This book was amazing! I have never read anything quite like this. Brielle loves cooking, but her mother wants more for her. Her mother is chronically ill and ends up losing her job. Brielle will do whatever she has to do to make sure her mother receives her medication and isn’t in pain. She ends up cooking for a lot of wealthy people and everyone has the question - what is in the food that makes it so good.
I loved the Haitian influence in this book and the Haitian zombie lore. I also loved that this book highlighted problems we have in society, such as racial and socioeconomic inequality. There really was never a dull moment in this book. I highly recommend it! A big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan’s publishing for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC!
I loved the author’s writing and new from the beginning this book had so much potential.
I appreciated the portrayal of wealth and power disparities between cultures. However, this was underwhelming as an alleged horror novel. IMO, while the book was not *bad* it did not meet the expectations set by the title and description.

I loved the premise of this book. It had a lot going for it, and in current times a book title 'The Summer I Ate the Rich' immediately drew me in to want to read. I liked the idea of the story and watching Brielle navigate quite a predicament that she got herself into. I liked her as an FMC, but that is kind of where my enjoyment ended.

I'm not sure if this genre just wasn't for me, but overall I felt like it wasn't really 'scary' or 'horror' in any way. Yes, she was a zombie. Yes it took the meaning of eat the Rich very literally, but I didn't have the sitting on the edge of my seat to see what was going to happen next at all.

I wanted more about the Haitian folklore too. I feel like that was a missed opportunity to really dive deep there and give the reader information to learn and grow. Overall, I think the story had a good premise. I did enjoy it during the read, but I don't think it'll stay with me for long. There was a lot going on at the end that made me, as a reader, loose interest and want to find out what was happening to the characters.

Overall, definitely would recommend reading but I don't see it being good or bad. It was just fine.

I really enjoyed the narration. It was what kept me in the story. Definitely would recommend consuming via audiobook!

This book was not what I was expecting but I still enjoyed it very much! I loved the voice of the author(s), it was a YA novel and it felt like it, but not in a bad way. The Haitian cultural aspects were very interesting! I loved all the foodie stuff too, definitely googled some of the recipes to make in the future. Overall, this was a story about classism, racism, and even big pharma, and I love commentaries on those kinds of things, books with messages about social injustice. The writing was humorous, witty, and smart. I would definitely read another book by these sisters! I would say not to go into this expecting at traditional horror story or you will be disappointed. I went in blind (though it was billed as YA horror) and was pleasantly surprised. There are some (minor spoiler, but maybe not as it is in the book blurb) passages containing cannibalism but nothing overly graphic.

THOUGHTS

Such a unique and engaging voice! This piece feels very timely, touching on immigrant rights, healthcare inequality, and backbreaking labor in the service industry. Oh, and the (literal) impulse to eat the rich. I loved this read!


PROS
Voice Variety: Brielle Petitfour has such a unique narrative voice! She pulled me into her story from the first page. She might not be as expressive, as bubbly and energetic, as other contemporary YA narrators, but that just helped her voice stand out. She is cool, aloof, and calculating in a way I appreciated. Something new and different in the contemporary space!

American Dream: I really liked Brielle reaching for her own dream in this book, a dream that is different from the future her mother envisions. While that's a common theme in YA--reaching for a future your parents don't want for you--Brielle also shoulders the burden of being a first generation American, the daughter of an immigrant who has sacrificed so much to give Brielle a broader future than she would have back in Haiti. Brielle knows what she wants, and she knows that reaching for her dreams might not mean security. She doesn't have the safety net that other teens might have, and there's risk involved with entering this culinary career field--especially because failure won't just be detrimental to herself but also to the family who she feels obligated to send support back to in Haiti.

Upper Echelon: This book really hooked me with Brielle's voice from the start, and I stayed enchanted the deeper and deeper Brielle got into this world of exorbitant wealth. I loved the twisted turns this plot took, highlighted by the absolute apathy of the uber-wealthy. It is disturbing in all the right ways.


CONS
Lost Momentum: As engaging as this book is, I will say that the plot loses a bit of steam about halfway through. Don't get me wrong. I was fully engaged through the whole book, but when I stopped to write some notes at about 3/4 of the book done, it really hit me that... not much had actually happened. Not after Brielle started her internship, anyway. I was so wrapped up in the characters, in Brielle's voice as she told her story, that I didn't really notice the plot meandering, but it still bears mentioning that those looking for plot-forward books might struggle with this one.

