THIS BOOK. ‘With Teeth’ is, at its core, the story of motherhood. Focusing on queer parents Sammie and Monika raising their son Samson. But it’s so much more than just a story of motherhood, it examines queerness in everyday life, it explores memory and perception. It is dark at times, intense and foreboding, but light and hilarious at others.

You spend much of this novel unsure who to trust. Told through a 3rd person narrator, but focalised through Sammie we are encouraged to believe her. We understand her thoughts and her difficulty connecting with her son. But we also get glimpses of first person narration from characters Sammie encounters along the way. Some reinforce Sammie’s version of events and others disagree entirely. This creates a strange uncertainty whilst you read that works perfectly.

As a queer woman who has thought (and fretted) about the thought of having children, this book explored so much of what terrifies me. Sammie and Monika have such different relationships with Samson and massively different parenting styles.

I loved this book. It’s a fantastically realistic representation of queer parenthood. Through Sammie and Monika’s parenthood journey, all parents can empathise with their experiences and emotions. I definitely recommend this one!