All my closest friends know how much I love zombie apocalypse themed books. There are very few of them out there and out of those good ones, even fewer are YA and none are like this book. In this book, a group of teenagers who dread being at weight loss camp realize the summer will be much worse due to a zombie apocalypse having taken hold.

The story follows Vee, a teenager who has been forced to go to weight loss camp by her parents. Vee happens to be someone who is proud of herself the way she is and doesn’t believe there is anything in her that needs to be “fixed” by camp. To make matters worse, her ex best friend Allie is at camp too.

Almost immediately after, the small group realizes that they each fit the archetype/trope in every horror movie ever. There’s The Jerk, who’s the camp owner’s son, The Nerd who is obviously incredibly smart and knows all about electronics, etc, The Outcast Girl who’s keeping a big secret, and more.

Although the setting of this book does take place in the centre of a zombie apocalypse, the underlying thing the book was fighting against was fatphobia and how the society we live in forces people to believe, like they do, that there is something wrong with them when there’s no such thing.

I loved the cover of this book and the synopsis instantly had me intrigued. The author does an incredibly job of confronting the fatphobia and diet culture issues, and at the same time combining them with a zombie apocalypse and humor. Each character was incredibly different than the other and I loved that.

I just wish that we’d gotten to know the characters a bit more as a lot of the things we find out about them are pretty surface level and delving a bit deeper would’ve helped but otherwise, it’s a definite recommend!

I've never read a zombie book but the premise of this one was too appealing to let it go and Eat Your Heart Out does not disappoint! Really loved the criticism of diet culture explored through the main character. The action was engaging too. I had a bit of trouble distinguishing the different voices at times, but overall an enjoyable read.

This BOOK! It beautifully blended together the heavier topics of fatphobia and dieting with the humor of zombie fighting. All my zombie-hunter friends need to read this one!

Lemme just start with the amazing humor in this book. It is satirical and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious. I feel like this is the humor for the Gen-Z people out there. At first, I was nervous the humor wouldn't allow for some tough conversations and for the "real message" to bleed through, but that wasn't true. I think it actually opened up the book to these conversations. We see a lot of the satirical humor revolve around body image and being fat in general so, naturally, that's also where the tough conversations were led.

To go along with this, the book was so well balanced. The humor, the pacing, the adventure, all of it was very well balanced. Just as I mentioned before, the satirical humor was well-balanced with the hard conversations. Also, the adventure and heart-pounding action were well-balanced with the moments of reprieve. deVos just knew how to write this book!

I would have liked a deeper dive into who most of the characters really were, but we were seeing them in one very specific environment. I guess I just had to take what I could get from a zombie apocalypse. However, I did enjoy getting to know the characters from the nuggets we were given.

Overall, I'm so happy I decided to read this book. It had grade-A humor and made me want to binge every zombie movie in my collection. We need more fat zombie hunters in this world!!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Vivian Ellenshaw is the captain of her school soccer team, an amazing fundraiser, and a mathlete—she’s also a self-described “girl in plus-sized pants.” After her thin, perfectionist mother marries the school’s gym coach, Viv is shipped off to Camp Featherlite, a glorified fat camp for rich kids (“The governor sent his own daughter last spring,” her mother says), despite her vocal opposition to diet culture and fatphobia. But there’s something really strange going on at Camp Featherlite. On their bus ride there, a gray, shrouded figure darts out of the woods and causes the bus to crash, a blizzard later knocks out the camp’s power, and the lead doctor is nowhere to be found. On top of it all, they’re being urged to eat an experimental neon green energy bar called “Metabolize-A.” What follows is a rollicking, fast-paced thriller that scrutinizes America’s obsession with thinness, its multibillion-dollar diet culture, and the lengths people are willing to go to attain an “ideal” body.

This book was so fun! It has a great cast of characters and a fast-paced adventurous plotline. I am pretty sure this was the first book I ever read that had zombies in it and it was intense. I thought the concept was well developed and scarily realistic in some ways.

Society has put us all under a spotlight when it comes to weight and if you search for weight loss programs you will find way too many to count. Why not use that to some sick scientists advantage by creating something as simple as a weight loss bar to experiment on unsuspected individuals. Now those individuals are zombies running all over the camp.

