Okay, so I really don't know how I felt about this book.... It was weird. And creepy. And I can't believe anyone made a movie of it, but apparently they have...
You see, it's about cannibalism - never an easy topic to tackle.
Maren has a problem with people liking her. When they do, she tends to eat them. It's been happening since she was a toddler and her babysitter got too close. Since then, there have been others. Her mother doesn't love it, but will do whatever she can to protect Maren, so after each "incident" they pack up and move elsewhere, start afresh.
Until Maren is 16 and wakes up one day to find her mother gone,
Certain her father will have some answers for her, Maren sets off to find him, even though she's never met him. On the journey she discovers a lot about herself and the world around her, most importantly, that she is not alone in her need to devour the people she cares about. But as she discovers more about the world and her place in it, can she learn to accept herself?
I found this book odd from start to finish. I'm sure the cannibalism was supposed to be symbolic of something, but I never quite grasped what and that frustrated me. Each of the "eaters" she come across seems to have a different reason or way of eating people so there was no consistency.
And my logical brain couldn't accept that people could just vanish off the face of the earth without questions being asked. I mean, not all the people who got eaten in the story were unattached drifters who wouldn't be missed... And is it possible for a human to eat another human without leaving even a trace of DNA lying around somewhere? I don't think so! And how does the human jaw manage bones the size of a thighbone or pelvis?
Yet there was something oddly compelling about the book which made me finish it even though I had a lot of reservations.
So I'm not sure if I should recommend it or not! Maybe? Maybe not?
Don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:
Maren Yearly doesn’t just break hearts, she devours them.
Since she was a baby, Maren has had what you might call "an issue" with affection. Anytime someone cares for her too much, she can’t seem to stop herself from eating them. Abandoned by her mother at the age of 16, Maren goes looking for the father she has never known, but finds more than she bargained for along the way.
Faced with love, fellow eaters, and enemies for the first time in her life, Maren realizes she isn’t just looking for her father, she is looking for herself. The real question is, will she like the girl she finds?
That does seem weird and creepy, which I usually like.
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