With Teeth

Interesting concept but was very repetitive at times. And I wasn't sure what that ending was about. Ultimately, I think this was just a glimpse into a household where everyone is really fucked up and blames each other and they're all quite awful. I think the ending is trying to show us that Samson is not really to blame for his bad acts because he's just production of Sammie's craziness. But I have a hard time with that because Sammie is going through it and seemed to be trying really hard. So I guess I'm supposed to be fine with that conclusion, that trying your best is not enough in parenthood. You can do everything, try to change yourself and beat stereotypes, and still may amount to nothing. My only other thought is that Samson just has some sort of social behavior disorder. How he was going to therapy for so long and that would not be discovered, I'm not sure. This didn't really remind of Arnett's debut (besides the family dynamic/all the fucked up people) that I love so much. I wasn't as impressed with this one but it wasn't bad.

While this is definitely about mother hood and queerness and growing older, the most fascinating aspect of this was the dynamic between the child and MC. I really do think this book is trying to dissect who's to blame. Who's to blame for the outbursts and the anger and disappointment. You might think it's weird to question that about a child but he did some genuinely heinous things. A lot of it involving causing harm to other people and living things. We are bound to ask how we got there. In the end, I think the END book is trying to show us that he had no hand in his own behavior. But the rest of the book feels like it's trying to show us that no one person is to blame. Or that blame doesn't need to be swapped at all? I have no clue truly.

I think this book would EAT as a horror, like “We Need to Talk About Kevin” but, of course, gay. I really think Arnett explores things here that would help separate the two if she'd gone that route.