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A review by spinesinaline
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
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 didn’t feel like it was fully fulfilled, though I can’t 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 — we’re 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 don’t 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 Eleanor’s 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 doesn’t 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 isn’t 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 would’ve preferred to get to know them better. This crammed feeling may also be that there was just too much for one story and it didn’t come together well to form a coherent narrative..
I still enjoyed the book but the ending wasn’t satisfactory. I’m still interested in looking into this author’s future books, as this was their debut, but unfortunately What Big Teeth wasn’t a great read for me.
I was so excited and intrigued by this premise, and that cover! But it didn’t feel like it was fully fulfilled, though I can’t 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 — we’re 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 don’t 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 Eleanor’s 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 doesn’t 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 isn’t 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 would’ve preferred to get to know them better. This crammed feeling may also be that there was just too much for one story and it didn’t come together well to form a coherent narrative..
I still enjoyed the book but the ending wasn’t satisfactory. I’m still interested in looking into this author’s future books, as this was their debut, but unfortunately What Big Teeth wasn’t 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