Mini Review: Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

Author: Toby Barlow
Series: None
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins
Publication Date: January 29, 2008
Pages: 308
Format/Source: Hardback/Borrowed from library
An ancient race of lycanthropes has survived to the present day, and its numbers are growing. Bent on dominance, rival factions are initiating the down-and-out of L.A. into their ranks. Caught in the middle are Anthony, a kindhearted, lovesick dogcatcher, and the object of his affection: a female werewolf who has abandoned her pack. (Cover and synopsis from Goodreads)
Sharp Teeth was my book club’s July selection, and for some reason I didn’t write down a lot of notes. Well, I take that back. I wrote down a lot, but the vast majority of my notes were just quotes that I really liked. So I’ve decided to do a mini review of this one, just stating some of my notes and listing a few of those quotes I loved.
My Notes…
- I’m pretty sure this is the first novel I’ve ever read in free verse. At first, I was a little confused and I thought I was missing things, simply because of the writing style. So I had to go back and reread a lot at the beginning. But after a while I got used to it, and I actually enjoyed the writing style quite a bit!
- I did end up getting confused a bit throughout the book, because there are a lot of characters, and because the POV switches in the middle of chapters sometimes. One publication of the book has a list of the characters, which would have been helpful, but my copy didn’t include that.
- There was a nice twist near the end that, for some reason, I didn’t see coming, although looking back it seems completely obvious. But I really enjoyed the twist nonetheless!
- This book really reminded me of Fight Club at times.
- Two of the characters in this book, Venable and Goyo, reminded me of Mr. O’Hare and one of his henchmen from The Lorax. Maybe I watch too many cartoons.

Disclaimer: I borrowed a copy of this book from my library. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Brandi Kosiner
July 18, 2013 at 3:39 pmI don't do novels in verse but so glad to hear that you enjoyed
fakesteph
July 18, 2013 at 5:40 pmThis actually sounds great. I've been known to enjoy a free verse novel and I love the quotes you shared! Maybe I'll check this one out of the library.