What Big Teeth

I started reading this book when I was in a reading slump, and because of that it took me a good amount of time to finish it. We're talking like a month. Which is completely unlike me, but it wasn't that way because I didn't like the book or anything. In fact, I really did like it. It was interesting, to say the least.I'm not going to lie here - the cover is a huge part of what drew me to this book. I loved the colors and the teeth kind of made me feel uneasy - uneasy enough to have to know more about the book. So I read the synopsis and bam! I instantly wanted to read this. So I picked up a copy and it took me a while to get to reading it (I've been really busy lately), but when I did, I was surprised at how much I liked it.Eleanor Zarrin is a teenage girl who has been at a boarding school for quite a few years. She has grown up away from her family, and while she has recollections of them, she tries not to think about them (or what they are) too often.After a bad bullying incident leaves her with no choice but to run away from boarding school and head back home to the Zarrin household, memories come back to her - especially when no one is really pleased at her arrival. But she believes she will be safe there, among her family, so she settles back in and tries to make the best of it.However, Eleanor soon remembers that she doesn't quite fit in with her family, after all. They are all monstrous in nature - able to change into horrifying creatures or simply holding dark secrets of their own - and it makes Eleanor feel all the more omitted from a life she can never seem to be a part of."I don't tell him that's how it always  begins: in selfishness, in ambition, in lust or desperation. That loves starts out as something you want to bite into and ends up as something that swallows you up."When the already fragile family system suffers a loss that causes everything to unravel far more quickly, Eleanor knows she has to do something to keep her family together. However, she is about to find out just how far she is willing to go in order to make sure that happens.While saving her family, she deals with the usual teenage angst - sibling concerns, feeling neglected by her parents, and love interests - only with a surprising twist that she didn't see coming.What Big Teeth had a lot of elements that made it a good story. There was a bit of drama, some thriller elements, a bit of horror and paranormal, and of course, the mystery elements of it. All of these things together kind of make it hard to place this book in any one category, so I've placed it in several because it kind of fits the bill for quite a few.Since it took me so long to read this one (and like I said, through no fault of the book or anything), I did have to reread some of the parts that I had already read just to make sure that I got all of the important details.The character development in What Big Teeth was interesting - Eleanor really does change from the beginning to the end, and she is forced to grow up pretty quickly. She has to go through a lot in order to come out successful, while battling grief and the issue of not fitting in - all while learning to accept not only those around her, but herself, as well.The story of What Big Teeth is quite a memorable one, and despite having read it several months ago, it still rings fresh in my mind. This is due in part to the wonderful story elements, the great characters, and the twists that I didn't expect to come across.Those who are a fan of any or all the genres that I mentioned earlier will definitely want to pick up book. It truly is a gem, and I know it's one that I will return to and read again in the future.

I enjoyed the writing style of the author. And the story kept my interest in that where-is-this-going way. I had difficulty visualizing the characters, which may have been the writer’s intent. The mother had polyps all over her body, and lived in a bath tub, but I never understood why. Also, some of the motivations of the characters were unclear, as well as the plot. But entertaining read.

Hated the plot twist. Too much slow paced drama. Plot holes on the backstory of Persephone. I wouldn't read again.

Talk about total book hangover! I was completely transported while reading this. I read it from start to finish in one day, just about one sitting and it is easily in my top three reads of 2020.Reading this felt like luscious indulgence. It was gauzy and dreamlike and so hauntingly beautiful. In the beginning, I felt like I was on shaky, uneven ground. There were things just out of my grasp of understanding like I didn't have all the pieces to a complex puzzle. But, Szabo unveils all their mastery page by page, drawing you in and spitting you back out.Eleanor is a young girl on the run from her all girls school. She did a bad thing and she is not running back home to the family that cast her out so long ago. Only now, she no longer fells like she belongs to these people or like they belong to her. They all belong to each other and she belongs nowhere. She had never been able to find her wolf, something that had come easily to her sister and cousin. And now that she is back, she is starting to remember more bits and pieces of her childhood with them... and how she was never really like them. She was different.When a sudden death rocks the entire family soon after her return, Eleanor is tasked with looking after the family, but she is unsure how. She enlists the help of her Grandmere in France, but nobody else in the house is happy with the woman's company. Now, the house full of wolves are pushing back against Grandmere's assistance, believing her to be a very bad presence. But what is Eleanor supposed to do?This was an absolutely stunning piece of writing. The Zarrin family is this incredible force to be reckoned with. They are all such strong presences and joining Eleanor in her journey to get to know them all again was truly a wonder. The creatures that Rose Szabo has created are some of the most marvelous characters I have ever encountered and I will definitely never forget them. These individual family members are so unique and so fascinating, but the family as a whole is this dynamic that is terrifying and beautiful at the same time.Eleanor has to maneuver through what is the best and worst for her family, through secrets and hidden things she was never allowed to be privy to. And, she is also to learn her own strengths and the powers she beholds along the way. This book is truly magnificent and I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to read and early copy of it.

The beginning of this book is confusing. You don't know what's going on, or why, but the weird monster family vibes and visuals are pretty on point so I continued. The story snaps into focus when Grandmere shows up, but it eventually starts to run out of steam when the mystery gets convoluted and Arthur's backstory is revealed and I completely stopped caring about everyone. Most of the reveals are done in heavy monologue, which took me out of the story. The characters were interesting but not to the point that I wanted to watch them bicker and threaten to murder each other. I also was not sure of the theme--stick with your family, even though they continually fear and abuse you? For what? I also took issue with the weird amount of unchallenged homophobia. It felt like the author was attempting to critique it, but did not at all succeed.The vibes and visuals were great, and the concept was on point, but the confused plot and character choices were just ruinous and made it an unsatisfying experience.

The wring is excellent,the story weird and unsettling. Something for everyone to get their teeth into!

Waht big teeth is a gothic fantasy novel that explores the feeling of not belonging in one's own family of misfits. Eleanor is the only seemingly normal person in a family of monsters. But nothing in the big family mansion is as it seems. Everyone has a secret and none of the family members seem to know how to stick toghether and know how to care for each other so she has to take the role of the matriarch even though she doesn't want to.The book doesn't have a lot of gore-horror but the creepy atmosphere just draws you in and doesn't let you go. I found myself glued to the pages with a beating heart.

Ugh. Disappointing read. The cover is gorgeous, the premise and prologue were promising. But it just didn’t deliver. It was weird, slow and boring! Not what I was expecting and just not for me.

Excellent book that starts odd and just keeps getting better, I enjoyed it more than any book I’ve read in years.