How to Be Eaten: A Novel

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann is perfect for fans of modernized fairytales. Unlike many other books in the genre, this story isn’t simply a retelling with a twist; rather, it’s a sweeping look into the psyches and traumas of some of your favorite heroines, and maybe a few you haven’t really thought about since the nightly story times of your childhood.

Set in a kind of alternate reality where each of the characters has lived their classic story in a modern setting, Adelmann sets up the main premise as an experimental group therapy gathering for the heroines who have been stigmatized or even demonized by the media at some point in their lives. With each chapter devoted to an individual character, we get to experience their stories through a voyeuristic Girl, Interrupted style lens, which brings stunning new depth to oftentimes simplistically represented characters.

Shocking, surprisingly humorous, and heavily in tune with modern depictions of feminine trauma and the surprising bonds such experiences can create between wildly different personalities, How to Be Eaten is a richly imaginative read for those who like their fairytales on the darker side.