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stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Coming off of two somewhat disappointing werewolf stories, and having a surprise spot opened up for October, I decided to seek out another werewolf story to see if I could satiate my craving for fangs and fur. Enter What Big Teeth which happened to be available in both e-book and audio formats in my library. I remembered this book mainly from its enticing cover, its wolfish reference to Red Riding Hood, and seeing it doing the rounds on Facebook earlier this year, but otherwise had no idea what it was about. So, deciding not to question my luck, I went ahead and sank my teeth into this story.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, despite it not being anything like I was expecting, I really came to love this simultaneously familiar and unique story. There was so much here that made me feel like I wanted to dust off my literary analysis skills from high school/college, from the gothic tone, to the dark themes, deep characters, and possible allegories; I think this could easily be a new literary classic. I tried to be somewhat vague in my review, so as not to spoil anything, since I want other readers to be surprised at all the twists and turns the story takes, especially since the cover, title, and summary don't give nearly enough clues. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys gothic themes, young adult narratives, complex characters and relationships, LGBTQIA+ stories, or just monsters in general. Whether you're looking for a spooky gothic tale to fit the time of year, or are simply wanting something out of the norm, What Big Teeth might be just what you're looking for.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, despite it not being anything like I was expecting, I really came to love this simultaneously familiar and unique story. There was so much here that made me feel like I wanted to dust off my literary analysis skills from high school/college, from the gothic tone, to the dark themes, deep characters, and possible allegories; I think this could easily be a new literary classic. I tried to be somewhat vague in my review, so as not to spoil anything, since I want other readers to be surprised at all the twists and turns the story takes, especially since the cover, title, and summary don't give nearly enough clues. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys gothic themes, young adult narratives, complex characters and relationships, LGBTQIA+ stories, or just monsters in general. Whether you're looking for a spooky gothic tale to fit the time of year, or are simply wanting something out of the norm, What Big Teeth might be just what you're looking for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
frantic_vampire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
This was such a good read for spooky season! What Big Teeth definitely has some very strong influences from The Addams Family. But I also got some Coraline and The Haunting of Bly Manor vibes. With every passing page things got darker and creepier and it was all just delightfully dreadful. It was a lovely and spooky read.
I loved that at the start of the book every member of this monstrous family seemed relatively harmless. And then they started showing their fangs. Things got progressively darker the more you learned about the family. There were so many things were lurking just beneath the surface with this book, from murders to eldritch terrors. The last 75 pages or so of What Big Teeth are truly the most amazing part of this story. I could not put the book down for anything. Oh and then!! Then it dropped a huge bomb on the story and it ended. I was screaming!!! đ”âđ«
Honestly this book was just delightful! I really loved that we got bi, gay, and sapphic rep in a horror setting. I think my only complaint is that this book moved very slowly. And thatâs not necessarily a bad thing. I just like my books to move a little faster. All in all this was a solid book and Iâm giving it a four out of five stars. Beware of that ending though! đł
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse
- Some graphic depictions of death/dying - The Arthur/Eleanor relationship -Eleanorâs father hits her at least once -discussions of murder that have been committedbooksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I thought at first that this was just going to be a thriller version of a werewolf book. I was wrong, and happy to be so. WHAT BIG TEETH is about a girl returning home after being sent away as a kid, only to find her family stranger than she remembered and wary at her reappearance.
The beginning is a little slow, and at first it felt like the emotional stakes were just going to be how well Eleanor does or does not fit in with her strange and monstrous family. Instead, that family becomes the thing worth fighting for when Eleanor reaches for help to handle her familyâs grief and instead finds only smiling terror. The real monsters arenât whatâs strange but rather whatâs cruel, and this story rides that line without denying the wolves their teeth, but not hunting them for it.
Thereâs a lot of catharsis for grief, old and new. When a major character dies early on, everyone whoâs left reacts differently to their death, and the story gives space for the different shapes of their grief. I particularly love Arthurâs story. Heâs a fascinating character handled very well.
Thereâs a semi-speaking character, Margaret, who is treated rather poorly. When the other characters are people who turn into wolves, a person who seems to be half-coral, and [SPOILER], having the other person be someone who hardly ever speaks seems to equate this thing that is very real with these other definitely fictional forms of strangeness. I love her as a character, and sheâs a crucial and active part of the finale, so I think overall the book understands her as a whole person but the other characters donât always have that view. After much thought, I donât see it as a problem for the story, and Iâm glad that the overall message is that the years of subtle ableism were bad. These are messy characters who have hurt each other a lot over the years, so Margaretâs treatment is frustrating mostly because itâs thing that really happens, not because itâs worse than anything else.
Since the title invokes the idea of Red Riding Hood (âWhat big teeth you haveâ), I pondered whether this is a retelling of that story. My final answer is that itâs definitely not a plot-based retelling, but certain events (a girl traveling to her grandmother, the presence of wolves, people being swallowed) lead me to say that if you love retellings already this can happily be enjoyed in that light, though I think itâs probably inspired by that fairy tale but not strictly attempting to retell it. It does have a closer connection to its probable inspiration than some retellings Iâve read which were explicitly marketed as such, for whatever thatâs worth.
