Thank you to Tor Books for sending me a copy of The Book Eaters for review!
Devon Fairweather is a book eater, a member of a secret race of supernatural creatures that consume books and absorb their knowledge. Female book eaters are rare, so Devon grows up as a princess. She eats only fairytales and cautionary stories to prepare her for a future of arranged marriages with other Families. When she gives birth to her son, however, everything changes. Cai is not a book eater but a mind eater who must sustain himself by feeding on brains. Knowing that mind eaters are killed at birth or harnessed as monstrous weapons, Devon flees into the human world with Cai.
Away from the Families, she hunts for Redemption, a drug that will suppress Cai’s cravings. But staying ahead of his hunger and their pursuers is easier said than done. Devon must determine the lengths she’s willing to go to protect her child.
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The Book Eaters is a dark urban fantasy/gothic drama perfect for anyone who ever wanted to completely devour a book. Author Sunyi Dean makes that desire literal. To the Families, spy novels are a quick, peppery snack, while romances are sweet desserts. Children must eat dry, boring dictionary pages as punishment if they misbehave while eating a map allows the eater to memorize the lay of the land in a moment. Dean created a truly unique supernatural creature and society that’s especially impressive for a debut novelist.
I especially enjoyed the book’s narrative structure. The Book Eaters’ chapters alternate between Devon’s past and present. Dean skillfully keeps the readers’ attention on Devon’s immediate circumstances while weaving in her past. This structure also means that world-building never feels forced. We learn about the Families as Devon does, growing up with her and gradually realizing the true horror of her situation.
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Another successful structural aspect was Dean’s use of excerpts at the start of each chapter. Some came from real books like The Princess Bride or The Scarlet Letter, while others were bits of academic research on book eaters that I almost believed were real. Each excerpt added a layer to the novel’s lore; I found myself wondering what these books would taste like, how they would sustain me and what they could foreshadow for the coming chapter.
If you’re a book lover, a fairytale reader or have ever wanted to consume entire books in one sitting; The Book Eaters is perfect for you. It’s a nightmarish yet beautiful story, quietly poetic and utterly unique.
The Book Eaters is available for purchase now from your local, independent bookstore or Bookshop.org.
TW: Body horror, confinement, domestic abuse, forced marriage, gore, graphic violence, misogyny, pregnancy/childbirth, violence against children
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/book-review-a-strange-and-stubborn-endurance/
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