I can guarantee you will not want to put this one down once you start it. The audiobook is great too with a whole cast of characters to make your experience even more enjoyable! I definitely recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Eat Your Heart Out

Author: Kelly deVos

Book Series: Standalone for now

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: horror, young adults, zombies

Genre: YA Horror

Publication Date: June 29, 2021

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 352

Recommended Age: 14+ (Fat phobia and fat remarks, Language, Teen pregnancy, Weight discussed, Violence, Gore, Death)

Explanation of CWs: Fatphobic remarks made by a main character to another main character and remarks remembered by a stepfather. Some cursing. A main character experiences teen pregnancy and birth. Weight is discussed, so please be safe if that's a trigger.

Synopsis: In the next few hours, one of three things will happen.

1--We'll be rescued (unlikely)

2--We'll freeze to death (maybe)

3--We'll be eaten by thin and athletic zombies (odds: excellent)

Vivian Ellenshaw is fat, but she knows she doesn't need to lose weight, so she's none too happy to find herself forced into a weight-loss camp's van with her ex-best friend, Allie, a meathead jock who can barely drive, and the camp owner's snobby son. And when they arrive at Camp Featherlite at the start of the worst blizzard in the history of Flagstaff, Arizona, it's clear that something isn't right.

Vee barely has a chance to meet the other members of her pod, all who seem as unhappy to be at Featherlite as she does, when a camper goes missing down by the lake. Then she spots something horrifying outside in the snow. Something...that isn't human. Plus, the camp's supposed "miracle cure" for obesity just seems fishy, and Vee and her fellow campers know they don't need to be cured. Of anything.

Even worse, it's not long before Camp Featherlite's luxurious bungalows are totally overrun with zombies. What starts out as a mission to unravel the camp's secrets turns into a desperate fight for survival--and not all of the Featherlite campers will make it out alive.

Review: I really loved this book! I felt very connected with Vivian because we're both fat females and I loved how badass she was and how well developed she became. I loved the horror inspo of this book and I loved the writing. I also loved the way the book used multiple POVs.

However, I do feel like that the book left a lot of room for a second book and I BETTER GET ONE BECAUSE I REFUSE TO BELIEVE that two characters who I can't name ARE DEAD. RULE NUMBER 3 OF THE HORROR FILMS: IF THEY DO NOT APPEAR DEAD AND DISMEMBERED IN ONE SHOT THEN THEY AIN'T DEAD. NOT DEAD! Need book 2. On a serious note I also thought the world building could have been better and the multiple povs, while great, was confusing a lot of the time. There also was some body positive messages in the beginning and a little at the end, but for the most part it was non-existent in the middle.

Verdict: It was great!

Eat Your Heart Out is a multi-perspective book that follows a group of characters that have been sent to a weight-loss camp. When they get to Featherlite Camp, they spot something strange out in the snow, some sort of creature, and people have gone missing. They quickly discover that the camp's cure for obesity has a small, unwanted side-effect. It turns people into zombies.

I can't describe how excited I was to get a copy of this book. The premise is fantastic; it's the horror story I've always wanted. The book lived up to my expectations too! It was fast-paced, exciting, fun, and genuinely scary in parts. I loved the camp setting, it reminded so much of a movie. The cast are so desperate to survive, and the stakes are always so high. If you love zombie movies or books, I think you'll have a great time with this one.

What sets Eat Your Heart Out apart from other zombie books is how fat positive it is. Not every character here has a positive relationship with their body or weight. I really appreciate Vivian, one of the main characters. She's fat, and she's totally happy about it. She's shown as desirable, confident, and competent. It's exactly the fat representation I love to see.

This book also had a heavy focus on character archetypes in horror movies. Vivian's ex-best friend, Allie, is a total horror movie nerd, and she's quick to label everyone with their archetype and how likely they are to survive. It was so fun to watch the characters interact with the stereotypes associated with their archetype. It added a fun new level to it where they were all aware of their potential destiny.

If you need a fast-paced, fun, zombie book with a splash of fat positive characters, this is the story for you.