The beginning is a little slow, and at first it felt like the emotional stakes were just going to be how well Eleanor does or does not fit in with her strange and monstrous family. Instead, that family becomes the thing worth fighting for when Eleanor reaches for help to handle her familyâs grief and instead finds only smiling terror. The real monsters arenât whatâs strange but rather whatâs cruel, and this story rides that line without denying the wolves their teeth, but not hunting them for it.
Thereâs a lot of catharsis for grief, old and new. When a major character dies early on, everyone whoâs left reacts differently to their death, and the story gives space for the different shapes of their grief. I particularly love Arthurâs story. Heâs a fascinating character handled very well.
Thereâs a semi-speaking character, Margaret, who is treated rather poorly. When the other characters are people who turn into wolves, a person who seems to be half-coral, and [SPOILER], having the other person be someone who hardly ever speaks seems to equate this thing that is very real with these other definitely fictional forms of strangeness. I love her as a character, and sheâs a crucial and active part of the finale, so I think overall the book understands her as a whole person but the other characters donât always have that view. After much thought, I donât see it as a problem for the story, and Iâm glad that the overall message is that the years of subtle ableism were bad. These are messy characters who have hurt each other a lot over the years, so Margaretâs treatment is frustrating mostly because itâs thing that really happens, not because itâs worse than anything else.
Since the title invokes the idea of Red Riding Hood (âWhat big teeth you haveâ), I pondered whether this is a retelling of that story. My final answer is that itâs definitely not a plot-based retelling, but certain events (a girl traveling to her grandmother, the presence of wolves, people being swallowed) lead me to say that if you love retellings already this can happily be enjoyed in that light, though I think itâs probably inspired by that fairy tale but not strictly attempting to retell it. It does have a closer connection to its probable inspiration than some retellings Iâve read which were explicitly marketed as such, for whatever thatâs worth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Cannibalism
CW for major character death.thebaddestbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
spinesinaline's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thanks to the publisher for an e-ARC! Find my full review at spinesinaline.wordpress.com
I was so excited and intrigued by this premise, and that cover! But it didnât feel like it was fully fulfilled, though I canât quite put my finger on why.
You can definitely get the Addams Family vibe right away. Eleanor returns home to her family and the author makes no attempt to hide what they are â weâre immediately introduced to the werewolves as they come in from a romp through the woods, changing shape as they walk. This is a very odd family, and though they donât have the humorous and loving personalities of the Addams, their standoffish, dangerous appearance set this up perfectly as an intense thriller.
Much of the mysterious aspect of the book comes from Eleanorâs poor memory of her family and life before she left for boarding school, including why she was sent away. The reader gets to try to put the pieces together as Eleanor does the same, though I found the pacing of these reveals a bit tedious. Eleanor is continually presented with hints of her story throughout the book but she ignores them or doesnât press people further to ask questions.
And I think this slow reveal impacted my enjoyment of the climax and resolution of the book. The story isnât at all rushed but because we progress so slowly, all the reveals felt crammed in at the end. There are many creatures besides werewolves that were introduced to throughout but we really only get glimpses of their abilities and powers at the end and I wouldâve preferred to get to know them better. This crammed feeling may also be that there was just too much for one story and it didnât come together well to form a coherent narrative..
I still enjoyed the book but the ending wasnât satisfactory. Iâm still interested in looking into this authorâs future books, as this was their debut, but unfortunately What Big Teeth wasnât a great read for me.
I was so excited and intrigued by this premise, and that cover! But it didnât feel like it was fully fulfilled, though I canât quite put my finger on why.
You can definitely get the Addams Family vibe right away. Eleanor returns home to her family and the author makes no attempt to hide what they are â weâre immediately introduced to the werewolves as they come in from a romp through the woods, changing shape as they walk. This is a very odd family, and though they donât have the humorous and loving personalities of the Addams, their standoffish, dangerous appearance set this up perfectly as an intense thriller.
Much of the mysterious aspect of the book comes from Eleanorâs poor memory of her family and life before she left for boarding school, including why she was sent away. The reader gets to try to put the pieces together as Eleanor does the same, though I found the pacing of these reveals a bit tedious. Eleanor is continually presented with hints of her story throughout the book but she ignores them or doesnât press people further to ask questions.
And I think this slow reveal impacted my enjoyment of the climax and resolution of the book. The story isnât at all rushed but because we progress so slowly, all the reveals felt crammed in at the end. There are many creatures besides werewolves that were introduced to throughout but we really only get glimpses of their abilities and powers at the end and I wouldâve preferred to get to know them better. This crammed feeling may also be that there was just too much for one story and it didnât come together well to form a coherent narrative..
I still enjoyed the book but the ending wasnât satisfactory. Iâm still interested in looking into this authorâs future books, as this was their debut, but unfortunately What Big Teeth wasnât a great read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse
crackedspines_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
CWs for this review: rape (in PLOT)
OVERALL: I very much did not enjoy this book. Throughout the first half, I only had minor issues, but from there it went steadily downhill. I love the concept and wish Iâd been able to enjoy it more.
