Thank you SO much to BookishFirst and FSG for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
I'm honestly not sure how I'm supposed to review this What Big Teeth . This has been on my radar since late 2020 when I first saw the absolutely gorgeous cover - I knew right then that I *had* to pick it up and read it. I wanted to know more about this family of misfits and to see how the beautiful cover tied into the story itself.
Did I enjoy it? For the most part. Did I understand it? Absolutely not. I felt like I was stuck in a fever dream - desperately trying to work things out and never really fully getting there. I personally don't read a lot of horror, especially complex, mythical horror, so I feel like my lack of understanding is partially my fault. I struggled with grasping what was actually going on for the entire book - even 320 pages in, I was scratching my head.
Most of the plot was just not explained, which is normally fine - as a reader, I don't expect for things to be spoon fed to me, but I do want to have some understanding of how the story operates and some insight into the characters. I feel like I never really got that clarity, which made it increasingly more difficult to connect with the story. I struggled quite a bit with the pacing, especially with the chapters that were 70+ pages long. It was difficult for me to trudge through certain parts because I knew it wouldn't just be a quick reading session - I had to allocate the time to make it through the chapters, which was harder than expected, especially after a long day of work. If I had understand the plot more, I don't think it would have bothered me, but when I was halfway through and still had no idea what was going on, it felt like a chore to pick it up.
This is a story entirely comprised of complicated family drama, yet I can't tell you a single thing about any of the characters - we are given NO insight into who they are, other than a few quirky traits. Eleanor, our protagonist, is clueless because she doesn't remember anything that happened in her childhood - makes awful decisions and tries to control the family. Luma is, supposedly, 21, yet acts like a child, though we are given no insight why she's like this and how that impacts the family. Some characters, we know absolutely nothing about - Eleanor's mom, who's entire body is covered with polyps and has to sit in a bathtub all the time. (view spoiler).
The writing is stunning - another review I saw said it was
"dreamy and gauzelike" and I think this is the perfect descriptor. This is a text rich in metaphors and requires inference to understand. The descriptions of the characters & the action towards the end was great and kept me engaged in the story, even when I was confused. The ending, while predictable, made up for a lot of my complaints.
Overall, I just don't think this book was for me. While I enjoyed it and would recommend reading it to the right person, there were some flaws that I just can't get past.
I'm honestly not sure how I'm supposed to review this What Big Teeth . This has been on my radar since late 2020 when I first saw the absolutely gorgeous cover - I knew right then that I *had* to pick it up and read it. I wanted to know more about this family of misfits and to see how the beautiful cover tied into the story itself.
Did I enjoy it? For the most part. Did I understand it? Absolutely not. I felt like I was stuck in a fever dream - desperately trying to work things out and never really fully getting there. I personally don't read a lot of horror, especially complex, mythical horror, so I feel like my lack of understanding is partially my fault. I struggled with grasping what was actually going on for the entire book - even 320 pages in, I was scratching my head.
Most of the plot was just not explained, which is normally fine - as a reader, I don't expect for things to be spoon fed to me, but I do want to have some understanding of how the story operates and some insight into the characters. I feel like I never really got that clarity, which made it increasingly more difficult to connect with the story. I struggled quite a bit with the pacing, especially with the chapters that were 70+ pages long. It was difficult for me to trudge through certain parts because I knew it wouldn't just be a quick reading session - I had to allocate the time to make it through the chapters, which was harder than expected, especially after a long day of work. If I had understand the plot more, I don't think it would have bothered me, but when I was halfway through and still had no idea what was going on, it felt like a chore to pick it up.
This is a story entirely comprised of complicated family drama, yet I can't tell you a single thing about any of the characters - we are given NO insight into who they are, other than a few quirky traits. Eleanor, our protagonist, is clueless because she doesn't remember anything that happened in her childhood - makes awful decisions and tries to control the family. Luma is, supposedly, 21, yet acts like a child, though we are given no insight why she's like this and how that impacts the family. Some characters, we know absolutely nothing about - Eleanor's mom, who's entire body is covered with polyps and has to sit in a bathtub all the time. (view spoiler).
The writing is stunning - another review I saw said it was
"dreamy and gauzelike" and I think this is the perfect descriptor. This is a text rich in metaphors and requires inference to understand. The descriptions of the characters & the action towards the end was great and kept me engaged in the story, even when I was confused. The ending, while predictable, made up for a lot of my complaints.
Overall, I just don't think this book was for me. While I enjoyed it and would recommend reading it to the right person, there were some flaws that I just can't get past.