I'm now realising I've never actually read a book about zombies so this was a fun first for me. I really came to like the characters and their different dynamics. I especially liked how the typical character archetypes came into play throughout the story.
My issues with this book lay in the romance. Vivian and Steve kissed out of nowhere and then Steve's all like "I'm going to save my girl" while I was just there thinking "where the hell did this come from". Also while I liked the fact this is told from multiple perspectives it did get confusing because I'd forget whose head I was reading from.

Oh my gosh - Kelly deVos's new YA novel, Eat Your Heart Out, was so much fun to read!!

I think this description from Razorbill is perfect - and it's what had me so eager to pick up Eat Your Heart Out... "Shaun of the Dead meets Dumplin' in this bitingly funny YA thriller about a kickass group of teens battling a ravenous group of zombies."

There are six teens and and a leader in Vee's pod at Camp Featherlite for Overweight Teens. One of the other members is a aspiring film maker and she mentally slots everyone into a role - you know, The Outcast, The Jerk, The Nerd and more. This cemented the feeling of being immersed in a teen horror flick. Which I have to say, has been a long time guilty pleasure of mine.

deVos gives each of the characters a voice with their own chapters. They're all wonderfully drawn with strengths and weaknesses. But as a group, they're pretty formidable. The reader is privy to the overall picture - their secrets and the danger stalking them. And there are plenty of chances in Eat Your Heart Out, to pick up a pillow and yell, "Don't go outside - there are zombies!"

Lots of action kept me rapidly turning pages. Eat Your Heart Out did read like a movie!

And that cover? Fantastic! Eat Your Heart Out was great escapist reading. But along with being a fun page turner, deVos has woven in a needed message as well. "...Because when you create a culture when people can be dehumanized for trivial reasons like body size, everyone's human dignity is in jeopardy. I intend for this read to be inclusive and affirming, and hope you read with care if these topics are ones close to your heart." This was a first read of deVos for me - and it most definitely won't be the last.

(And I leave you with this warning - be careful with your hazelnut coffee whitener...)

Eat Your Heart Out is a summer camp thriller that is exactly what it says it is— in this Shaun of the Dead meets Dumplin' tale, a group of unlikely characters split into B-list horror archetypes have to band together and survive the zombie apocalypse when they realize no one is coming to save them. The main girl, Vivian, loves herself the way she is and knows she doesn't need to be fixed, but her mom and new step-dad send her to Camp Featherlite anyways. On the way to fat camp, her ex-best friend being on the same bus as her is the least of her problems when their first days go from bad to lethal. Vivian as Action Girl and Allie as The Basket Case are joined by The Jerk (the son of the camp's founder), The Nerd (a hacker with a secret), The Outcast (a quiet girl with an even bigger secret), and their pod's Facilitator, who might either be the Courageous Captain or the Jock with a Heart of Gold. It's up to them to see if they can fight against their pre-assigned survival chances, or if Featherlite's disastrous fatphobia will cut their lives short.

I was expecting this to be humorous and ridiculous, but Eat Your Heart Out was more focused on conversations about fatphobia and diet culture among violent action scenes, which I thought were all done pretty well. The satire is less funny and tongue-in-cheek than scarily plausible given how fat bodies are treated in society, so this wasn't quite the horror-comedy I was expecting, but I still liked it all the same! My favorite character was definitely Vee, because who doesn't love an awesome final girl? However, this was an instance where I think Action Girl could do without a romance because I felt no draw between her and her love interest. I would even say it came out of nowhere because what I think might have been flirting in the beginning, pre-life or death situations, came off as teasing and Vee taking out her annoyance at being there on her LI.

I would love to see Eat Your Heart Out developed as a movie because it fell somewhat short on some areas for me as a book. It leaned a little too hard into the slasher film campiness, and I would have loved to see more focus on the satire and theme. I felt there wasn't enough time spent in the camp since the setting could have probably changed without much issue, editing, or impact, and the fact that only two of the five campers were sent there against their will seems to work against the message. Their archetypes also seem to be their entire personality, except for Vee, who we get a bit more time and development with as the Resourceful Heroine. I expected some subversion of these tropes given the theme, and of course, there's no problem with not subverting tropes, but this is one of the reasons why I think Eat Your Heart Out would be a great movie instead. I could perfectly envision the scenes, which was part of why I enjoyed this book so much, and really enjoyed the descriptions. If any producer or scriptwriter is out there reading this, get cracking!

