Publishers Weekly
05/03/2021
After high school junior and soccer captain Vivian Ellenshaw’s mother marries the teen’s fatphobic soccer coach, Vivian gets packed off to Camp Featherlite in Arizona—“the world’s fanciest fat camp.” Boarding the camp van, Vivian encounters the driver, a jock named Steve who disagrees with the camp’s ethos but needs the job; preppy Paul, the director’s son, who has his own reasons for attending; and finds that she’ll also be trapped at camp with her ex–best friend Allison. When a raging blizzard overtakes the van, the group encounters strange gray shapes and soon plunges into two nightmarish truths: they can’t trust the camp directors, whose “ ‘miracle cure’ for obesity” sets off warning bells, and zombies have overrun Featherlite. Tonal similarities between the four first-person voices, as well as the rapidly shifting perspectives, make it difficult to distinguish between speakers. DeVos (Fat Girl on a Plane) nevertheless moves the plot forward at breakneck speed, twining strong currents of body affirmation, satirical humor, and horror movie mainstays throughout as the protagonists fight back against corporate fatphobia. Ages 12–up. Agent: Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Madeleine Milburn Ltd. (June)
From the Publisher
*“deVos superbly blends humor and horror in this sharp-witted, high-stakes adventure that unpicks genre conventions and wades fearlessly into the dialogue surrounding fatphobia. A gory, no-holds-barred zombie story that manages to both celebrate and terrify.” —Booklist, starred review
“For fans who want horror with humor and a happy ending, Camp Featherlite might be the place for them.” —BCCB
“Heroic fat representation throughout. A fun romp with edge-of-your-seat twists and turns.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A perfect blend of government conspiracies, relatable characters who develop beyond their initial stereotypes, and zombie-kicking action.” —SLJ
“Equal parts action-packed zombie adventure and searing critique of the toxic diet industry, Eat Your Heart Out is a fun, fast-paced, heart-pounding survival story full of complex characters you can’t help but root for. I couldn’t put it down!” —Meredith Tate, author of Shipped
“Meet your new favorite zombie story: Eat Your Heart Out is packed with nonstop thrills and chills, and a kickass leading lady you'd gladly follow into battle against the undead.” —Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of the Reign of the Fallen series
“A thrilling joyride that delights in upending tropes and stars a girl with a heart of gold (and steel), Eat Your Heart Out is the zombie book you've been waiting for. Equal parts hilarity, mayhem, heartbreak, and biting wit, and filled with memorable characters to root for, this book is the perfect summer read.” —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and You'd Be Home Now
“Eat Your Heart Out is a very humorous and satirical look at body positivity and diet culture…This is a book I would've loved to have when I was a teen…To have an entire book filled with large characters who use the positives of their bodies to their advantage, instead of being bullied and ridiculed is a welcomed breath of fresh air. Representation matters!” —Britney Young, actress from the hit show GLOW
School Library Journal
06/01/2021
Gr 8 Up—When six teens arrive at Camp Featherlite, touted as a fat camp where campers lose weight unusually quickly, in the middle of a fierce Arizona blizzard, they know right away that something isn't right. Allison, who wants to be an actress like her famous—and thin—sister, is quick to assign everyone a horror movie type. Vivian, "the action girl," knows that she doesn't need to lose weight, yet her mother sent her off to fat camp anyway. Paul's ("the jerk") father runs the pharmaceutical company behind the camp and is there to get an inside look. Sheldon ("the nerd") is trying to prove he has real-life skills, and Rachel ("the outcast") just needs time away from home to think. Allison calls herself "the basket case," and pod facilitator Steve is "the jock." The six teens soon find themselves in the midst of a zombie apocalypse and may be humanity's only hope of exposing the camp's secrets—if they can survive the thin zombies trying to eat them. This book successfully combines a zombie story with humor and social commentary on fatphobia without feeling didactic. Chapters alternate from each main character's point of view, giving it a cinematic feel. VERDICT A perfect blend of government conspiracies, relatable characters who develop beyond their initial stereotypes, and zombie-kicking action, this is recommended for all YA collections.—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange P.L., NJ
Kirkus Reviews
2021-04-30
Shaun of the Dead meets The Breakfast Club in this teen horror/comedy.
Soccer star Vivian Ellenshaw likes herself just as she is—too bad her coach, who is also her stepfather and who loves reminding her of calorie counts, doesn’t feel the same. When Vivian begrudgingly boards the van to spend her Christmas break at Camp Featherlite for Overweight Teens, she’s faced with her ex–best friend Allie DuMonde, who’s hoping to rise above the stigma she feels from living in a trailer park by secretly making a movie exposing Featherlite. Things get progressively worse as college jock and farmers’ son Steve Miller proves to be a less-than-skilled van driver (too bad Vivian finds him so cute), and the girls are joined by Paul Fannon, obnoxious son of a CEO; computer geek Sheldon Smentkowski; and Rachel Benedict, a sweet Christian who’s hiding a major secret. Amid a catastrophic snowstorm that is completely unexpected for Flagstaff, Arizona, it’s clear that Featherlite’s new-and-improved nutrition bars are changing their fellow campers into skinny, hungry zombies. Soon it’s the six narrators against the world. DeVos spends a bit too much time inside the heads of her various narrators but gives Vivian and Allie a lot of heart and successfully debunks several obesity epidemic myths. All main characters are assumed White, but there is heroic fat representation throughout.
A fun romp with edge-of-your-seat twists and turns. (Fiction. 12-18)
