psychotic young daughter and its genius is that the reader’s allegiance isn’t allowed to linger too long on either side. You’ll be desperate to discuss the ending once you’ve recovered from the shock of it. A must-read." (Catherine Ryan Howard, USA Today best-selling author of Distress Signals)
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What listeners love about Baby Teeth
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JC
- 2018-07-31
so annoyed!
that was the worst ending wtf.
Story was ok, but for a story to end on a cliffhanger like that, I don't even wanna hear the second part (assuming there will be one) don't waste your time or money on this piece of garbage.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Becky McCutcheon
- 2018-08-04
Had me hooked!
This book got me hooked immediately. From the beginning to the end I was always wondering what was going to come next. I would highly recommend this book
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- tina wiens
- 2023-07-31
Freaky
A terrifying read. I highly recommend this book for anyone considering having children. You might think twice.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Madison
- 2019-11-17
meh
the beginning was ok. then around middle, things got good, then the storyline sort of plateaued. I felt that the plot was leading to a climax of revelation of the mother's past; a more significant event that did reveal itself subtly and prematurely. I felt that there could have been more character development of the father. This book is like a painting that's not quite finished; you get the idea but you're missing the details that complete the picture. That being said, if there is a sequel (I hope so), I will read it in hopes of some further development and explanation.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 2019-11-11
Good but could have been great
I liked the way the characters developped and you could get a real sense of their emotions. It was a chilling story but not horror. I feel it coud have been a bit more on the horror side and thats what I hoped for as I listened further but the ending fell flat for me.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-07-04
Good.. yet bad (in a good way)
LOL!
It's a great book, written beautifully and performed even more beautifully!
I'm sure the story was relatable to many families with children. I do not have human children, so to me the context was scary and something I've never experienced..
But overall, a good listen and a not-to-shabby storyline!
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- paula
- 2019-06-25
disappointed
I really thought the summary of this book was telling and expected a riveting, and interesting read, but was I ever disappointed. The narration was absolutely awful, and the further I got into the book more annoyed and irritated I became at the story. I couldn't even finish the book. Feeling ripped off and want my time back!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Messy Jessy
- 2019-05-15
Awesome!
Good naration and chilling story. Keeps you engaged from start to finish. This is my favorite audio book so far.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kitty
- 2019-05-03
Good book
This book kept my attention and I listened to it quickly. I didn’t know what was going to happen next!! It was easy to listen to and I really enjoyed it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Megan
- 2019-05-02
Too repetitive
I ended up not finishing this book, something I very rarely do. I kept expecting something to happen, but it was just the same repetitive storyline hour after hour. Disappointing after all the positive reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. Winter
- 2018-07-18
Immediately Gripping
This was a chilling portrayal of twisted psychology, and, surprisingly, Crohn's Disease. Remind me never to get that disease. Or this family. The level of disturbing unease over what those you love can hide from you gradually rises throughout the book, and gets EXTREMELY intense. If you are looking for an intimate glimpse into the creepy things that can go on behind someone else's eyes, this is the book for you. I'll just say that if you have any trust issues with people close to you, you probably shouldn't read it. You may never trust anyone again.
I sometimes listen to more than one book at once and jump back and forth depending on my mood, but this one had me hooked all the way through. I found myself frustrated with some of the parenting decisions, but even so it was impossible not to feel for these people. It was also easy to see how they could choose to do things as they did, even though I might not. In my mind, that is a sign of good writing and well developed characters. And the story itself was so engrossing it was hard to turn it off.
I was very impressed with this book. If I could change one thing, it would be the overuse of the word giggle. If you say "giggle" a thousand times, you really need to say "laugh" at least once or twice. But this was a minor annoyance alongside many wonderful things about this book.
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80 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Grace
- 2018-07-24
It's really hard to care about these characters
The characters in this book are more frustrating than anything.
At first, I was excited to hear the perspective of a self-conscious mother and her sociopath seven-year-old. But as the chapters waned on, I found myself more and more bored by their woe-is-me diatribes. Add the father--who embodies most white/upper-middle class/successful male clichés like "overworked man," "breadwinner," "dotes on his daughter," "ignores problems in the family," "dismisses his wife," etc.--and the book quickly falls flat.
Every time I considered turning off the book I hesitated. The reviews were so good! I figured I must be missing something. I convinced myself the story would get better with time--but nope, it sure didn't.
I've got three to four hours left of this and I'm stopping while I'm ahead.
Baby Teeth IS NOT an awful book! In fact, it's not even bad. It's just...okay. And based on that, I'd say save your money/credit.