With the POV switches keeping characters in the dark and the high-stakes action, this was a very fun read perfect for summer (which I will argue is the best time for horror)! As long as you go into it for the campy read it is, you're sure to have as great of a time as I did, and I would definitely recommend this book!

❧ 3.5 ★

OK first of all this idea is SO fun, and the story absolutely follows through with that. I love the criticism of diet-culture, and putting that together with a zombie apocalypse seems crazy, but it absolutely works. Vee is one of my favorite characters in a long time, and my only complaint is that I wanted to spend more time with her -- you're thrown so quickly into the action that I feel like I missed out a little bit on some characterization. But for the most part, I totally loved it!

For the most part, this book was exciting, scary, fun, heart pounding and overall a wild ride. This Shaun of the Dead meets Dumplin’ mash up was such a good read. The ending is what really knocked it down a bit for me. The author left so many unanswered questions and just kind of wrapped the ending up with a pretty little bow and that was it. Maybe it’s making room for a second book, but i still felt extremely underwhelmed with the ending.

This is definitely a solid read, but just missed the mark for me. I like that this was written as a satire. You get the sarcasm and humor as you read, which I thought was a refreshing format, but I do wish there had been more focus on the theme.
TW/CW: Fatphobia, dieting, hints at abuse, death

Vivian Ellenshaw is forced to go to a fat camp by her mom and stepdad. When she enters the camp’s transportation, she finds her ex-best friend, Allie, is there as well. The driver is a jock, and the last passenger is the camp owner’s son. On their way to Camp Featherlite, a blizzard hits and something seems off. There is something traveling in the snow that seems human, but not quite. When they reach the camp, the find out about the new weight loss “cure” that seems too good to be true. Soon the camp is filled with fit zombies and it will take everything for the campers to survive.

I haven’t read any zombie books, at least not in a long time, but I do love a good zombie movie. I thought that the inclusion of horror elements was a fun addition. One of the characters is really into movies as well, so there was a lot of narrative around the elements within horror films.

I appreciate what this book is meant to do. There are conversations around dieting and fatphobia, but I felt like it just was surface level. The characters get thrown into a battle for their lives and need to fight their way against fit zombies and out of Camp Featherlite. This is what stole the show in my opinion.

This releases tomorrow and I would still recommend it to people who love a good zombie themed anything. Although the conversations could have been deeper (IMO), I do still think that the message came across and was a good read.

A medical experiment gone wrong, zombies, unexpected heroes. I throughly enjoyed reading this book about a group of teens sent to Camp Featherlite because they have found the cure to obesity. The book shifts perspective and I love that you can hear from all of the characters. I also enjoyed the connection between movie scripts and the plot of the novel. Overall this book exceeded my expectations.

I enjoyed reading EAT YOUR HEART OUT as a quick comfort read. The plot is fast-paced, compelling you to dive headfirst into the story and race against time with the characters as they try to escape the zombies. My only real complaint is that as much as this book is lauded for fat rep, there really is little to no real discussion around it. We get a few statements ("Fries before guys"), but nothing really revolutionary.

Eat Your Heart Out (EYHO) is both satirical in nature yet oddly sad and realistic. When I first started it, I thought it would be completely comedic but as I read along, I was surprised when it began to hit me in my feels. There’s legitimate body shaming/fatphobic culture represented and discussed in EYHO and the negative effect it has on the spirit but when you meet Vivian, a strong willed ‘Fat Girl’ it’s like a breath of fresh air. Vivian. Loves. Herself. Period. I loved this message and the impact she had on others.

When Vivian’s high society mother decides to send her to a high dollar fat camp, things couldn’t go more wrong. First off, her ex-best friend Allison is on the bus and second, a bizarre blizzard is hitting Flagstaff. After a series of unfortunate events, all of which Vivian is suspicious of, things take a downward turn and before you know it, the campers are fighting for their lives against a zombie coup.