Chorus Crisis: If there was one thing I would have wanted more of in this book, it would be Brielle's sisters. Brielle's sisters act as a chorus of sorts, chiming in with bits of backstory, zonbie lore, and a deep dive into character motivations and manipulations. And I wanted to like that, this positioning of these sisters (who Brielle has never met in person) as Muses observing it all, but I'm not sure the execution worked all that well. I loved the idea, but I ended up underwhelmed with the effect on the page. There was a lot of potential. I saw the vision. But it just didn't work for me here.

Made For TV: As much as I enjoyed this peek into the lifestyle of the old-money wealthy, sometimes it felt a bit... stereotypical. Like a made-for-TV drama presenting some fantasy version of high society life. Because you just can't convince me that all this office riffraff goes out after work to do coke in the secret upper lounge of an Asian fusion restaurant. Maybe the top of the top, the highest executives in this company have their speakeasy-style high society gatherings, but so, so many of the company workers? Doesn't seem likely. It feels like made-for-TV drama more than something, you know, real.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10
Fans of Wendy Heard's You Can Trust Me will like diving into a world of wealth and dark twists. Fans of Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé will like following another girl in a space that wasn't quite made for her (a space that isn't so happy to have her).

YA Zombie trope meets Haitian folklore meets social commentary. This book wasn't as scary as hyped, as critical as promised, or as fleshed out as it needed to be. The idea is an intriguing one, but the romance aspect overshadows the horror/social justice messages.

It started out so promising and gruesome and then just kind of jumped the shark? Could’ve been a couple well developed books but I started skimming once they did some unbelievable legal stuff towards the end.

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I did not complete the full book - stopping at 20% in. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this seems a little far off from the summary. I was expecting more zombie action, a little more horror? This just seems more like a thriller overall.

This was fascinating! I loved the premise, the characters, the detailed descriptions of food, and the strong sense of place in the setting of Miami. I learned a lot about Haitian and Haitian American culture and folklore.

I liked the plot, but I found the ending a bit unsatisfying. And the authors spent a little too much time "telling" us about the issues of injustice in the U.S. and in the world instead of "showing" us these things through the story and the characters.

Overall, a quick, fun, informative YA read. I hope Brielle takes over the world.

Typically, I am NOT into zombie content, BUT The Summer I Ate the Rich is anything but stereotypical zombie content, and I found it much more enjoyable because it is so unique. Brielle is a Haitian American who is doing her best to help care for her mother, who is a victim of the American "healthcare" system in the worst way. Brielle is also coming to learn what powers she wields as a zonbi, ultimately using said powers to fight back against the massively broken socioeconomic structures that victimize the majority of people.

This book tackles very real issues, taking the authors' real-life experiences with their mother's illness as inspiration. I also found the background of the Haitian zonbi lore to be interesting, as it isn't something I had been familiar with. The chapters with Brielle's sisters, the Muses, were a fun addition, as well.

Small criticisms: I do wish the pacing had balanced out a bit more. There is a lot of detail, and it does sometimes feel smothering. There are a few points that easily could have been pared down or eliminated altogether to make for a more concise structure, not to mention a few things that just added bulk without any real contribution to plot development.

Overall, I would recommend this one if you're looking for a quirky read. This may also work well if you prefer minimal gore, as it's definitely on the tame sode in those areas. While this book does play on very real issues surrounding race, economic status, healthcare, and the opioid crisis, it does it in a way that doesn't feel bleak or preachy. And maybe that's exactly what we need right now.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and authors Maika & Maritza Moulite for this complimentary copy.))

Thank you to the authors, publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this book was really good!!! I can't lie I was rooting for the main character and her revenge. HA. I liked that the authors tied into the book informatioin about their culture. I wanted the main character to win.

I was immediately intrigued by this book cuz that title is an attention grabber! And I also loved that this is a zombie story from a Haitian perspective because the lore was appropriated from Haitian fears. The execution of the story of Brielle is incredible and even while I frequently wanted to scream at her to stop making some of the choices she went with, she was still doing her best in the circumstances she found herself in. Probably my favorite element of this book was her sisters’ interludes; they’re called the Muses and the cast element performing their parts of the story just elevated the audio experience. This was such a great story delving into so many different topics, I found it hard to put down or stop thinking about it!

