Episode 12.4: ‘Boys With Sharp Teeth’ by Jenni Howell
We’re heading to Huntsworth Academy for this episode of the podcast, and returning to YA, with Jenni Howell’s Boys With Sharp Teeth.
Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. So when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Graves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic, yet dangerous leaders of the school's ecosystem.
Swapping her ragged T-shirts for a crisp prep school uniform, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to exact her revenge. But her quest for vengeance is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and devastating boys who understand her better than anyone ever has.
When Marin uncovers a dark, eerie secret hiding behind Huntsworth's ivied gates, the lines between justice and vengeance, love and hate, and the real and supernatural begin to crumble –and nothing is as it seems.
Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.
Will we finally get a YA novel that we can comfortably call dark academia?
In this episode we discuss:
Our very different feelings about this book…
Does the supernatural elements undermine the dark academia vibes?
An unexpected foray into discussing the ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ movie…
You can listen to it here:
TEXTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘Boys With Sharp Teeth’ by Jenni Howell
‘The Raven Cycle’ by Maggie Stiefvater
‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen
‘The Tempest’ by William Shakespeare
René Descartes
OTHER MEDIA MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘People We Meet On Vacation’ (2026)
‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996)
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