The Better to Eat You With
by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Pub Date: Sep 23 2025
read courtesy of netgalley.com

I might have liked this more if the author didn't make the 'monster' as vague and disconnected as it was. The narration relied heavily on the reader trying to figure out, along with the main character, if the monster was real. What didn't help was that the adults saw the scars and the effects of the monster's great claws, but when the monster was finally described, it was a hybrid monster made of many different animals. I then lost my ability to suspend disbelief because the 'monster' the adults were looking for couldn't be found even though there was physical evidence of its existence.

Otherwise... the book sent a positive and realistically described message about eating disorders, their possible origin, the havoc they wreak, and possible ways to get help from others. The characters were well developed, and the story - with the exception of the monster - felt realistic for their ages. However, if the monster had been something that could be experienced by both the adults and the younger characters, I might have bought into the story better.

⭐⭐

N.B. Although this looks like a horror book similar to this author's It Happened to Anna, it is primarily about Evan's eating disorder.

Evan is looking forward to spending the summer at Sonrisa, as her family usually does, but this year is a bit different. Her parents, who have been bickering for the past year, have decided not to rent their cabin, but have at least agreed that Evan can stay with her friend Billie and her parents. The two girls are also friends with Jackson, and hang out with a boy, Tanner, whose family rent's the cabin that Evan's family usually did. Evan is very upset about her parents, and also about her mother's constant admonitions to eat healthily. She follows fitness influencers and wants Evan to hike, do yoga, and run while eating no fat, carbs, gluten, etc. When Evan loses weight, her mother is overjoyed. Evan is relieved that she will be able to eat at Billie's, and at first, she listens to the voice in her head that tells her what her body needs. After she eats some pancakes, however, she panicks, throws them up, and vows to remain true to the strictures her mother has imposed. She eats the almonds out of the trail mix and subsists on berries and cucumbers to the point where she almost passed out while swimming and needs to be rescued by Tanner. The lakeside community seems to have a bear problem, as the children have seen many places that have been viciously clawed by a creature. Evan wants to find out what is going on, but the adults seem unconcerned. After a goose is killed on the beach in a particularly bloody way, the adults tell them to be careful, but in the area where the goose blood was, a batch of sand flies attack Evan and her friends. No explanation can be found, and Tanner's family eventually leaves. Even though she is so weak that it's hard to get out of bed, Evan decides that it is up to the kids to find out what is going on. They go out into the woods at night to investigate, and when Evan insists that they go off the path into the woods, she blacks out. When she wakes up, Jackson has been attacked, needs stitches, and is taken back home by his family. Evan is shaken, and confides in Billie about her mother's orthorexia, and the toll it has taken on her. Billie, who is homeschooled and has had lessons on intuitive, healthy eating, does a great job of helping her friend listen to her body and eat what she needs to fuel it. Of course, they don't bring this matter to the attention of any adults. Evan does well until she realizes that she can't see her clavicle because she's gained weight, and when her mother Moira calls to say that she and the father are separating and Evan will be going back home at the end of the week, Evan returns to eating barely enough to keep her alive. When Moira arrives to pick up Evan, Sue has a frank discussion with all four of them, but Moira is insistent. Evan runs out into a storm and meets the monster that she has seen. Will she be able to come to terms with her hunger, the needs of her body, and her parents' separation while getting the help she needs to become healthy again?
Strengths: There is a great quote (in the E ARC; I will have to check a finished copy) that says "What's the point of listening to your body when you're not in control of what happens to you?" This is the reason behind anorexia-- control. Evan's mother has her own body issues that are not explored, and certainly what she is expecting of Evan is unreasonable. It was realistic that Evan was able to hide her problems from Sue and Billie for quite some time. When Evan confides in her friend, Billie is very helpful and supportive, and when she fears for Evan's health, she does tell her mother even though she promised not to. I really enjoyed the summer at the lake setting; it got Evan's parents out of the picture without killing either of them. The separation scenario is much more common, and propels Evan's situation in a disastrous way. There is an author's note at the end about eating disorders that also discusses how literature generally portrays people who suffer from these without much diversity.
Weaknesses: The cover definitely looks like a horror title, but aside from a few moments, this is not really a scary story. Including internet links to resources at the end of the book would not be a bad idea.
What I really think: There is always a need for books about eating disorders and body positivity, since titles like Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World (1978), Anderson's Wintergirls (2009), Barson's 45 Pounds More or Less (2013), and Letting Ana Go (2014) are constantly going to become dated. While this did have some very good information about eating habits, the inclusion of horror elements might make take hand selling to find the right reader.

I found this book so very well written. It has believable characters with real issues but the mix of the horror elements with the realistic problems muted both genres. Evan is a completely believable character with complex problems and address those problems as you may expect. The reader can relate to her because her worries and fears and flawed reasoning (though completely age-appropriate) are so well described. The secondary characters feel as though the author took time in determining who they were as people not just as something for Evan to interact with. You can feel Evan’s pain as her best friend Billie is maturing in a way that Evan does not relate. The reader is scared for Evan as she comes to terms and tries to deal with her eating disorder and complex family issues driving it.

I want to love this book, but the monster in the woods storyline, while at first enhances the sense of doom, at the end detracts from Evan’s ultimate resolution in asking for help. For the students who are looking for horror this book has wonderful tension building but then falls flat at the end. For kids who are looking for a realistic story that deals with realistic problems, again the resolution to the struggle feels disingenuous. I will definitely read more by this author for her wonderful character building and her amazing writing craft, but I wouldn’t read this book again.