My thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advance copy of this graphic novel that tells of a young woman whose life was changed in a night, not just her plans, but her health and diet, and the strange underworld she finds all around, as she searches for what happened to her.

I am old enough to remember a time, to quote a song, when I was young and my eyes shone like the sun. The world seemed fresh, new and not the chaotic mess it was too become, and the hellscape it is today. I had plans, lots of them, but to quote another song from the same band, plans came to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines. Life happens. Good or bad. The same happens to the lead character in this graphic novel, though her problems are far larger than what I had to deal with. At least I had a normal body temperature, and didn't have a morbid taste for blood and flesh. Meat Eaters by Meredith McClaren is a story of horror, dealing with trauma, discovering what you still are, and blood, lots of blood.

Ashley Moore is nineteen, going to community college and has a lot of dreams for the future. Most of these dreams involve getting the heck out of her small town. Until the night Ashley wakes up in the woods, scratches all over her with no idea how Ashley got there or what happened. Things go from bad to horrific as she discovers that her favorite breakfast foods taste like ash. Thinking illness, Ashley takes her temperature and finds that it is 70 degrees. Worse upon worse, she has a need for blood, which doesn't sound good. Soon Ashley realizes she is not alone, she is undead and possibly a ghoul, and her small town seems to be a locus for other undead creatures, including vampires, werewolves and more. Of course there are cliques, and rivals, and even darker forces on the periphery. The more Ashley learns the more she is determined to find out what happened to her that night, the night when everything changed.

A story with quite a lot going on, told in a way that is both funny, and sad in equal doses. Ashley is a character readers can't help but like, and as things go from bad to tolerable, one feels for her. We can all imagine the rug of life being pulled out from under our feet, and watching Ashley struggle and start to thrive is really rewarding. The story is funny like I said, but dark and bloody. Nothing gratuitous, it really is there to drive the story. The art is really quite good, a mix of realism and comic that helps the story and softens some of the real blows that come in this story.

I was surprised how much I cared about what was going on. Guess I am not as burnt out as I thought. I enjoyed this tale quite a bit, and would like to see more by Meredith McClaren. Perfect read for those who like a sense of humanity and empathy in their horror. Which might sound odd, but those elements really make a story strong. And this one has this in spades. A very fun, rewarding read.

A Ghoulish Story Full of Heart (and GORE)!

Meat Eaters is a heart-warming story guaranteed to pull at your emotions. It is full of found family, healing, and finding yourself. I think that Meredith McClaren has crafted a genuinely beautiful story, and the illustrations help to bring this story to another level. Readers can dive into this story with little to no understanding of the world because discovering the twists and turns as they are revealed makes this universe come to life. There is a secret underground paranormal world right behind closed doors and it just was such a vibrant take on the classic vampires, werewolves, and witches (oh my!). You absolutely should be tuning into this graphic novel because the final message is sure to warm your heart and be something you won't forget!

Thank you to Meredith McClaren, Oni Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review (unpaid).

This book has a really interesting concept and I'm particularly interested in the worldbuilding of "creepies" living amongst humans, however I feel like a lot more could have been done with this idea. While the plot of this book was super interesting, there were a lot of things that weren't said outright and were a bit confusing, and a lot of questions went left unanswered as well. I really want to see more of this story and the dynamic between Ashley, Motley, and Harrison, and I hope this will just be the beginning of a series.

The graphic cover made my mouth water straight away.
On the menu (apart from meat): zombies, werewolves, vampires and horrible creatures!
I really liked the Tokyo ghoul-style start.
I had trouble with the style of the faces at first, but you soon get used to it. The faces are very expressive.
It's punchy, funny and lively (no pun intended). The humour is dark and modern. Ashley is very relatable. What's more, she manages to be both badass and cowardly. The found family is super adorable (and bloody). I loved watching them fight (chaotically and catastrophically) for each other. It still works for me.
There are hyper graphic moments that surprise as much as the main character, it's super effective (and disturbing).
The subtext of mental health and trying to find one's place is well handled.
The origin of his death is well disseminated throughout the story (and the finale is a thing of beauty).
I can't wait to read more of their adventures!

Ps: It took me a long time to understand her phone case.

Thank you NetGalley and he publisher for gifting me an early copy of Meat Eaters

It is a graphic novel that tells the story of Ashley who has just died and became a ghoul.
It was different from the graphic novels I am used to reading, but I really enjoyed it. It was intriguing, nice and easy to read and I loved the drawing style.

I thought it would be more on the horror side when I saw the cover, but apart from the moments Ashley is eating meat (which often disgusted me, probably because of the close-ups) I would say that it was pretty mild.

Her friendship with Motley and Harrison was a good addition and also fun and nice to read about.

Oh, now this was such a treat! Going in blind based purely on the striking cover art was definitely the right choice for me; I was put right into Ashley's shoes of stumbling into the story, seeking answers and piecing things together bit by bit. But where our protagonist is (rightfully) terrified of her newfound circumstances, I was electrified the whole way through. The way McClaren renders blood and gore is visceral and tactile without compromising the cartoony simplicity of the art style. I was particularly taken with the backgrounds and environmental details! Plot-wise, this book offers just enough to get the gears turning while leaving plenty still on the table for the reader to speculate about. The characters are easy to understand and communicate their vibe at a glance, which is a must when telling a complete story in a single volume, but that isn't to say they lacked depth! The way this cast comes together and relates to one another, how all of us might on some level feel like we don't have "it," was a big highlight for me. All told, a short, sweet, spooky way to spend an evening that gives you plenty to chew on! The only thing I could ask for is more, more, more!

This was a fun story with a lot of heart. It follows a girl who finds out she is dead however has no idea how that happened. As she navigates her new life to get some answers, there is insight into her hopes and aspirations. With this new turn of events it begs the question of wether she can still follow her dreams. With a conclusion that reveals all, this was a fun, dark humour story with gore and found family trope.

Meat Eaters was an awesome mix of horror and dark humor, found family, and a creepy-cute art style that had me hooked from the first page.

A short read, but packed with lots of emotions and I loved the underlying themes of mental health, of struggling with ptsd and/or depression.

A fun story, perfectly gory and creepy and unexpectedly compelling.

Ashley Moore wakes up in the forest one day, only to discover that she is dead and probably shouldn't have woken up at all. With no idea how this happened or how she got there, she manages to stumble home. From there, she has to figure out how to live whilst being undead. This graphic novel was honestly super interesting! Ashley already had an entire plan laid out for herself: keep her head down, get into college, and get the hell out of her dinky hometown. Becoming undead completely flips this plan on its head and leaves her scrambling. Watching Ashley trying to navigate her new life was interesting and very gory. She slowly gets involved with the community of supernatural beings who live in her hometown and gets some help along the way. I enjoyed the mystery of how she died being prevalent in the background of the story for the entire novel, and that you finally get all of the answers neatly done at the very end. I also ADORED the art style! The expressions were done wonderfully, and the gore was legitimately disturbing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

When nineteen year old Ashley wakes up in the woods covered in blood... the last thing she expects is to find out she's undead... and now needs live meat, has no heart beat... oh and is fully coming face to face with the paranormal community in her town. Ashley has no idea what happened to her and why she's become a zombie but she soon finds herself meeting werewolves, vampires, and so many other creatures in her town. Then there's the issue of her trying to figure out what happened to her and when the truth comes out... can she accept it? This was a really interesting graphic novel and story that deals with trauma and anxiety and Ashley's journey was a a fantastic read. I definitely had fun reading this one and would highly recommend it!

Release Date: July 8, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Oni Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*