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 novel of psychological suspense, Baby Teeth. First — and, I would argue, foremost — I feel confident that my own little toddler of few words isn’t harboring plans to murder me — Even though he can throw his plastic lemon with surprising might, given his size, he’s way too interested in rockabye-ing his bear to be planning a homicide in detail. Nervous about what the doctor would say — how he might criticize her — she patted a jumpy rhythm on Hanna's arm.

This summer’s update, the propulsive debut novel “Baby Teeth,” by Zoje Stage, features an all-too-recognizable cast of contemporary characters: an architect dad with a hipster beard, a stay-at-home mother who opted out of work she loved to take care of her increasingly difficult daughter. Imagine We Need to Talk About Kevin only with insight into what Kevin was thinking and if Eva had fought back. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Suzette is double-cursed by a past history of traumatic parenting–her own mother was a hyper-critical, dismissive narcissist–and a traumatic illness, Crohn’s disease, which she manages through surgical intervention and medication. It's always what hits our psyche the hardest that seems to stir up that powerful mixture of emotions.Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant.

With rich characters, high-stakes and a naturally compelling driving conflict, this novel begs to be read — quickly. Seeing Hanna finally getting help, really seeing the true side of Suzette not wanting to have Hanna around again. The POV characters in Baby Teeth are Suzette and Hanna Jensen, a young mother and her seven-year-old daughter, whose narratives alternate to tell one story. Unnerving and unputdownable, Baby Teeth will get under your skin and keep you trapped in its chilling grip until the shocking conclusion.The Deepest Breath was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, won the Judges’ Special Award at the KPMG–Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2020 and was selected for the Read for Empathy reading list 2020. She’d practiced, alone in her room, but the bugs fell from her mouth, frighteningly alive, scampering over her skin and bedclothes.

Maybe if the people in the white coats blew up the pictures they'd see her thoughts, mapped like mountains and railroad tracks, across her ghostly skull. What parent allows a 7-year-old child unlimited access to the computer and the internet, giving her all his passwords and allowing her to print off photos of her mother time and time again even though he knows she uses them for voodoo collages?

In March’s book, Christine Penmark starts to have concerns about her 8-year-old daughter, Rhoda — outwardly docile and well behaved — after one of her classmates dies suspiciously on a class picnic. She used to dress up for Alex’s office parties and loved the way his lustful eyes followed her around as she sipped wine and chatted, enjoying the rare company of other adults.