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A book that defies black-and-white categorization — filled with fantasy, folklore, magic and fairies, —but if “delightful” was a book genre, “Greenteeth” would be top of its class.
Charming, humorous, and imaginative — this is the story of Jenny Greenteeth, who is not technically a “hag” but is a lower fae creature, thousands of years old, with flowing green hair, multiple rows of razor-sharp green teeth, and a watery home in a remote lake in Chipping Appleby, UK.
Jenny is a carnivore, a “monster” of sorts, (in a “Shrek-like” way), with a penchant for fish and frogs, who is not averse to eating most of what comes her way. Until the day she meets Temperance Crump, a village “cunning woman” or witch, if you like, now sinking to the bottom of Jenny’s lake, with a mortal life that suddenly and most definitely needs saving.
As Jenny and Temperance meet and pursue their individual destinies, it soon becomes clear their stories are meant to play out together. This is all the more apparent when they are joined by Brackus Marsh, a goblin, and a pedlar, who loves velvet vests, buttons and golden thread, and cannot stand to see a lady cry.
This unlikely trio: a goblin, a witch and Jenny Greenteeth, soon find themselves on an epic quest — one which may end up saving their corner of the world from unspeakable evil, or destroy them all in its pursuit.
Without giving the plot away, (no spoilers here), this traditional quest has some twists and an ending that this reader was delighted to guess. Along the way, there are several tricky and potentially terrible spots of danger — yet for this reader, (who cannot read about animals being abused or hurt, and nervously almost stopped reading at one point..), all I will say is — hang tight, fellow reader, it will be ok….
And all of it: the story; the characters; the events; and the surprises; definitely turn out to be more than ok. This is a stellar and warmly immersive read, which I for one, am delighted (there’s that word again) to have experienced.
A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
