This was such a pleasant surprise of a book. I was expecting a fluffy overly dramatic novel about a bunch of rich couples and their small children, but it ended up being more than that. It was a complicated picture of mothers, fathers, nannies, children, and reputation. I do not live in New York, I do not have children, and I was totally sucked in to the world of "the mommies." My biggest complaint was the lack of truly likable characters (though I did really enjoy Leigh) and the loose ends of some of the side stories. Yet overall it hooked me and I'll look for more from Julia Fierro. ( )

loved the book. funny,. captivating, disturbingly honest. and to get me to read about entitled Brooklyn parents takes talent. ( )

Cutting Teeth, Julia Fierro
The book is about five members of a playgroup who joined each other for a weekend away at the summer home of one of their members, a member who was so disrespectful that she didn’t even ask her parents for permission to use their home. Unexpectedly, the weekend exposed the group to each other, warts and all, and the idyllic sojourn was not very idyllic. Basically, they seemed like today’s wannabes and yuppies who respected little but their own immediate needs, used texting to communicate and got most of their information from the internet on random websites that caught their interest.
Like chameleons, they adapted to each other and their surroundings, without ever truly exposing their real faces or personalities. Instead, they put on acts and airs to be accepted by each other and to gain approval and entry into certain select circles. Each of these characters was in some way jealous of the other or coveted something another one had without even understanding their own obsessions and behavioral needs. Some were emotionally unstable and some were totally neurotic in need of medical care. Even the most normal seemed broken in some way. They lied, stole, manipulated, and used each other and the world about them in order to get what they wanted. They were the most selfish group of dysfunctional human beings ever assembled in one place, I think, and the weekend did not turn out as a bonding experience, but rather the opposite.
Many of their problems were being passed down to the children as evidenced by some of their behavior toward each other. As an example, Tiffany made it her business to gather information about the people she interacted with which she then used to influence their behavior. She unnerved them with little hints and comments to get her way. At the same time, her daughter Harper was a little tattle tale, just as ruthless as her mother. Harper dominated the other children, all boys, with her demanding personality.
Another example was Rip, the stay at home dad who wanted to be the best “mommy”. This encouraged remarks by some, insinuating that he might be effeminate. He sought the praise and admiration of the other members in the group, sometimes inappropriately. His son Hank was hypersensitive and squeamish, making some wonder about his masculinity, as well.
Allie and Susannah were the lesbian couple with the twin boys Dash and Levi. They squabbled about life choices and both seemed a bit on edge and at odds with each other. Their twins exhibited the same kind of tension with each other as they played, but they were sometimes more physical in their expressions of displeasure. As Both Susannah and Allie wanted to escape their present situation, it seemed so did Dash. The discontent was contagious.
Actually, after all was said and done, thinking about all of the couples, one could use the term discontented to describe most of the members and spouses in the playgroup with the exception of the honorary member, the Tibetan nanny, Tenzin. She could bring calm to all situations with the children, and her quotes from the Dalai Llama accomplished the same results for the adults.
The author seemed to have taken pains to include an example of all types of relationships and backgrounds. There is the implication that there is an interracial couple, an interreligious couple, an unmarried couple, a couple that did not come together because the spouse could not handle this type of weekend, and, of course, the lesbian couple. There is a delegate from every walk of life, as well.
If the group wasn’t so disheartening, it might have been more humorous to me. As it was, I found it, instead, to be depressing. If this is a sample of today’s playgroups and parenting, our future is in danger. The parent’s behavior left so much to be desired. While they might not give their children anything but organic food, some thought nothing of popping pills or alcohol into their mouths to cope with their lives. Some parents fed their children anything, coffee included, to prevent a tantrum, while insisting only on organic food. They did not seem to appreciate the life they had. Some forbade TV because of its possible link to brain damage, others used it as a babysitter. They had unreal expectations of their children and demanded immediate gratification like infants, for themselves. They were self-absorbed adults, stuck with their own immature view of the world and they were passing it on to their children.
This group of young upwardly mobile adults insulted each other and often jumped to incorrect, impetuous conclusions. They were generally arrogant and self-centered, thinking of no other needs but their own. The competition among them was fierce. The language they used was certainly not high-brow and bordered often on very coarse.
Still, even though the behavior of the parents was reprehensible, it can’t be denied that the book had well developed characters. However, it was written with little vignette type chapters that did sometimes leave the reader wondering where the rest of it was. A subject was often dropped before it felt fully explained.
When I finished I hoped with all my heart that this was not a true representation of modern parenting or an example of the children who would be making up the future of the world. I couldn’t help thinking that these parents had to give more thought to the choices being made. Sometimes, allowing children to be children all the time, without enough guidance, prevents them from learning the skills to become responsible adults.
***As an aside, I was disappointed in the book because once again I was baited into reading a book about one thing only to find out that a large portion of the book was devoted to something else. The inclusion of a lesbian couple with very graphic descriptions of their sex was not something I would have chosen to read about. Alternate lifestyles do not upset me, but just as I don’t buy books with graphic heterosexual sex scenes, I do not intend to buy books that include lesbian or homosexual sex. I find that in most books, when it is sprinkled into the narrative, it doesn’t enhance it but is used, instead, to entice a certain reader. I believe that if a book is written well with a good storyline, it doesn’t need sex scenes to attract readers. Before I began to read this book, I read reviews in which there was nary a mention of lesbians, so although I had a library copy, I also ordered a print copy as well. When I became familiar with the story, I cancelled that order. I had previously made a promise to myself that I would do that from now on if I was caught unawares by reviews that deliberately left out mention of that part of the story in order to attract a more general audience. ( )

