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  • How to Be Eaten

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Maria Adelmann
  • Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
  • Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (9 ratings)

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How to Be Eaten

Written by: Maria Adelmann
Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
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Publisher's Summary

One of NPR's Best Books of the Year: This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma.

In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised fairy tale ending. And Raina's love story will shock them all.

Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other’s stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed . . . What really brought them here? What secrets will they reveal? And is it too late for them to rescue each other?

​Dark, edgy, and wickedly funny, this debut for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, and Kelly Link takes our coziest, most beloved childhood stories, exposes them as anti-feminist nightmares, and transforms them into a new kind of myth for grown-up women.

*Belletrist June Book Club Pick*

Named a Best Book of May by TIME Magazine & Glamour One of NPR’s Best Books of the Year

©2022 Maria Adelmann (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

What the critics say

“Even better than it sounds, How to Be Eaten presents vividly real women haunted by their fairy tale pasts in this deliciously angsty debut. Pure fun pulsing with a dark heart.”—Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch

“In this wildly imaginative and trenchant novel, female characters from mythic fairytales emerge as modern-day heroes capable of reclaiming their lives from the trauma of their past. A deft exploration of trauma, authorship, the power of storytelling, and the healing potential of connection, How To Be Eaten will stun readers page after page, offering an unforgettable, empowering, and above all entertaining tale of reclamation and transformation.”—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group

What listeners say about How to Be Eaten

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Quirky fun

I really enjoyed this title. Great individual stories from all the characters. Give it a try!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not my cup of tea

This book was not my cup of tea. I found it quite difficult to listen to. Bounced around a lot with the characters. Some of the romance parts were done well. Quite imaginative. Didn’t love the storyline overall. I also think the narrator could have done a better job, she didn’t make me feel drawn into the audiobook very much. She was good at more intense parts of the book.

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Great story

This was a fantastic story. Well told and creative loved the characters and the takes from old stories

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