The Book Eaters

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.

Description

“I devoured this.”―V. E. Schwab, NYT bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue

“Dean’s unputdownable debut gives the phrase “voracious reader” a new, very literal meaning … The fascinating magic system, impeccable and unusual worldbuilding, and well-shaded characters will keep readers riveted through every twist of this wild ride.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Raw and imaginative, this gritty, gothic anti-fairytale knows the truth: love will make a villain out of anyone.”―Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

“Innovative, unique, poignant, and told with a voice as original as the story itself. I finished this novel in that one sitting, yet I’ll be pondering it for a long time to come. This is the debut of a new master of the modern fantasy. Don’t miss it.” ―James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Starless Crown

“This beautiful, delicate, cruel, utterly unique look at tradition, motherhood, trauma, and what it means to be a monster would be a masterpiece from an established author. As a debut, it is nothing short of stunning. It kept surprising me all the way to the end.”―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart A Doorway

“A poignant, richly imagined tale about family, betrayal and the price of loyalty, Dean’s spellbinding debut about six old families subsisting on a diet of stories and legends is an irresistible slice of dark fantasy.” ―Watersones Bookstore