When Nicole invites the “mommies” of her Brooklyn playgroup to her parent’s Long Island beach home for a weekend getaway, she’s too clouded in anxiety over a potential catastrophic world-ending event to see the tension bubbling beneath the group’s surface. Stay-at-home dad Rip is struggling with his infertility and hopes for a second child while attempting to tie down his attraction to the group’s outsider, Tiffany. Outwardly confident, but insecure in the place she struggled to reach, Tiffany cuts the other mommies down in a battle for superiority. Together with a pregnant lesbian couple and a woman attempting to hold on to her family’s once powerful name, the personalities in the playgroup collide throughout the novel’s funny and insightful scenes.

Each of Cutting Teeth‘s characters is overdrawn in a way that makes it easy to find familiarity in their extreme personalities and, though they feel more like caricatures than real people, at least pieces of their stories will ring true. Fierro’s strength is in more reflective moments, like those seen through the eyes of Tibetan nanny Tenzien as she works her memory recording the idioms the mommies throw around while she tenderly cares for their children. In comparison, the extremity of the playgroup tends to go a little off the rails, particularly toward the end of the novel.

Still, book clubs will want to pick up Cutting Teeth by the box full. Though it’s unlikely every member will walk away loving the novel, the characters and themes set a perfect stage for the engaging, lively discussion every group hopes to have.

More at rivercityreading.com ( )

Julia Fierro’s Cutting Teeth is a tale of a group of thirty-something parents in New York City, linked by their children’s playgroup, for endless soap opera high-drama family dysfunction.

This group of adults (seemed more like spoiled children), are off to spend Labor Day Weekend at a beach house on Long Island. It was all I could do to finish with all the whining and complaining. I was feeling sorry for the kids-a little. In the beginning it was kind of funny and insightful, but then went downhill.

Can you image these miserable people in a house together? I would not want to be anywhere near this place. So you have five pre-school children, an infant, and a pregnant mother. After you read the below personalities – you cannot even imagine.

Nichole – parents own the home, a successful author and instructor, paralyzed by her phobias and fears and over protectiveness (completely wacked – in between smoking dope). She is obsessed with everything (especially the fixation on a rumor that a major attack will happen in New York City over the holiday weekend and what she does to prepare)—unbelievable!.

Rip— About the only one worth liking out of the bunch. The father in the playgroup. He likes to think he is one of them, but most men do not feel all that great in this type of situation (as typically the wife is all controlling). Grace is the breadwinner and refuses to consider having a second child, so Rip can continue being a stay-at-home dad. However, Hank is growing very sensitive and so needy.

Leigh – Seems together, (not) a former debutante, dealing with serious money problems and a secret that could ruin her. Leigh's son, Chase, is sweet but developmentally challenged, adding to the strain of her marriage. Without her nanny, she would lose it.

Allie and Susanna- Newlyweds, parents of twin boys. Susanna is pregnant with a third child and resents that she put her art career on hold for motherhood to allow Allie's career to continue to thrive, while Allie isn't sure she's cut out for motherhood or the domesticity of married life. (hello, grow up).

Tiffany- Mother with the only daughter in the playgroup. Again not a likable character, selfish, manipulative, gossips, plays them against one another, flirts with Rip, and believes in breastfeeding until they go off to school, pushes organics, and totally overbearing. (sounds like a person you want to stay clear of).

Of course when people get together in one house, drinks are poured, and true feeling come out, secrets are revealed, relationships are testing, and fears exposed, while one is crazy with worry the world is coming to an end. Total madness!

Not really sure how you would classify the genre, as this is one group of flawed and troubled parents; while people wonder why children behave so badly. I guess this novel may appeal to the younger generation, as possibly these fictional lives would be worse than theirs for a bit of twisted humor; however, I for one could barely make it through the book.

I would love the author write something different, in order to really see her writing style when it is not buried beneath all the drama, behaviors, and attitude of these annoying characters. Sorry, this debut fell flat for me and not my cup of tea. Cannot recommend.
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