Boys with Sharp Teeth

By: Jenni Howell

Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens

We Were Liars meets The Raven Boys in this mind-bending YA debut about dark revenge, twisted desire, and the sinister secrets lurking behind the walls of an elite boarding school.

"A darkly delicious spiral where each page makes you crave more."―CG Drews, author of Don't Let The Forest In

"A stunningly lush, utterly compelling, darkly beautiful debut!"―Ginny Myers Sain, New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies

Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. And when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic yet dangerously alluring leaders of the school's social elite.

Swapping her ripped jeans for a crisp prep school skirt, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to seek justice. But her quest is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and depraved boys who somehow understand her better than anyone ever has.

When Marin uncovers an otherworldly secret the boys are hiding within Huntsworth's ivied gates, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble—and nothing is as it seems.

Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

©2025 Jenni Howell (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Boys With Sharp Teeth is the kind of book that whispers terrible secrets in your ear late at night. With each page turn, you'll find yourself struggling to catch your breath as grief, revenge, and obsession intertwine like twisting ivy. This is a stunningly lush, utterly compelling, darkly beautiful debut!"—Ginny Myers Sain, New York Times bestselling author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES

“In this beautifully crafted, twisted love story, Howell explores what happens when love doesn’t make you better, but in fact makes you worse. These complicated characters have tangled relationships and thorny secrets that make for a truly stunning tale."—Kamilah Cole, indie bestselling author of SO LET THEM BURN

"Jenni Howell is a talent to watch, and Boys With Sharp Teeth proves it. If you're looking for a devious dark academia book with beautiful prose and shocking twists, you've found it."—Jesse Q. Sutanto, USA Today bestselling author of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Omg the angst!

Whoa. So much angst, but there is a story buried beneath it, although I don’t think this was a vampire story as I’d heard.

oh my gosh

this story ate me alive, I was CAUGHT

the narrator had an excellent voice that fit the main character very well!

Good beginning, Bad ending

the build up has so much angst that I was kept in the hook until the end. But then it ended in a fever dream of bad decisions that now I'm just left feeling confused and depressed. I honestly don't know what I just read.

I’m still somewhat confused

Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Plot: 📖📖📖
Side Characters: 👯‍♂️👯‍♂️👯‍♂️
Pacing: 🏎️🏎️🏎️
Ending: 🎬🎬
MC’s: 👩🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼👫👫
Main Characters:
Marin James (Jamie Vane)
Adrian Hargraves
Henry Wu
Bad Hallward
This book felt like being stuck in mud. Page after page and still no traction. None of it led anywhere. When it finally did, there was so much going on that it was hard to keep up. The FMC was just so unremarkable. She never figured anything out. Everything slapped her in the face and she was shocked each time. She saved zero people. I was engaged and wanted to know what would happen next but I’m still not sure I know exactly what happened. Then that ending…wth??

Huh?

This was the most confusing thing I’ve ever read. What started as a mystery/dark academia became a supernatural Fever dream. And it didn’t make much sense. I’m still scratching my head