I don’t have the words to accurately explain how hauntingly phenomenal this book is.

Like holy shit. I am speechless. This is an immediate buy for me and an immediate auto buy author from now on.

NO WORDS. JUST HOLY SHIT SO GOOD

Content Warnings: Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Wounds, Self-Harm, Neglect, Bullying

Rose's debut novel does not feel like a debut. Her voice and writing skills are top notch. I lost myself in this book and read it in two sittings, interrupted only because I needed to go to bed for work the next day. Margot, our first person narrator, is the driving force of the book. I have rarely felt closer to a narrator and her emotions, and I had to keep reading to see how she would navigate her situation next.

The other primary characters, Mama and Eden, were also well done, especially in how Margot's viewpoint colored them. Mama is a despicable human being, but the complicated feelings Margot has for her abuser, and how they evolve over time, are perfectly rendered. Eden's ability to enter, and affect, that already tumultuous landscape was really the part that hit on folklore for me. She feels like an inverse Fairy Godmother, someone who comes to make things worse instead of better. Likewise, Margot's description of school vs home, and how both fail her, are tragic. The brief moments of joy to be found in burgeoning love for her classmate, Abbie, and her friendship with the school bus driver are made all the more bittersweet as a result.

In short, this book was addictive, enrapturing, but throughout heart breaking and gritty. The detailed cannibalism scenes, as well as the extreme child abuse, mean this book is not at all for the faint of heart. I adored this book and wouldn't change a thing about it -- I just think people should know what they're signing up for.