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49 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Crystal
- 2020-06-07
Buy now..the negativity is so very WRONG!
I don't typically write reviews for books. I myself buy and listen to books based on the descriptions, the sample, and if it is similar to other novels I have enjoyed. However, I felt compelled to write a review to counterbalance the negative ones that this book received. I listen and read A LOT OF BOOKS, in a typical week I can finish a minimum of 5 books, and probably start at least another 5. I often buy books that I can switch between narration and reading. I do not watch tv, I listen to books all day long it's my thing.
First, I thought the narrator did a lovely job portraying the characters in this book and I found her very easy to listen too. I have books that I have finished reading instead of listening too because the story was fantastic, but I could not stand the narrators' voice to get through the first chapter. I bought this book before going to bed one evening despite the negative reviews and thought if nothing else it would at least put me to sleep.
I LITERALLY woke up at 2 AM and HAD to start listening again!
One review stated that the child in the story is not realistic, that child “(calling things poo poo head) to knowing how to try to poison her mom and speaking multiple languages, is too far-fetched to believe”. I will tell you that I have been a psychiatric and mental health nurse for 12 years and this book is closer to fiction that you would like to really believe. I think that is why I found this book to very chilling, disturbing, and enthralling – because the stories that scare me the most are the ones that present a very possible reality.
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45 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jessica Rimert
- 2018-08-29
Just ok
I found myself being really annoyed with the characters and frustrated by them for different reasons through the book. The daughter is definitely creepy, but it just didn't grip me or give me chills, or give me enough suspense. It was pretty typical mom gives up career to be stay at home mom to weird child, who is clearly in need of professional help, while the husband pretends like everything is great and ignores the fact that his child barks at people, causes bodily harm to her mother and others, and sets fires. Sorry - insert eye roll here. Every time I considered turning off the book I decided to push through and keep going since I spent one of my precious credits on this based on the reviews. The reviews were so good, I kept going back to them thinking maybe I missed something. I convinced myself the story would get better but it just didn't for me. It wasn't terrible. I finished it, but the end was super annoying and made me wish I'd stopped sooner and not wasted 4 more hours. If you're looking for something to really keep you in suspense and give you the creeps, this isn't it. As for the performance, it was pretty good overall.
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38 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MelB
- 2018-07-24
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! From a Hard-to-Please-Critic
This book is a must read if you like psychological suspense thrillers. It starts in the first few pages and pulls you right in. It really never gets boring or slows down. When I'd get ibtwrrupted, I'd rewind do so I didn't miss a second of it. I'm definitely hard to please and rarely write reviews, but I truly hope and PRAY she comes out with a sequel to this book!!!!
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25 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Roxanna
- 2018-07-18
It's called unforgettable...
But I'm sure it won't stick with me for very long.
After hearing so many reviews about this book I decided to give it a go. It's a pretty interesting tale and I honestly enjoyed the family dynamics but the ending was lack luster making me feel as if nothing was really accomplished. We got no satisfying conclusion to the antagonism between mother and daughter. No fix or future fix to a problem. The characters didn't develop besides the father actually opening his eyes to the situation, the mother and daughter pretty much are the same person from beginning to end.
I did enjoy seeing the story behind a child's eyes, if anything I think that was the best piece of the book.
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23 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- ashley
- 2018-12-11
Really Disliked
As I was listening, I kept wondering if this was the same book that got so many great reviews. I couldn't stand any of the characters. They were all the WORST. It wasn't creepy. It wasn't good. It was just bad. I found myself wanting to slap the characters and rolling my eyes constantly. I couldn't wait for it to end.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mel
- 2018-08-07
Embrace your inner *sadomasochist!*
Author Zoje Stage has created quite a buzz with her novel and to me, the emotional force of the reactions by readers is fascinating...maybe more so than the book.
I seriously think my journey into the cognitive sciences probably began when my sitter, an old retired nurse I knew as Mrs. *B*, sat me down on a braided rug in front of her old tv and told me to watch cartoons while she finished some cleaning. Waiting for the fuzz pattern to turn into a black and white picture, I picked at my lunch -- a slice of Kraft American cheese laid on a piece of white bread and warmed in a toaster oven which caused the cheese to rise into one perfect warm bubble that browned and formed a hardened dome that felt a lot like plastic. It wasn't a cartoon that came into focus, but a movie with an immaculately ordered little girl with the most perfect blonde braids I'd ever seen. I can't tell you how many days of my childhood I spent picturing that image of sugar and spice and everything nice pounding on a little boy with the heel of her tap shoe; my reaction not so much that of horror, but more like bewilderment.
