The Savages - Hardcover

Whyman, Matt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1468308564 ISBN 13: 9781468308563

Publisher: Amulet Books, 2014

Synopsis

But teenager Sasha’s secret trumps them all: she is dating a vegetarian. This trait will never fly with the rest of the Savages, who are…uniquely carnivorous. Problems start to pile up. Sasha’s boyfriend convinces her to try going vegetarian for a month, but then leaves her for a vegan vigilante. Angelica attempts to pay her mounting credit card bill by allowing commercials to film in the family home, until one of Ivan’s pranks leaves a model dead in their bathroom. A detective hired to investigate Titus’s predatory business affairs notices the model’s disappearance, and starts to think that there may be something more sinister to the perfect-seeming Savages. He’s right, of course―they’re cannibals.

About this title

About the Author

Matt Whyman is a distinctive voice in cutting edge teen fiction. His books include the acclaimed Boy Kills Man and the Carl Hobbes thrillers, Icecore and Goldstrike. He also writes advice columns for numerous teenage magazines, and his books for adults include the comic memoir Oink! My Life with Minipigs.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up—The Savages—Titus, Angelica, 15-year-old Sasha, 12-year-old Ivan, toddler Kat, and grandpa Oleg—are a close-knit family, bound together by their secret penchant for eating human flesh. The plot is composed of several disparate elements, including a woman whom psychopath Ivan has accidentally killed, a private detective who is hoping to find proof of Titus's shady business dealings, and Sasha's new boyfriend, who has persuaded her to try vegetarianism for a month, to her family's disgust. Lest you think that this novel will pull its punches, a main character does indeed get killed, carved up and eaten, which might make for a savory black comedy if this novel were at all funny. Instead, it never finds the right tone, alternating creepy scenes of young Ivan playing sadistic practical jokes with banter between Sasha and her friends about her make-out session with her boyfriend—"Did you get to see his cucumber?" The diction is awkward as well, with an unappealing stiltedness. The characters never come fully alive, though quite a bit of effort is made to introduce each family member to readers. And finally, the jacket art, while quite effective, is more likely to attract younger readers than the discussion of cucumbers and jokes about a suspected pedophile "wanting" Ivan make advisable. Throw this half-cooked novel back in the pot.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Sasha Savage dearly loves her tight-knit family, but at 16 years old, she is hungry for a little independence. Her tasty new boyfriend, Jack, has just the answer—why not try being a vegetarian? Seems easy enough, except shunning meat means Sasha has to give up a long-held, secret family tradition: dining on human flesh. Whyman (Boy Kills Man, 2005) wickedly dives right into the taboo topic of cannibalism, vividly describing the Savages’ human-eating beginnings, when Sasha’s grandfather Oleg faced near starvation during the Siege of Leningrad. Also detailed is the meticulous selection of their prey and the family’s favorite preparations (liver pâté biscuit bites, honey-roast sticky ribs, etc.). Though the beginning drags a bit, the tension simmers right up to the gruesome climax, when Sasha finally asserts herself to her own family and to her controlling, egotistical boyfriend—who truly gets his just desserts. All the while, Whyman dishes out a maniacal satire about ethical eating (never have vegans looked so bad). Devilishly delicious. Grades 9-12. --Sarah Hunter

Edition details

• Publisher: Amulet Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1468308564
• ISBN 13: 9781468308563
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288