The Memory Eater
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“An eerie tale offering equal measures of fright, angst, and emotional catharsis.” —Kirkus, starred review
A teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood.
For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget. And for generations, the Harlows have been in charge of keeping her locked up—and keeping her fed.
After her grandmother dies, seventeen-year-old Alana Harlow inherits the family business. But there’s something Alana doesn’t know: the strange gaps in her memory aren’t from an accident. Her memories have been taken—eaten. And with them, she’s lost the knowledge of how to keep the monster contained.
Now the Memory Eater is loose. Alana’s mistake could cost Whistler Beach everything—unless she can figure out how to retrieve her memories and recapture the monster. But as Alana delves deeper into her family’s magic and the history of her town, she discovers a shocking secret at the center of the Harlow family business and learns that tampering with memories always comes at a price.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An orphaned teen striving to keep her family's business afloat propels this delicately crafted fantasy from Mahoney (The Valley and the Flood). For two centuries, the Harlow family has served as caretakers to the Memory Eater, a monster magically imprisoned in the caves of Whistler Beach. Now, 17-year-old Alana, a queer, white-cued overachiever, and the last Harlow in Whistler, has taken over the family business guiding clients into the monster's cave, where the customers' unwanted memories are offered as meals. Following an incident in the caves, Alana has been experiencing gaps in her memory, and when she can't recall the spell that keeps the monster contained, she realizes that these gaps aren't a result of a concussion—the Memory Eater has been sneaking bites out of her memory, and has now escaped. To save Whistler, Alana must figure out how to retrieve her memories from the creature by digging into her family's long-buried history, unearthing perilous secrets along the way. Via poetic prose, darkly ominous ambiance, and Alana's witty, undeniably teen voice, Mahoney movingly addresses themes of atoning for past mistakes, confronting intergenerational trauma, and overcoming grief in this unforgettable read. The supporting cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 12–up.
