Set in modern day UK, The Book Eaters is a dark and fantastical story about a family who literally consume books for sustenance and the lengths one woman will go to in order to protect her son, perfect for fans of Library at Mount Char, Vicious, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January.
The Family, one of the oldest lineages of Book Eaters, have everything they need: wealth, extra-human strength, and an endless supply of fairytales to feed their daughters.
Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.
Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairytales and cautionary stories.
But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.
THE BOOK EATERS is a contemporary fantasy debut. It's a story of motherhood, sacrifice, and hope; of queer identity and learning to accept who you are; of gilded lies and the danger of believing the narratives others create for you.
Topics Books and reading. Mothers and sons. LGBTQ. Northern England. Great Britain. Clans. Control (psychology). Food. Gender roles. Hunger. Motherhood.
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Trim Size 9 1/2" x 6 1/4"
JLG Span Fall
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2022-08-01
JLG Release Date Oct 2022
Minimum grade 11
Maximum grade 12
Reading level High
Format Print
Adult Crossover Thrillers Plus (Grades 11 & Up)
Adult Crossover Thrillers Plus
Adult Crossover Thrillers Plus (Grades 11 & Up)
For Grades 11 & Up
This 14-book category includes suspenseful fiction and nonfiction for high school readers who are ready for adult reading. *Take note: these selections often contain mature situations and language that could be considered controversial.