Book Review: Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

TW: CSA

I realise I might have an unpopular opinion here, but I didn’t like this book.

It tells the story of Rory, an insufferable 27-year-old teenager who is bitten by a werewolf while visiting home to look after her pregnant twin sister Scarlett, who is even worse than she is. There she also starts up a relationship with Ian, a blank slate who has been pining after her for ten years, reconnects with her annoying friends and her emotionally abusive mother, all while worrying about the new curse she finds upon herself.

To be honest, the werewolf factor was barely there. Even though it’s acknowledged that Rory is now a danger to everyone around her she is more concerned with the loss of her Manhattan apartment and trendy New York City lifestyle than the safety of her supposedly beloved sister and friends. She is endlessly selfish, but it is framed in a way that makes me think I’m supposed to find her cool and independent. Despite being in her hometown to support her sister through pregnancy, she instead disappears to shag Ian for days on end without so much as a text message to Scarlett. She looks down on her friends who decided to remain in their small town, and generally treats other people as accessories. Yes, she’s the main character of the book, but she’s not supposed to know she’s the main character.

Mind, everyone else is completely one-dimensional, much is made of how close Rory and Scarlett are but you’d think they were strangers from most of their conversations. There’s also Mia, the party girl with a dark history who acts as a ham-fisted foil to Rory. Seth and Ash are the book’s example of a happily married couple, and I can’t remember them interacting with each other even once during the book. There’s Rory and Scarlett’s mother, who is at least supposed to be annoying.

And then there’s Ian, the love interest. Presented as the perfect man for Rory, yet I could not name a personality trait of his for the life of me. We know that he has had a crush on Rory since they were at school, and in the ten years since graduating he has never let go of that crush. Ian, that’s not romantic, that’s weird. It would be one thing if meeting her again had rekindled a flame, but no, he’s just full creepy.

But this wasn’t what really made me dislike the book.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

I might have been more generous towards this book had it not been for the clumsy handling of abuse themes. It’s revealed that the main reason for Rory’s estrangement from her mother is that her mother allowed her boyfriend to sexually abuse Rory as a child. This is tonally at odds with the book leading up to this point, completely caught me off guard and, honestly, I think it had no place being there. It left me feeling gross.

I do think that abuse can be used and discussed in fiction, but this isn’t it. It is handled too casually and resolved too easily. I understand what Harrison was going for, women growing past their trauma and finding their own strength and love for each other, but this was too easy and I felt it cheapened the whole thing. It would have been enough that Rory has a strained relationship with her mom because she’s self-centred and manipulative.

Forgiveness is a deeply personal issue, and it is not for me to judge if, how, or when anyone decides to forgive their abusers, I just dislike how it was handled here. Rory forgives her mom very quickly, even though her mom has demonstrated no change, can’t accept responsibility, and makes it all about herself. There’s an argument to be made that you can forgive for your own peace of mind rather than anyone else’s, but it takes a much stronger effort to properly explore these themes.

And finally, the cherry on top for me was that ultimate healing came in one of the most tired tropes of all: babies make everything better. Scarlett gives birth to a baby girl, and all the family’s rifts and grudges and problems are resolved! Rory still has the werewolf thing ongoing, but she has a boyfriend and a new baby niece so it’s all okay really.

So no, I don’t recommend this book. You want sisters and werewolves, watch the movie Ginger Snaps, otherwise I’m open to other suggestions.

Review by Dai Baddley