Reviews with content warning for Gore - Eat Your Heart Out

I was not expecting this book to be like this. The last and only zombie book I’ve ever read was more or less a comedy and the title gave away that they all (or close enough to all) survive (Girls Save the World in This One). But this one has me questioning who would live and die up until the very last pages of the story, despite the character archetypes and odds of survival listed at the beginning. The concept was stellar and I’ve never seen anything like it*, but now I know that zombie books are something I need to hold out on. 5⭐️

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librarymouse's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really enjoyed Eat Your Heart Out. It has profound character growth and insight into how different people react in traumatic situations for the main group, and it's a really engaging read. Kelly DeVos has a wonderful skill for describe setting in a way that draws the reader into the story. I think the concept behind how the zombies are made and develop is really interesting and unique to this story.
I'm not giving Eat Your Heart Out a 5 star review partially because of how it uses the classic horror tropes, though the usage and breaking of these tropes is also one of my favorite parts of the book. I didn't like that

one of Vivian's first thoughts after Allison's death was to kiss Steve

It's 100% a trope used in slasher fiction all other time, but it's one of my least favorite tropes. The body positivity aspects of this book were also really well done. There was a strong message that thin doesn't equal healthy or strong without making the book didactic.

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missbreathing's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I gave this 4/5⭐️. Some thoughts:
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The book opens with a thoughtful author’s note stating that the book contains satire and sensitive topics, which I really appreciated. The satire is wonderfully done, as is the commentary on fatphobia. The themes that the world sees fat people as disposable and that we live in a world where folks would do anything to be thin are well-developed.
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This book follows a lot of slasher genre conventions, making it as fun as it is meaningful. It’s laugh-out-loud funny at times, very serious at others. It’s a fast-paced read, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. There are high stakes and irreversible consequences.
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However, after a wonderfully paced beginning and middle, the ending feels rushed and even unclear. Some of the character arcs felt unfinished.
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Still, this is a great YA book. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it, especially to fans of horror and slasher films.

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valpyre's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

[audiobook]

i enjoyed this a lot, and i was surprised at the amount of depth it managed to pack in 10 hours. it was pretty fast-paced, which i didn't mind at the start -- i appreciated that it got into the action/central plot almost right away, and that we didn't have to suffer through the actual camp program shit. the horror movie archetypes also set the structure for the group pretty well, though i got a little tired of it by the end of the book. i also really appreciate that

the cause/biology of the zombies was explored as well. it was really interesting to consider what happens to these people after they turn? are they lost forever?

. the ending was bittersweet, but not unsurprising. i think deVos did exactly what she set out to do with this book.

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kstericker's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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colleensreadingadventures's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love love love seeing big girls on book covers! It makes my heart happy to see that the standard mold of what a perfect book cover model should look like is being restructured. The publishing industry has come a long way in representation of race, sexual orientation, mental health, and body positivity. I’m not saying that the book world is perfect, but I see that strides are being taken to change the old structure. So when I do see a book like Eat Your Heart Out with a plus sized chic on the cover I just have to give it a try. And let’s not forget the zombie on the cover. That’s a bonus! ⁣⁣😊
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Vivian (Vee) , Allie, Steve, Rachel, Sheldon, and Paul are all staying in the same pod at Featherlite Camp, a rich kids weight loss camp for the next two weeks, all for different reasons. Some are there (willing or unwilling) to lose weight, some are there for hidden agendas and one is there just to earn some much needed cash.⁣⁣
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On the very first day camp is already turning into a disaster. Flagstaff is being hit with its worst blizzard in history, a camper seems to have gone missing, the power is down and the generator can only supply power for the next 24 hours. To make matters worse the campers spot something in the snow that can not possibly be human.⁣⁣
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After doing some investigating the group finds that Featherlite is not all what it claims to be and there are secrets the founders want to keep hidden. One of them being their claim to a 'miracle cure' for obesity. The other is the existence of “zombies”. The zombie secret is out of the bag when Featherlite is overrun with these hungry crazed creatures. No camper is safe and not all of them will make it out alive.⁣⁣
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Eat Your Heart Out turned out very different than what I had anticipated. I was expecting a fun with a side of serious type of read, but this really wasn’t that kind of book. I mean I knew zombies were probably going to eat some people, but I expected a little more comedic action when being compared to Shaun of the Dead. Also seeing the fierce looking curvy girl beating up the zombie on the cover gave me humorous vibes. But this was definitely more serious with a sprinkling of humor. It tackled some serious issues. One of them being body positivity, which I always love, kudos to Kelly deVos. ⁣⁣👏👏
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The story itself is face-paced and told through each of the major players' perspectives. Each character has been given a persona type that fits their personalities. Vee is Action Girl, Rachel is The Outcast, Paul is the Jerk, Steve Alternates between The Jock With The Heart Of Gold and The Courageous Captain, Sheldon is The Nerd, and Allie is The Basket Case.⁣⁣
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Pretty much from the moment the campers get picked up there was enough going on to hold my attention. But I feel like maybe there was too much going on or too much flip flopping of the POV’s to really get invested in them. I really didn’t feel a connection to anyone.⁣⁣
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Also while there was a lot going on there wasn’t really enough zombie action for me. Most of the time it was more like entertaining the idea of zombies, if that makes sense. It was more towards the end when all hell broke loose.⁣⁣
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There was also ALOT of F-bombing. I’m perfectly OK with that, it doesn’t really bother me (I myself can have quite the potty mouth 🤭), unless it’s over the top and if it fits the story. But I’m just surprised because this is a YA book.⁣⁣
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While this wasn’t a favorite for me, it was still worth the read. Some of the issues I felt were addressed are quite important for young readers especially. Just know going in, this a lot more melancholy than comedy.⁣⁣
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Thank You PenguinTeen for this gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.⁣

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