Baby teeth A novel in verse

Meg Grehan

Book - 2022

Immy has never been as deeply in love as she is with Claudia. Meanwhile, the forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy.

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Subjects
Genres
Lesbian fiction
Vampire fiction
Romance fiction
Novels in verse
Published
Dublin, Ireland : Little Island Books 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Meg Grehan (author)
Item Description
"First published in 2021 by Little Island Books ... Dublin ... First published in the USA in 2022"--Title page verso.
Physical Description
178 pages ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781915071019
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Immy has been in love before, but her relationships always end--because she's a vampire. She's had many lovers, and she remembers them all. Sometimes these memories are a curse: every day is filled with nostalgia, memories of those who have died, and reminders of who she used to be. She's never certain if she's good or bad. When she meets Claudia, who works in a flower shop, she falls in love again, but in a way she doesn't remember feeling before. Claudia accepts Immy as a vampire in a way she's never been accepted before. Claudia even lets Immy feed off of her, which is also new--Immy's vampire family has always supplied her with blood. As Immy struggles to know herself and her own history, can her love for Claudia last? Though the through line of Immy's story, which is told in verse, is sometimes hard to follow, queer vampire stories are still relatively uncommon, and this will be welcomed.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A lonely vampire named Immy falls for compassionate flower shop employee Claudia, a human, in Grehan's (The Deepest Breath) layered, hopeful novel in verse. Immy has lived many lives, each time reborn as a new person; the voices of her former selves, none of whom she can remember clearly, clamor in the back of her mind. She and her chosen family, fellow vampires Henry and Freddie--who, like Immy and Claudia, read as white--drink blood because it is the only thing that soothes their past iterations. The voices in Immy's mind make it difficult for her to maintain a coherent sense of self, causing her emotional distress and leaving her feeling disconnected from her body, while Claudia makes her feel whole. But when she begins craving Claudia's blood, Immy spirals into self-loathing, conveyed via halting free verse that clearly communicates her self-doubt and desperation. By linking vampirism to themes of queer desire and community as well as repeating personal cycles, Grehan freshens an old trope, building both a central romance and lifetimes-long connections that are by turns realistically sweet and thorny. Ages 14--up. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up--A captivating novel-in-verse of a Sapphic, vampire-human romance. Immy is a vampire. While she has experienced love in previous lives, she hasn't experienced what she feels for Claudia. After meeting at a flower shop where Claudia works, the pair begin a very passionate relationship. When Immy shares her secret with her, Claudia is fascinated, and even lets Immy feed on her. The story follows Immy and Claudia's romantic relationship and Immy's relationship with Freddie and Henry, her vampire family. Grehan's verse is powerful and beautiful and will evoke many emotions in readers. They will likely find Immy relatable since she struggles with finding herself and who she is as a person in this life. She also struggles with her desires; she loves Claudia, but she needs blood, and it is hard for her to resist it. The story can be somewhat hard to follow at times; readers will need to use reading skills, such as inferencing, to understand what is happening in some parts, but the story is compelling enough that it will be tough to put down. Race of the characters is not mentioned. VERDICT This enchanting work is an excellent addition to LGBTQIA+ and verse novel collections.--Lisa Buffi

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Love, loss, and identity form the core of this sparse, free-verse vampire story from Ireland. Immy narrates a small slice of her eternal life, a time when she experiences a love like never before. In this interesting take on vampires, Immy lives numerous consecutive lives as different people: Although she mostly doesn't remember her past selves, she feels them all inside herself, leading to constant internal turmoil. In the present day, Immy meets human mortal Claudia at a flower shop, and the two begin a relationship. Immy believes this love is stronger than anything she's ever felt, but as her love turns more and more into a desire for blood, she questions the kinds of relationships she's capable of having. The main consistent thread through all Immy's lives is her found family. Freddie and Henry are vampires like her, and the three of them have managed to find one another in each of their lives, always caring for and loving each other. This poetic tale captures so much emotion through meaningful word choices, repetition, and line breaks. It's incredible how deep characterization comes through in so few words: Immy's longing and grief are potent, the Sapphic love is consuming and heartbreaking, and the unconditional support among Immy, Freddie, and Henry feels pure and comforting. Readers who feel seen in these pages will pore over the feeling-laden verses again and again. Characters are assumed White. Emotionally rich and gloriously queer. (author interview) (Verse fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.