Review: Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan

Where can I start with Baby Teeth? It’s personal. Powerful. Passionate. It’s a book written in verse — something which, I must admit, I was intimidated by at first. I’ve never read something like it before. However, it didn’t take long to get swept up into the waves of the words, and become completely absorbed by the cryptic, tormented thoughts of the main character.

We meet Immy. She’s haunted by the ghosts of her past lives and weakened by her unmet need for blood. Something I loved about this book was how involved I felt with the story — rather than feeling like an outsider eavesdropping on the lives of others, I became Immy — I felt her pain, I experienced her love and loss. Grehan takes you into Immy’s world and reveals her innermost thoughts to you.

This is a book for readers who enjoy having space for their imagination to grow when reading, and enjoying poetry won’t hurt when it comes to this book. It’s definitely a story in the darker tradition, as you may be able to tell from the offbeat title, and not for those who enjoy light-hearted tales. It’s a supernatural story.

Another thing I loved about this book was that we’re never told exactly what goes on — instead, we get to interpret the events happening around Immy through her cluttered thoughts. Some readers may find this confusing, but I really enjoyed the challenge of putting together the puzzle pieces through someone else’s eyes.

Reading this book was an awesome experience, and it really inspired me to write something unconventional. I’d love to read another one of Meg Grehan’s books soon!

Hanna-Rose Sullivan, 16