Maren is a sixteen-year-old girl. And she’s an eater. Has been since her babysitter ended up all over her little OshKosh overalls. A fairly gruesome scene that starts off this book!
This story felt like YA book version of the movie "Raw", but much less graphic. And exciting. I was bored with the road trips. And the Travis character was very weak, unbelievably so. I felt like the story began with such potential, but then just withered away into a travel/romance story.

But my biggest issue with it all was the question that kept popping up for me - HOW did the eaters eat that much, that fast? It obviously is a fictional story, but physically, even these characters simply could not do what they were doing. So are the eaters endowed with magical stomachs and teeth and jaws that open and close faster than anything else ever? I can eat a lot, but doubt that I could eat more than a pound or two of boneless food in seven minutes. So, HOW do they do it? That bothered me - a lot! ( )

Finally I finished this one. I was really into it, and then suddenly I wasn't into it. I thought it wasn't YA (not that I have anything against YA, I just want to know when I'm reading it), then it sort of seemed like YA, but it's not listed as YA, so I'm confused about that. And it seemed to get really interesting just at the end; I wanted more of the girl on the last page than I did of the girl in the rest of the book. ( )

The protagonist eats people alive, but so circumspectly that it's hard to know whether that person just got eaten or whether instead he/she just decided to leave the room. No screams, no struggles, no anything except the narrator saying something after it's over that's as horrifying as: "Reader, I did the deed." The narrator may or may not notice a bit of a stale aftertaste in her mouth and/or blood under her nails. It makes for an oddly lovely conflict between story and style, one that continuously delighted me for its unexpectedness. It's the most circumspect cannibal story you will ever read--and I loved it. ( )

The protagonist eats people alive, but so circumspectly that it's hard to know whether that person just got eaten or whether instead he/she just decided to leave the room. No screams, no struggles, no anything except the narrator saying something after it's over that's as horrifying as: "Reader, I did the deed." The narrator may or may not notice a bit of a stale aftertaste in her mouth and/or blood under her nails. It makes for an oddly lovely conflict between story and style, one that continuously delighted me for its unexpectedness. It's the most circumspect cannibal story you will ever read--and I loved it. ( )

3.25 Twisted, strange, macabre and ...well...different than anything I have read. While I appreciate the freshness of the material, it still suffered from a bit of a dragging pace and an ending that could have been satisfactory had it not forced itself so hard. This was almost a four star. I still recommend it for a creepy October read.

What I liked:

The character of Maren was sympathetic. She was one you still felt somewhat endeared to despite the fact that she was, for lack of a better term, a cannibalistic monster who consumes any boy that takes a remote interest in her.

The Meh:

I liked some of the peripheral characters, although I find the loose ends tied to quickly with some of these characters and a bit too loosely. It seemed as if problem characters were dealt with quickly and easily if not ignored altogether.

Disliked: The ending. The book dragged in areas and in others it seemed to be quickly tied up and tossed aside. Then ending (the bit after the big 'twist') was one area that could have used a tiny bit more exposition. I would have gladly read an additional 50-100 pages of this book in order to allow for better pacing. ( )