Such Sharp Teeth

It took me the first quarter of the book to realise that Such Sharp Teeth wasn't going to be anything like the story I had thought I was going to read.

I'd anticipated a snarky, upbeat, witty tale of a successful twenty-something woman who has escaped her home town and made an independent life for herself in the big city reacting with wit and attitude to discovering that, as a result of being attacked on her one visit to her home town, her life has been blown up because she's become a werewolf. I thought there'd be trope-twisting and inside jokes about other Urban Fantasy stories and that our heroine would sail through it all, snapping out one-liners as she went. Maybe someone should write that book. It would be fun, light and show more forgettable.

The book that Rachel Harrison has written refuses to rehash old tropes. Instead, it uses Rory's transformation into a werewolf as a means to explore her life: who she's been, who she wants to be and who she's going to be able to be now that she changes into a wolf at every full moon. It's original and thoughtful and it feels real. Yes, there's a lot of humour in there. Humour is part of how Rory deals with the world, but the predominant emotion is rage at all the things in her life that are not fair, an aching desire to be loved for who she is and strong belief, based on years of experience, that that's not going to happen, except maybe with her twin sister, Scarlet, who loves her even when she doesn't like her very much.

For the most part, Rory has to deal with becoming a werewolf on her own. She slowly starts to work out what has happened to her and to understand some of the physical changes: her sense of smell, her improved hearing, her insatiable hunger for meat, her ability to heal and her superhuman strength. It takes her much longer to accept that all of this really has happened to her, that she can't cure it or change it, only find a way to live with it, live with being a monster. It takes her longer still to understand that, in many ways, she is still who she has always been, that her wolf may see red and wreak violence but that the rage that drives her has been there since her childhood. Eventually, she starts to focus not on what she's lost but on who she now wants to become.

I loved that Rory's transformation is mirrored by her twin sister's experience of being pregnant. Scarlet's life has also been blown up and forever changed by an unexpected event. She's lost control of her emotions and her body is changing and will never again be as it was and she has no idea whether she can cope with what comes next. Scarlet's rage at how pregnant women are treated, by the pressures that are put on them and the indignities that they are expected to accept without complaint gave me another view of what was happening to Rory and it made Rory's transformation much more human.

All the werewolf parts of this book work but they're not the parts of the book that most engaged me. Reading Such Sharp Teeth made me realise that most werewolf books read like the person who has been bitten has joined a cult. Their old identity is over and their new identity is centred entirely around the pack that they're now a part of. This doesn't happen to Rory. Rather than severing the links with her past, she finds herself building on them as she reconnects with her sister and her best friend and with Ian who, in High School, had an unrequited crush on her. One of the things that made me smile was that Rory was more stressed out by having to spend time with her mother than she was by having to come to terms with being a werewolf. Still, when I met her mother and learned their history, Rory's reaction made a lot of sense. Watching how Rory and Scarlet deal with their respective involuntary transformations and deal with their mother coming to stay, was one of the things that grounded this book and made me care about the people in it.

I also enjoyed Rory's relationship with Ian. This wasn't a RomCom trope. There was no InstaLove. This was the story of a man who had always been in love with a woman he was sure would always be beyond his reach and a woman who had always avoided relationships in favour of casual hookups and who now finds herself smitten by a man who makes her feel calm and anchored and loved. Yes, all the usual romance obstacles were there but they were overcome mostly by the people being themselves rather than by any plot twists.

Such Sharp Teeth got under my skin in ways that I hadn't expected. I believed in Rory and liked her. Beneath the caustic, too-cool-for-a-small-town facade was a woman who had been hurt, who lived with rage but who wanted, somehow, to arrive at happiness. I believed in the relationship between Rory and Scarlet. The dialogue between them and the way they treated one another was intimate without being sloppy or artificially comic. I liked that there were no shortcuts that could magically fix the relationship between the sisters and their mother but there was no way of removing the mutual love from it either.

I ended the book thinking about the nature of the transformation that Rory had been through. Becoming a werewolf didn't unleash her inner beast and turn her into a monster. Instead it gave her a way of dealing with her rage at how she had been treated. For the first time in her life, she felt safe. No one could hurt her. Like most women, she'd grown up accepting being in danger from men as a fact of life. She wasn't in danger any more. She was the danger now. The question in front of her was what was she going to do with that strength and whether or not could or would control her rage. When you have such sharp teeth, you need to think carefully about who you bite. show less

I adored this book. It had a great balance of vibes, from light and funny to dark, gross body horror. It felt cosy, like a perfect spooky season read, with the most interesting undertones throughout the whole work.

Our protagonist, Rory, is the quintessential cool girl. She’s gorgeous, quick-witted and funny. She lives in New York, goes to fancy bars and parties, hooks up with strangers, and loves her life. And I honestly kind of loved her. I saw some criticisms that she swayed a little into Mary Sue territory, but I felt that a lot of her personality was a mask for the unresolved trauma she was dealing with. She’s aloof and witty to put a barrier between herself and people trying to get to know her.

The romantic subplot with Ian, an show more “almost-flame” from her past, was fine. It didn’t draw me in completely, but I had no issues with it.

Scarlett, Rory’s pregnant twin, is an equally cool, goth girlie, and I loved her. She is side-lined a little at the beginning of the book, where her role appears to be “default pregnant” but as the story progresses we see more of her character emerge. It was great to see a pregnant female character who initially struggled with the idea of motherhood. Compared with their friend Ashley, who appears to be every housewife stereotype dialled up to 11, it was refreshing to see someone who did not take to motherhood 100% straight away.