The comparisons to the child antagonist are in most of the reviews I've read so far: Rhoda, the ultimate *Bad Seed,* the "evil fruit of the devil" Damien from *The Omen* series, the *Kevin*... we need to talk about, the nihilistic diners from *The Dinner,* Isaac from *The Children of the Corn,* a sample of some of the comparisons readers are relating to Baby Teeth's enfant terrible, 7 yr. old Hannah. The book works on some level because of the outrageous and menacing characteristics that make Hannah comparable to these other pre-pubescent holy terrors (except they were teens in The Dinner) and our morbid curiosity; do you look when you drive by an accident or turn your head? And it is oddly, or disturbingly, amusing, at least it will be to some of you.
Initially the synopsis of this book didn't interest me, but the incoming reviews did (agreed with them from the 1* to the 4*) until I finally gave in to my curiosity and used a credit at Audible. Content-wise, it was a tough book to get into because obviously, you are not going to care about this little girl-monster, and the archetypes were so glaring they seem to smack you in the face. With an audio production, so much of how you experience a book depends on the narrator's interpretation. Gabra Zackman read Hannah like she was growling through gritted teeth, but did the rest of the characters fittingly. Smart writing and a well-paced story were the elements that kept me connected.
Unless you are a fan of what I've seen labeled as the *creepy kid genre*, be prepared to be at least a little thrown off by the meticulously researched and diabolical violence carried out by this little girl towards the mother. You're either locked on or repulsed (or you want to scream at the DUH-ness exhibited by the husband). Other reviewers mentioned being captivated, not able to look away, or being upset by the whole premise. It was by realizing that this was the author's intent that I thought the book worked on some level and was therefore able to read through. I also thought that the book was well-written and described each family member's view as accurately as I can only imagine. (Though I can't accept a child of this age functioning at such a level. Nor could I accept a 7 yr. old, even a prodigy, processing the history of the women condemned of witchcraft and then taking on the character of one of those young girls -- and speaking perfect French, without there being some suggestion of demonic possession. It was the professional interventions that interested me, the impact of the mother's medical history, and without giving anything away...the possibilities presented in the final lines of the book. I admit to finding myself a little mesmerized once the degree of psychopathy became so pronounced, the I-couldn't-look-away syndrome.
Psychiatrist Gail Saltz wrote on the subject of this morbid curiosity:
"It makes us feel better to say we 'can’t look away,' but really it’s that we don’t want to look away. It’s normal sadomasochistic urges and fantasies that everyone has a certain degree of — the desire to think about or imagine hurting or being hurt — combined with normal exhibitionist and voyeuristic feelings, the interest in what is hidden and secret. It’s the weaving of both of these sides, which is as old as time. It’s no different than the Romans and gladiators and feeding them to the lions and everyone watching in the Colosseum."
It's always what hits our psyche the hardest that seems to stir up that powerful mixture of emotions. I'll say that whether you like this book or not, Zoje Stage set out to entertain and shake up her readers and succeeds in hitting her mark. .I thought the book was disgustingly entertaining, upsettingly funny...an odd, quirky little gem that turns out to be sugar candy if you bite into this.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ardette
- 2018-08-07
Perfectly creepy
This audiobook was riveting and creepy and scary. I could only listen for a bit at a time as it made me so tense.
If you like unlikeable , dysfunctional characters look no further. I loved this creepy tale .
The narration is perfect.
Gabra Zachman also narrates I’ll Be Gone In The Dark and This Is How It Always Is.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DedeB!
- 2018-07-20
Hard to unplug. The opposite of soothing.
I choose this book because of the reviews and I’ll agree it was hard to put down. It wasn’t the best choice for me, being caught up, on one hand, in a highly emotionally struggle with my aging mother that I had just decided to walk away from. On the other hand I have a daughter, just graduated high school, with special needs who will likely be not far from my side for the rest of my natural life. I tend to stay away from books who’s themes ring too close to home while enjoying a variety of genres.
The story was well constructed. The author got into the heads of and portrayed the mother and daughter characters in a way that made them and their actions understandable. Not particularly endearing, but the thought processes were believable. Let’s be honest, as mothers we are fallible. We have moments where we just can’t stand our kids, but they pass. Without giving the story away, this mom was stronger than I might have been.
The narration was excellent, by the way. She enhanced the story through her storytelling, never distracting from it.
I don’t recommend this book if you are an emotional wreck to start with. Although I think I came out of reading it okay, my next book will be fluffy and light. And I’m taking a recommended weekend away from my family!
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10 people found this helpful