PLOT: The main/overall plot was really good, and I liked it. But the middle was reeeally slow. Also, the entire Arthur subplot was very disturbing and made me really uncomfortable. The way the Zarrins treated him was shitty (it was addressed at the end, but it still bothered me), and also the fact that practically the entire Zarrin family was either romantically or sexually involved with him was weird. Itâs also unclear whether some of those relations were consensual. For example, towards the end of the book when Arthur explains everything that happened to him, he makes it sound as though he had no choice in being with Persephone just because she wanted it. And when Persephone recounts those same events, she doesnât seem to have gotten his consent, and she was also physically violent towards him. I think the homophobia towards Rhys was never properly addressed. And lastly, this is more of a personal preference, but I thought it was ridiculous how much of the plot relied on Eleanor being really oblivious. Most of the events of the book never wouldâve happened if Eleanor just stopped consciously ignoring all of the signs in front of her.
STRUCTURE: No major issues with structure, but the long monologues at the end just didnât work for me. It was hard to stay interested/invested.
THEME: There was an underlying conflation of violence with romance in this book, which is obviously not good. What really solidified that for me was Persephone telling the story of the time she first went after Arthur to âknow what Miklos sees in himâ.
CHARACTERS: I liked the queer rep, but I didnât like the way it was handled. Idk if that makes sense. For the most part it was pretty casual rep, but Eleanor also reacted pretty poorly to finding out that certain characters were queer. And it seemed as if the author/characters were avoiding saying the words âgayâ or âqueer.â Specifically, when Eleanor sees Arthur dancing with her father, she thinks âMaybe Rhys meant something to him, something I didnât. Something I could never mean. Maybe Father had, too, once. Arthur was...I didnât know what Arthur was.â Now obviously Arthur being attracted to men doesnât mean heâs GAY, but the phrasing makes it seem like Eleanor is specifically avoiding saying gay <i> or </i> queer <i> or </i> bi, etc.
OVERALL: I very much did not enjoy this book. Throughout the first half, I only had minor issues, but from there it went steadily downhill. I love the concept and wish Iâd been able to enjoy it more.
PLOT: The main/overall plot was really good, and I liked it. But the middle was reeeally slow. Also, the entire Arthur subplot was very disturbing and made me really uncomfortable. The way the Zarrins treated him was shitty (it was addressed at the end, but it still bothered me), and also the fact that practically the entire Zarrin family was either romantically or sexually involved with him was weird. Itâs also unclear whether some of those relations were consensual.
STRUCTURE: No major issues with structure, but the long monologues at the end just didnât work for me. It was hard to stay interested/invested.
THEME: There was an underlying conflation of violence with romance in this book, which is obviously not good.
CHARACTERS: I liked the queer rep, but I didnât like the way it was handled. Idk if that makes sense. For the most part it was pretty casual rep, but Eleanor also reacted pretty poorly to finding out that certain characters were queer. And it seemed as if the author/characters were avoiding saying the words âgayâ or âqueer.â Specifically,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Grief
Minor: Body horror and Gore
deepfriedaries's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first half of this book was intriguing. And it felt like a winding path, I had no idea where it was going. And then the last 100 pages chewed me up and spit me out with no warning. Brilliant and gut wrenching and the whole time I felt like I had no idea what was going on. A good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
dorianlecter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence
mybookthrone's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Parts of this were beautiful and shined! I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying and Homophobia
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from Bookish First! Thanks to them and the publisher!
Eleanor has been away from home for years now, after being exiled to a boarding school for mysterious reasons. But she's done something dangerous at the school, so she runs away back home.
Ellie's family is not normal--a family of monsters, and she is absolutely terrified she will be devoured by them...so why do they seem like they are afraid of her instead, and why has her grandmother been keeping her away?
Wow this book was magnificent! The writing was moody and gothic, with attention to detail and well-described scenes and characters.
I must admit that I didn't see almost anything coming in this book. There were hints as to what was going to happen, but how it happened continually surprised me.
Szabo has done a magnificent job creating a truly horrific breed of monsters that I could never have imagined myself. I was so surprised and truly on the edge of my seat as I devoured this book like the big bad wolf themself.
Eleanor has been away from home for years now, after being exiled to a boarding school for mysterious reasons. But she's done something dangerous at the school, so she runs away back home.
Ellie's family is not normal--a family of monsters, and she is absolutely terrified she will be devoured by them...so why do they seem like they are afraid of her instead, and why has her grandmother been keeping her away?
Wow this book was magnificent! The writing was moody and gothic, with attention to detail and well-described scenes and characters.
I must admit that I didn't see almost anything coming in this book. There were hints as to what was going to happen, but how it happened continually surprised me.
Szabo has done a magnificent job creating a truly horrific breed of monsters that I could never have imagined myself. I was so surprised and truly on the edge of my seat as I devoured this book like the big bad wolf themself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
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