This one felt stretched a little bit too thin. I loved all the pieces - Haitian zombie lore combined with American zombie lore, socioeconomic inequality + analysis of privilege, critique of the American healthcare system + bonus points for challenging the for-profit pharmaceutical industry, the amazing food descriptions, a divided family with some very unique challenges, and a little bit of unwitting cannibalism - but there were so many interesting topics that I felt we didn’t get enough time with them to see the nuance. Especially at the end, there was such a dramatic tonal shift before the conclusion that I thought my audiobook glitched and skipped a chapter. I kept waiting for a bait-and-switch similar to what we got in One of the Good Ones that the much more straightforward plot we got here was a bit of a letdown.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Unfortunately this one wasn't for me, it wasn't what I was expecting/looking for. I liked the premise, but expected more zombies etc

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. This book was not what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Brielle dreams of being a chef, but her mom is ill and she loses her job so Brielle uses her cooking skills to cook for the rich, they love her food, but their not ready to find out the secret ingredient in her food is human flesh.

3.5 stars

I enjoy these two, so I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this newest effort. The zombie lore is a real treat, though there are other elements that did not come together as nicely for me as in previous reads by the same duo.

Brielle is all the way over it. She has hopes and dreams but lacks the means through which to achieve them, and there are some particularly unusual aspects of her identity that make her upward mobility seem even less likely. She also has a mother who is overwhelmed by medical situations and constant, related reminders, and she has a healthy level of spite for those, well, who mostly deserve it. When she comes up with a payback plan, it's a good one.

The zombie aspect of this is as fun as I'd hoped. Less fun? For me, there are challenges with the pacing, the character growth, and the unusual plot points (and I'm actually not including the zombie part here - that, to me, seemed totally reasonable. Some of the relationships and outcomes, though? Hmmm). This is still a fascinating concept and a read I'll recommend based on how successful that part is.

I'm looking forward to more from these authors.

I thought this book had a very strong premise. I've been fascinated by "sentient" zombies since iZombie and Brielle is a charming protagonist for the genre. The themes of privilege and oppression run deep through this book, and in those moments the writing shines as you can tell how deeply felt these issues are for the author. That being said, there are some parts that just do not mesh well as part of the larger narrative. Brielle takes body parts from corpses at her friends family funeral home and no one notices? Not just bits of skin or hair, but entire fingers. And she doesn't stop to think about the consequences for Marcello's family if this is ever discovered. And to my understanding, she ground all the parts into dust, so how did the tooth show up? And what will prevent it from happening again as she embarks on her plans for the future? Preston and Brielle's relationship was cute, but the ending feels very rushed and I don't really understand why their marriage was necessary to the plan. If it's about money or access, Brielle can maintain those things as his girlfriend without being his wife. I also thought Brielle's inability to express her emotions would come into play more particularly with how black people are typically seen as standoffish if we do not display "appropriate" enthusiasm as compared to our white peers. But it is only mentioned in passing throughout the book. That being said, overall I think the book brings up important topics and I'm glad it was written.

I will admit that my review may be influenced by what I expected this book to be. Based on the premise, I anticipated Brielle’s zonbi / zombie nature to have a greater influence on actively “eating the rich”. However, this influence showed up in a much different way in this novel on Brielle’s selected victims. While there were many aspects that I enjoyed about “The Summer I Ate the Rich”, there were a few areas in which this read fell flat for me. Primarily, almost every conflict resolution felt very rushed and most were not satisfying - particularly the one centered around Franki. Again, based on the title and the premise, I expected more of a horror element and more consumption of rich people. Now, time for what I enjoyed. The folklore aspect and the casting of Brielle’s sisters as the Muses were intriguing, although I would’ve liked to see a bit more explaining about zonbis and how they’re made, as well as Brielle’s method to influencing people with her intentions. The discussion of how the fabulously wealthy may elect to squander their riches and success rather than providing aid to those truly in need in this novel is well-placed, drives the story appropriately, and unfortunately highlights the struggles that may people face across the world. This will make a great addition to YA options, it just fell a little flat for me.

Brielle is doing everything she can to succeed. The world is stacked against her, however. She dreams of cooking. That is the career path that makes her happy, and when she kicks off a supper club popup with her best friend, she makes some eager customers. She’s got a job in a restaurant, and if she can get her idea off the ground, she might just make it. However, there are financial hurtles, prejudices, familial expectations … and a Haitian curse to overcome.

That last one is the most important, it would seem. Brielle is a zombi, though not one of the shambling ghouls that caught the American attention through films by George A. Romero and later imitators. Hers is a curse of servitude, a connection to land and people, and hunger.

Brielle’s mother is an immigrant from Haiti, whose husband has passed. Mummy has chronic pain and little ability to pay for the expensive medications. Her pain medication dispensing pump’s monitor often starts chiming away when it runs out of medicine to distribute. She takes care of an older, wealthy white man whose family can’t be bothered. She is estranged from the daughters she had with her first husband, a bokor named Franki, and she misses them dearly. She keeps pushing her daughter to go into a respectable business, to be a respectable American woman … but that’s not what Brielle wants. A clash is imminent.