While the plot isn't overly complex, a lot of the best parts of this book come from Rory’s inner monologue, or interactions with her sister.

But what truly sets this book apart is its exploration of the female experience. The werewolf transformation serves as an allegory for pregnancy, showcasing the profound changes women undergo. But it’s also an exploration of feminine rage. Rory is incredibly angry about her childhood, she is bound to it, she doesn’t know how to exist without it. Her werewolf form becomes a manifestation of her anger, a way for her to cope with the feelings of weakness she has felt her entire life.

Such Sharp Teeth is a must-read for those who crave a spooky, thought-provoking tale with a strong dose of female empowerment. show less

For all the girls who just need to lie down and rot sometimes.

An ode to the hopelessness that comes after the loss of bodily autonomy and a blindingly smart take on what happens when rage is swallowed down one too many times.

Such Sharp Teeth explores what it feels like to have none of your expectations met—to watch them fall more than short—but still manage to scrape yourself off of the floor and take all the pain the world gives you and mold it into something worth holding on to with both hands.

Sisterhood, motherhood, and daughterhood (and the oscillating journey between them) all feature very strongly here. In some pretty heartbreaking and familiar ways.

A truly riveting tale about the nature of forgiveness and the power that comes show more from self-acceptance.

Fangs, fur, and all.

Disclaimer: 4 stars simply because I was able to deduce the one true mystery in this book very early on. Regardless, this is going on my re-read shelf for forever. show less

Rory returns home from her big life in the city to help her twin sister, Scarlett, through the end of her pregnancy and when the baby comes, as she is estranged from the baby's father. Soon after Rory returns, she is attacked by an unknown creature, and quickly realizes she may now be a werewolf.

Rachel Harrison has a magical way of telling stories that feels both cozy and horrifying at the same time. Such Sharp Teeth is a werewolf story - but it is also a story about female rage, autonomy over one's body, and empowerment. Rory is not only wrestling with her life changing transformation, but past traumas are bubbling to the surface and she's having a hard time keeping afloat. There is a duality to the twin's stories, with Rory's show more werewolf-dom and Scarlett's pregnancy. Both are experiencing a loss of control over their bodies and grief of their prior lifestyles. Harrison melds these differing experiences together to create a captivating dynamic between the sisters, as they both try to cope individually and with the support of the other. show less

This is what I want from a werewolf story! It's real, raw, and a little gross, but peppered with humor and sarcasm because how else can you survive knowing you're turning into a monster?

This had all the potential to be a stunner of a book...but it falls short.

Rory's a fun character, and while the author does tend to go on and on (and on and on [and on and on and on...] and on) about all the changes she's experiencing as a wolf, it's the personality and the snappy dialogue, and the cast of characters that surround her that make this work, and make it, quite admittedly, a fun read.

However.

This book was plucked from the horror section of my local bookstore, and horror is what I expect. I want dread. I want suffering.

What I get, with this novel, is a cozy horror story that is out to make you feel some concern for Rory, but never once ups the stakes beyond the "what will others think of her?" level.

She's a freaking werewolf show more here. There should be stakes. There really isn't.

As well, there's some interesting subplots that Harrison brings up, and more abandons than resolves. Rory's childhood trauma/ongoing issues with an unapologetic mother, for one. The similarities of what Rory's going through with the whole, "this isn't my body anymore, I can't control what I'd doing anymore, my future has completely changed" and the same feelings her twin sister is feeling with her pregnancy.

And then there's the biggest "what will others think of her?" plotline, Rory's burgeoning romance with Ian. He's the perfect guy, and she doesn't want to lose him...but...werewolf. And it's resolved literally in a couple of sentences at the end.

So, overall, I have to say, I loved the characters. I loved the dialogue. I loved the set up. But, at about the halfway mark, when certain elements (wolfsbane and silver) were introduced, I was concerned they'd end up being some sort of cheap copout resolution, and I wasn't wrong.

Could have been great. Ended up okay. It's a light, cozy beach read with a character who happens to be a werewolf. But it could just as easily have been about Rory fighting alcoholism, or sex addiction, and it likely would have made for a more compelling story.

Somewhat disappointing. show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S SUCH SHARP TEETH ABOUT?
The Publisher's website says:

Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into Ian, an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver—and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. show more She’s changing into someone else—something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability.

HOW WAS THE NARRATION?
Sieh matched the energy and tone of the book—elevating some of the text with her performance.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SUCH SHARP TEETH?
If I took the time to make a pros and cons list...I think the pros would win but by a hair.

The way the book is set up—a high-powered businesswoman from "the City" coming back to her hometown, only to meet with her High School friend who's been carrying a torch for her since then. Things spark up between them and she's starting to consider leaving behind all the power and money for this humble guy from a small town. I couldn't help but think of every single Hallmark Movie parody I've seen/read when she talked about "the City." And most of the storyline surrounding them reminded me of those movies/parodies, too.

The pros, however...Harrison delivers some great werewolf fiction here. The initial bite, the transformations...just about everything that Rory does to investigate her new condition...and more is so well done, and in many ways is superior to every other werewolf novel I've read. It's some really solid and creepy work there, and I wish more of the book lived up to it.

In the end, it was good enough. It kept me engaged, the story moved well, and I can't say enough about the depiction of lycanthropes. I do recommend Such Sharp Teeth, but with a few caveats. show less