The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia

e-ALC, 05:18:55
Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
Release Date: September 23, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: September 27, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a free ALC from the publisher and their app. I also received a physical ARC from the ALA conference. This did nothing to influence my review)
Content Warning: Eating Disorder (Anorexia) 
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Fantasy, Holy Crap, Horror, Sparkly Covers, Middle Grade, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity

      From award-winning author Tehlor Kay Mejia comes a spine-tingling tale of transformation, mystery, and the monsters we face—inside and out.
     What big teeth…
     For twelve-year-old Evan, summertime has always meant carefree days with her family and unlimited time with her best friend, Billie. This year, with her parents on the brink of divorce, she’s staying at Billie’s summer cabin. But Billie only seems to care about crushes these days, and to make matters worse, Evan’s mom’s health obsession has climbed to new heights. The more Evan tries to appease her mom and control her hunger, the sharper it seems to get, until it threatens to drag her under.
     As Evan tries to cling to the good things in her life, a sinister presence in the woods begins to stir. Kids are scared, and adults think everyone should go home. Determined to stay, Evan starts hunting for the creature and begins to wonder—is it just her imagination, or is the monster inside her?

*MY THOUGHTS*

I just KNEW this was going to be about something completely different than what it was actually about. Some elements of what I thought were there, but there was also a completely different component too that I had to stop and sit with.

Ok so the creep factor didn’t really hit for me. I know this is listed as horror in some places, but it didn’t really land for me. You know almost immediately who or what the monster is and why its happening. It was scary, but not in the way you think. But even still, I think the writing style was good enough to give off some creepy ass vibes.

I swear I say this with almost every single MG book I read. Why are the adults always such assholes? I swear to all things h0ly if I was able to see the mom in person, I think I would have beat her ass. Its one thing to do this to yourself, but a whole different thing to do it to your kids. I HATE that she put this in her head. I was so sad I was crying. This is a super heavy book and my momma heart was hurting for a long time after this. Even writing it now gives me all the feels again.

This is the most emotional book by Mejia that I’ve read. But I think it’s also my favorite. (Besides her debut YA. ) I really hope she has more to come out. I was pleasantly surprised by this one and I hope she has more like this to follow it.

Overall, I give this