Eleanor is sent away to boarding school at a young age by her grandmother. What Big Teeth starts when teenage Eleanor flees home to her strange family after an incident at school. Eleanor is mystified and frightened by her creepy, savage family members and their weird dynamic. The reader shares her fear and confusion. When her paternal grandmother dies Eleanor is entrusted by her to protect the family. The story follows Eleanor as she discovers more about her family history and the odd man called Arthur who does their bidding. Eleanor, feeling lonely and excluded, invites her maternal grandmother to visit from France. Her Grandmere initially seems warm and supportive, but Eleanor comes to realize she is not all she appears to be. Eleanor must stand up to unite and protect her family and follow her own moral compass. The haunting, isolated setting of a huge gothic mansion on the outskirts of a small village in Maine creates an ominous foreboding atmosphere. The author skillfully builds tension, fear and a pervasive unsettling feeling of constant threat. There are deeper themes of family, identity and controlling the monster in others and within. I could not put this creepy yet triumphant book down and flew through the pages. An astonishing and highly recommended debut.