 | Greenteeth features Jenny Greenteeth, one of the river hags from English Folklore who live in lakes. In this story, Jenny tends her lake near the human town of Chipping Appleby. Her world is disrupted when the local townsfolk throw a witch into her lake. Jenny tries to intimidate the drowning witch: “I have a lot of teeth, multiple rows on both top and bottom jaw, each needle-sharp and glittering. The effect is quite striking, so I’m told, and this has worked on every human I’ve ever met before, causing them to soil themselves and scream for their mothers. This witch stayed put.” |
Jenny decides to help the witch because she reminds Jenny of her daughter, Little Jenny. The witch, Temperance, misses her husband and children. She asks Jenny to help her cast a spell on the town to make them forget she was accused of witchcraft, so Temperance can resume her life as a herbal healer. Jenny recruits a goblin peddler named Brakus to get the supplies Temperance needs for her spell.
 | But the spell goes awry and Jenny realizes the creature posing as the town parson is something far more dangerous and infinitely powerful. Most of the book is taken up with the subsequent quest to find a weapon to defeat the eldritch “parson” and reunite Temperance with her family, told entirely through Jenny Greenteeth’s point of view. |
Jenny is a deliciously fun character, a monster who eats raw fish but fusses to keep her lake orderly and neat. She doesn’t trust anyone and craves solitude, but clearly enjoys her verbal jousts with the goblin Brakus and comes to think of Temperance as a friend.
Brakus the goblin peddler has a backpack capable of containing an infinite array of items, some much larger than the pack itself. He has a plucky sense of humor, and is knowledgeable about the Wild Roads that take them to the Fairy Court and other destinations on their quest.
Temperance is a mortal traversing the world of fairy magic—far out of her depth—but she perseveres because she’s determined to return to her family.
Brakus the goblin peddler has a backpack capable of containing an infinite array of items, some much larger than the pack itself. He has a plucky sense of humor, and is knowledgeable about the Wild Roads that take them to the Fairy Court and other destinations on their quest.
Temperance is a mortal traversing the world of fairy magic—far out of her depth—but she perseveres because she’s determined to return to her family.
 | We also meet Gwynn ap Nudd and Creiddylad, the king and queen of the Fairies, and an Anfac, a lake monster from Welsh mythology. The Anfac heals an injury for Jenny, but the process is excruciating. When she complains about the pain, the Anfac says: “If you wanted it done kindly, you should have asked your witch friend. I don’t do nice. Besides, your pain is the price for my power. There has to be a balance.” |
Part of the novel’s fun are the different places the three adventurers visit on their quest. Their first glimpse of the Fairy Court:
 | “Balls of soft white light hung in the air, casting a misty glow over the Court. Long trestle tables had been erected around the edge…piled high with every kind of good food." And the high fae: "Each was tall and slender, with long hair and colorful robes of painted linens and pricelessly rare brocaded silk. Their skin and eyes were every color that could be imagined, often patterned after a favorite animal or flower. Males and females alike wore glittering white jewels; diamonds, pearls and opals, though I spied a ring of amber." |
Our heroes' journey is arduous much of the time: “Rocky outcrops towered on either side of us and the road was edged in thick snow. Snowflakes as large as thumbprints flurried down around us, each one melting before it hit the ground. It was hard going, and I felt the muscles in my calves burning. I was missing the lake and the strength it usually gave me.”
The three comrades are tested throughout the story and especially during the exhilarating climax, which is full of surprising twists and turns. The author played the final reveal so well, I reread the last three chapters to make sure she hadn’t cheated in misleading the reader (she didn’t). The novel ends with a sweet epilogue that provides a gentle contrast with all the excitement of the climax.
Greenteeth is a fresh and compelling story that reimagines English and Welsh folklore to create a story both mythic and entirely new.
Greenteeth is a fresh and compelling story that reimagines English and Welsh folklore to create a story both mythic and entirely new.
Another novel featuring a “monstrous” main character: Someone You Can Build a Nest In