Brielle’s opportunity to make a difference comes in the form of a new phone on Mummy’s employer’s plan. Through it, Brielle gets some text messages intended for one of Mummy’s employer’s billionaire sons, Silas Banks. In a moment of puckish anarchy, she responds to these messages, agreeing to multimillion dollar donations to worthy causes in Banks’ name. The charities are over the moon, and when they ask about Banks’ change of heart, Brielle replies, “I’m feeling generous.”

Of course she is found out. But instead of prosecuting her, Banks offers her an internship. It’s a way to make more money than she ever has, a way to get her mom on insurance coverage, and a way to see how the other half lives. Sadly, it’s also a way for Banks to have slow, ugly revenge through passive-aggressive manager Ainsley. Instead of getting invited to sit at the table with other interns, she is the gopher, going for coffee, getting tasked with jobs in the middle of the night due in the morning, and otherwise used and abused.

This all changes when Brielle catches the attention of Silas Banks’ son Preston. He’s the billionaire scion who has everything he could ever want, is privileged out the wazoo, but he takes a fancy to her. Is it all part of some long-term shame plan? Is he the key to everlasting happiness? Well, all that depends on whether Brielle’s fate leans more toward dark fantasy or romance. Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite pen a moving look at a young woman battling prejudices and curses to have her happily ever after with The Summer I Ate the Rich.

Not gonna lie. I’m conflicted about this one. The back cover copy suggests this will be a smart and fierce horror novel that explores socioeconomic and racial inequality that is the foundation of our times. Only about half of that is true. The socioeconomic and racial inequality side of things fuels a good portion of the story here. Folks who use the word “woke” as a pejorative will pretty much find that part horrifying to their sensibilities and ideologies. The rest of us, who are looking for a smart horror novel with no shortage of biting social satire will … be utterly baffled. The satiric edge is there. The Moulites have assembled the materials for a pretty great story about the hardships faced by immigrant families and first-generation American citizens. There are big feelings that work: dread, hope, affection, uncertainty, love. It’s a provocative story about despairs and triumphs, a YA spin on the sorts of material found in a book like Kelly Yang’s middle grade novel Front Desk.

Sadly, the supernatural elements are the least developed parts of the book, winding up the least interesting aspects and ultimately unimportant to the story itself. There is a perfectly serviceable narrative of a young woman trying to overcome prejudice, trying to make a difference, and taking the opportunity to do so (while exploring big feelings along the way). The supernatural angle shows up in the plot often as a convenience for the character (she gets a bit of control over people via her uncanny powers and unsavory recipes) and for the authors (the hunger side can provide some wonderful setbacks and trouble). But if it was completely stripped out, the essential story would not change.

And while the story is billed as a horror novel, it really is not. There are some dark moments along Brielle’s journey. However, they are ultimately overturned and the power of the right relationships. There’s a grossout in the opening chapter and a warning that more will follow … but instead of going that route, we are given a story about inequity and prejudice, some of which is infuriating as hell, but never quite fear inducing. We have zero doubts that Brielle will succeed, and the stakes are never that dear.

And for a novel with a title like The Summer I Ate the Rich, there is a distinct lack of rich people being eaten on the page. Instead, Brielle is more often feeding their appetites, and she is ultimately poised with the question of becoming what she despises (a wealthy person) or staying true to the path society has put her upon. So, anyone coming to this book looking for a fierce supernatural work with actual feats of cannibalism, well hate to tell you that the book will be a disappointment. It’s nothing like what the publisher is trying to sell it as. I can’t help but count myself among the dissatisfied readers who expected a novel that dove into the deep end and instead found the horrors to be shallow fare indeed.

That said, the Moulites have penned a wonderfully engaging contemporary story about one woman struggling against overwhelming odds to find her dreams. Fans of romance with occasional dark edges (and a macabre sense of humor) will find plenty to enjoy with Brielle and the characters she interacts with.

I honestly only read about 40% of this book. Not enough zombies and not enough actually eating the rich. I admit this is likely my fault for expecting this to be a different book than it actually was. It sounded like it would be a fun zombie horror about a Haitian American teen but it feels much more contemporary and her being a zombie barely affects the plot. If that was removed from the story, it would honestly make very little difference. I think teens might still like it because the main character reads very much like a real teen girl to me. But it just didn’t work for me and I found that I didn’t care one bit about what was happening in the story.