The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia - ADVISABLE

The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia, 242 pages. Delacorte (Random House), 2025. $18

Language: G (1 swears, 0  ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (some danger, dead animals)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SOME

12yo Evan is looking forward to a summer away from her bickering parents and hanging out with her best summer friends Billie and Jackson at the summer cabins they always rent. Evan’s mother has been harping on her for the last 9 months about “healthy” eating habits, which sound like “don’t eat anything tasty” to Evan.  But everyone around the lake is worried about sightings of a monster around the lake.

While Mejia has a supernatural and slightly spooky element to her story (the cover screams monster book), her core story is about Evan,  her anorexia, and Billie desperately trying to help her. Add this to Alyson Gerber’s Taking Up Space and Schu’s Louder Than Hunger ) among other great books about eating disorders. I am a little worried that kids picking it up for the cover will be disappointed that the content isn’t as spooky as they were hoping.

The characters are white.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS