Point of View

Baby Teeth alternates between Hanna and Suzette’s points of view every chapter. The extreme difference between their perspectives leads to a jarring disjunction for the reader, contributing to the larger feeling of suspense. Suzette and Alex constantly speculate on what is going on in their strange, silent daughter’s head. Hanna’s world view is even darker than they believe is possible for such a young girl, and her perspective is marked by sinister, elaborate imagery. As her relationship with her mother worsens, this becomes more and more pronounced. “A vengeful pit grew inside her and it remained to be seen how it would grow—very possibly into a tree with snaking branches and claws. How fun it would be to be such a tree, looming like a giant on a neighborhood street. People would pass beneath her, and the ones she didn’t...