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From the multi-award winning author of The Deepest Breath (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), a Junior Library Guild Selection, comes a YA verse novel about LGBTQ+ desire, identity — and vampires.
The blood
Feeds the hunger
That threatens everything
It starts when Claudia offers her a yellow rose.
Immy has been in love before – many times, across many lifetimes. But never as deeply, as intensely as this. Claudia smells like paint and peppermint tea. She wears her hair in a plait, and has a green thumb, and Immy is utterly besotted. Claudia has never been in love like this either. But then, this is her first time with a vampire. But a love like this can't last. The forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy. And within her mind clamour the voices, of all the others she has been, their desires, and their wrongs.
For fans of Elizabeth Acevdeo and Dean Atta.
"Emotionally rich and gloriously queer." – Kirkus
"Beautifully crafted." – Kirkus, 'Best of 2022: Our Favourite Teen & YA Books' list
"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."– Publishers Weekly
"Baby Teeth is an unexpected LGBTQ+ novel in verse; it takes elements of horror and mixes them with romance, resulting in a changeling of a book that reimagines vampire myths for the twenty-first century."– Foreword Reviews
“Grehan’s verse novel skilfully charts uncertainty, temptation and the course of a strange, desperate love.” – The Guardian
“Grehan evocatively conjures Immy’s tragic sense of isolation and hard-won self-acceptance.” – The Financial Times
“Delicious and unsettling.”– The Irish Times
“Grehan is not the first Irish writer to push the boundaries of vampire fiction … Yet Grehan delves much deeper into the risky relationship between vampire and lover, as a means of exploring modern LGBTQ identity for her young adult readership.” – The Echo
“Expressive, strong, and compelling.” – Armadillo Magazine
“Absolutely beautiful.” – Down the Rabbit Hole
“Grehan keeps the vampiric vibes flowing with this unique, darkly beautiful and emotional read.” – CultureFly
“It’s personal. Powerful. Passionate.” – Paper Lanterns
"Very weirdly uniquely wonderful." – ***** reader review, NetGalley
"I’ll be delighted to recommend this book to a wide range of folks who are looking for something fresh and attractive."– reader review, NetGalley
"Soft and sweet, tender and dark, and helplessly sad. The desire-filled romance evokes a specific type of fresh, earthy, heartfelt sapphic wonder which I absolutely adore." – reader review, NetGalley
"A really engaging read." – reader review, NetGalley
"I am such a sucker for a novel in verse and this was excellent." – reader review, NetGalley
"I recommend it to anyone who needs more sapphic vampires in their lives." – reader review, NetGalley
"I highly recommend this book, especially if you love paranormal stories or just want to try out a lyrical novel in verse story. BUT SERIOUSLY A NOVEL IN VERSE FEATURING A SAPPHIC VAMPIRE!! YOU ALL NEED IT." – ***** reader review, NetGalley
"An absolutely lovely little book with beautiful writing. There needs to be more sapphic vampires because hello wow." – reader review, NetGalley
"Recommend for those looking for something new in their reading routine." – reader review, NetGalley
"I loved this, this was an amazingly written story! There isn't enough sapphic stories but this sapphic vampire one is amazing." – reader review, NetGalley
"'It's toasty, ribbon in hair, sexy, lusty, heart breaking, woods, moss, cottagecore vibes." – reader review, NetGalley
"I would recommend this to anyone who likes novels in verse, vampires and lesbian stories." – reader review, NetGalley
Meg Grehan's first YA novel, The Space Between, won the Eiís Dillon award for debut book at the 2018 Children's Books Ireland Awards. Her second book, The Deepest Breath, won the Judges' Special Prize at the CBI awards 2020, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in the UK, and was selected for the Read for Empathy reading list 2020.