I loved that the author took specific slasher movie traits and assigned them to the characters! Action Girl, The Basket Case, The Courageous Captain, The Jock, The Jerk, The Nerd, and The Outcast and gave each an odds of survival! This brings me to the characters! I loved Vivian and Allie but each character brings something to the story that is meaningful and relevant. There were some periods of confusion – on my part – because there’s a lot of character POV and keeping up in the beginning was difficult so I had to reflect back a bit but as the story got moving, each voice became distinctive and memorable.

I really enjoyed this story and the message it sends plus ZOMBIES and evil scientists! I love badass characters but I love when there’s redemption of a character that I initially don’t like. Each character is so uniquely touching and at risk of being a bit spoilerish, they don’t all make it and this crushed my soul. Highly recommend this to any fan of the genre!

TW/CW: Death, Gore, Teen Pregnancy, Fat Shaming, Slurs

Big thanks to the publisher for allowing me early access to this title. I really enjoyed this book!

Vivi is sent to fat-camp over winter break which automatically sends my brain into a tailspin. Growing up not having *the standard beauty* for myself, this hit home personally. When she goes to the camp, the fatphobia, dangerous weight-loss bars, and drama overall could be triggering for some. However, I think that this book was written in the best way. When the power goes out at camp due to a snow storm, Vivi and the other campers, including her ex best friend, a rich jerk, a pregnant girl, and a nerd must band together to survive this crazy snow storm... and the zombies that are about to overrun this camp. This book is satire, blending horror, body positivity, and character growth all in one. I loved seeing a fat MC kick ass and take names! It was actually scary in some parts!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for an arc of this book.

Content warnings at end of review.

When Vivi is sent to a fat camp over winter break, she discovers even more problems with it than the obvious fatphobia--the weight-loss bars they are giving the campers have...dire side-effects. On top of that, it's the worst snow storm Arizona has seen, and the power at camp is out. Mix that with the other members of her pod--her ex-best friend, a rich jerk, a geek, and a pregnant girl. At least there's the hot pod facilitator. All of these factors combine for a harrowing winter vacation.

This book was delightful! I didn't know a lot of what to expect going in, but was super excited for a fat MC kicking some zombie butt. I was absolutely not disappointed on that front, but also got excellent character growth and insight, 6 excellent pov's, hilarious jokes and commentary, and all the gore and horror!

I thought this was going to be completely humor and not at all horror, but I was wrong. This legitimately scared me at times and kept me up way past my bedtime! I was pleasantly surprised!

Pub date: June 29, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, Death, Body shaming, Body horror, and Pregnancy

3.5 stars
This was such a fast-paced book! Almost immediately, you are thrown into their world of chaos. A group of overweight kids are going to fat camp and have just arrived. A version of zombies are attacking the campers and from here on out they are in survival mode.
There is a lot of fighting, a lot of blood and a lot cursing. This book had a lot going on. While I was entertained and read quickly, I was not immersed. There was almost no character development. I was still getting to know these people at the end of the book.

I do want to say I don’t like the cover. Points for putting an overweight girl in a tough chick pose but it’s so cheesy and cartoonish that it made me not want to read it. Yes, I do judge books by their cover and I feel this one could be much better.

⭐️This one had a lot of language and a lot of violence. Check the content review on my blog for the details

Oh my god this book! I knew going in that there was going to be moments that are triggering and enraging for me as I struggled with my weight and the comments I received from it for years and the premise is about Vivian being sent to a weight-loss camp. What I didn't expect was how much grittier and gory this was and I really liked it! Vivian meets her fellow campers I knew we were going to have found family here (a trope I LOVE). I came to love all the characters (especially the one we were introduced to by the latter half). Each of them changed and learned so much as they tried to survive the zombie apocalypse they were suddenly thrust into. I appreciated the different elements that this book represented/symbolized. It explored the complexity of fatphobia and the diet-culture, deeply imbedded in our society. But it truly was the characters that made me love this book and I hope that we get a sequel for this because I want revenge for the heartache that characters experienced and mine.