I wouldn’t be aware that Maren actually did consume someone until many chapters later due to how vaguely the scene was written.ĭeAngelis makes up for her lack of detail with an amazing job of expressing the grief Maren struggles with immediately after dining on her somewhat innocent victims. Oftentimes, readers are left wondering what just happened. Its strengths are in character development, not believability. The book itself is very ambitious, but expecting readers to believe an infant is capable of devouring an entire person was a bit of a stretch, even for a fantasy novel. This story wasn’t exactly the make-sure-your-feet-aren’t-hanging-off-of-the-bed scary story I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of the plot. “Bones and All” portrays Maren as a volatile predator who eats her prepubescent prey alive, but beneath her hardened facade is a hurting child that only yearns for the comfort of a parent and a normal life. Impulse control is not something Maren is familiar with, nor does she begin to attempt to control such urges.
Even after sixteen years of unhealthy eating habits, Maren chooses to literally devour her complex feelings toward men instead of finding a way to healthily cope with her gruesome past. Maren’s character is not easy to love, after being emotionally neglected her entire life by her mother and abandoned by her father before birth, her decision-making skills are not her strongest suit, making it very frustrating to support her.Īfter readers learn about Maren’s many sexual encounters with boys at too young of an age, it becomes obvious this story is a commentary on reframing the man-eater trope, in a much more innocent and childlike way. While on her mission, Maren meets another “eater” Lee and together they yearn to fit in while attempting to suppress their cannibalistic urges. With only $600 in cash, a rucksack and great determination, Maren begins her cross-country journey to find her father. Scared of what her daughter is capable of doing, her mother leaves Maren after her 16th birthday and for the first time in her life, Maren is alone. Beneath the piles of flesh and blood, Camille DeAngelis’ “Bones and All” is a coming-of-age story about a young girl, Maren, learning to navigate life as a teenage cannibal.įrom infancy, Maren has been an “eater” and struggles with coming to terms with her inability to control her hunger around boys.
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