This book was so weird. I liked it well enough, I guess, but there were moments when I really struggled with it and had to force myself to focus — especially during the first ~50%, before the plot picked up speed. This read like a YA stream of consciousness more than anything else, and I feel like a lot of the metaphors went right over my head. Overall, it wasn’t all bad, just a case of “it’s not the book, it’s me.” ( )

Maybe I've been reading too much slash fic, but I kept waiting for all the homoerotic subtext to become, you know, text, and found myself disappointed. It's probably a symptom of it being "young adult" fiction, which is sadly still a cue to freak out over any depictions of homosexuality at all (that's not explicitly a fable about coming out). I'd hoped we'd be past that by 2014, but apparently not.

Regardless of that major criticism, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It's a fast and immersive read, with very well-drawn relatable characters. I enjoyed the sense of moral nuance this book shows; you never get the sense of there being villains in the traditional sense and ethical dilemmas are carefully explored. I also appreciated the realistic dialogue, which is surprisingly rare in fiction for this demographic (*cough* James Patterson *cough*). A lot of the background details and setting are loosely depicted, but I found this helped rather than hindered the narrative, almost as if it were setting a sense of atmospheric fog over the story, which plays nicely into the magical realism at its center. The vagueness at the edges gives the setting a sense of distance, while also allowing more focus on the emotions and personalities of the main characters. ( )

A strange story with a bittersweet ending. Might be good for someone who has a (terminally) ill sibling or other young family member, or a young adult who must make a difficult sacrifice or choose between friends or family. It throws an uneasy sort of vibe, but relatable and unusual characters will keep readers engaged. There are LGBT undertones, but a true relationship never develops. Brief mentions of sexual assault and rape should be noted, this is not a book for young teens, but is (edgy, but) appropriate for high school juniors and seniors. ( )

TEETH is the second book by Hannah Moskowitz I have read this year, the first being the utterly superb NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, and in a way, they have similar narratives of a main protagonist who feels isolated and alone who connects to another person through their shared struggles; with NOW, it’s Etta and Bianca’s eating disorders and drive to be successful in theater, while in TEETH, it is Teeth and Rudy’s loneliness and identity crises. Rudy struggles with living in a family with a sick brother and no longer having a life outside of taking care of him; Teeth struggles with his very sense of who he is, a scarred and patchy fish boy with a horrifying origin.

I reviewed TEETH in full at my blog, which you can read here. ( )

I'm screaming. I need a sequel. I'm incapable of intelligent thought right now. ( )