What Big Teeth

By: Rose Szabo

Narrated by: Jasika Nicole

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Rose Szabo's thrilling debut is a dark and thrilling novel about a teen girl who returns home to her strange, wild family after years of estrangement, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls.

Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together. In order to save them all Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.

Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce gothic fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2021 Rose Szabo (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Good Story

”I’ve been alone for so long that I can’t remember what it feels like to belong.”

This dark, twisted story follows teenage Eleanor as she runs away from her school after an encounter with a classmate goes wrong. The only place she has to go is ‘home’ where she tries to catch up with her estranged, wild family. She feels like she doesn’t fit in as she arrives home and has a lot of responsibility abruptly thrust upon her. This causes a rift to form between her already tenuous relationship with her family. The dynamics of the family and house becomes more and more interesting and strange as the story unfolds. I found myself captivated by this book and couldn’t put it down as Eleanor tried to learn how to fit in with her family and figure out who she can, and cannot trust.

The reason I’m not giving five stars overall is because it was a tad slow in the beginning, I like books that grab your attention in the first chapter and keep you hooked. I didn’t get that feeling until about halfway through and I really enjoyed this story. I’m kind of hoping there will be a second book but if there isn’t one then it’s fine as there isn’t a cliffhanger.

If you are into dark, thrilling mysteries then this story is for you.

Fits nicely between Harry Potter and Stephen King

I'm one of those people who have trouble finishing a lot of books. That was not an issue with here. The story was original, the narrator did great, and characters developed a lot... I'd just like to say again how well the narrator did. There are books on here that I simply couldn't finish or struggled though because they narrator was either too dry or simply not right for the roll. Something like a story about American cowboys being narrated by an English guy that sounds like David Attenborough.

I was hesitant at first, being that it was written with young adults in mind, that it was going to be more like the Twilight books, thankfully it was not. This book doesn't try to portray anyone in a "good" light. You are reading about monsters and they do what monsters do. Overall a very good book for those who like darker fantasy novels but aren't looking for Stephen King levels of dark.

Amazing writing and narration

I didn’t want this book to end because I loved the characters so much. Szabo’s cryptid universe is just spectacular and Jasika Nicole delivers flawless narration. I want to reread this book just to experience the adventure again.

Not What I was Hoping For

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. I was intrigued over the mystery and weirdness and monstrousness of the Zarrin family. Over time, however, I found myself wanting to put the book down while reading it. I became almost disinterested in what happened to any of them. Our main character was sympathetic and I wanted her to succeed and be happy for once.

I did love the writing and descriptions in this book. It really made the book atmospheric in that the setting was just so tangible. It was dark and enchanting. All of the LGBTQIA rep was a bonus as well.

The concept is interesting, the imagery was unique, but I think I was hoping for more of the Addams Family when I picked this up. I found myself wondering why Eleanor even bothered saving her family because they were all just so horrible to her. They physically and verbally abused her, actively seem to hate her for just existing, refused to believe her regarding her grandmother's death, and attempted to murder her several times. Also, her love interest in Arthur was creepy and super cringey.

I want to love this book and I suppose partially why I'm feeling blasé about it could that I am coming off a book I really didn't enjoy and it's rubbing off on this book. Maybe I will re-read in the future to see. I do wish I had read this in October, approaching Halloween. It has lots of spooky, monster vibes and would be a great fall read.

This book felt like it was written just for me

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book-if you like Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle but felt like it was missing werewolves/a variety of monsters, this is the book for you. The narration is amazing-I recognized the voice from a podcast I love, Alice Isn't Dead. I listened to this all the way through within two days and have already started listening to it again. Eleanor is an unreliable narrator in the best way-the mystery is compelling and kept me guessing. All the characters despite their flaws/monstrous traits are incredibly lovable. I look forward to whatever Rose Szabo works on next

A Beautiful Story

This book drew me in right away. I was so captivated by the characters, each mysterious in their own way. The story was never slow as the main character, Elenor, contended with each member of her family at different times so there was always some sort of conflict (in a good way). I loved uncovering the families secrets and I found the main character to be very relatable. If this were to be adapted into a movie, I would love to see Guillermo Del Toro adapt this for the big screen.

interesting title, more interesting then the story

the story struggled to keep me enthralled. the elements are there, but the story misses its own narrative. I don't really recommend this story.

Clumsy and Inconsistent

Such a let down of inconsistent tone and writing of characters. Executing a potential idea with such unfocus and confusing progression to simply try and rush an ending when nothing has been flushed out enough. Lower mid tier effort and work. Misses idea of what makes a family sympathetic and a weird fascination with killing and tearing apart everything as if its a personality trait. Kirby is a better protagonist.

Some Boring **** right here!

Snooze fest. Couldn't get into this AT ALL... I wasted so many hours trying. Do yourself a favor. DON'T BOTHER!