The Savages - Softcover

Whyman, Matt

3.73

1,082 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1468310712 ISBN 13: 9781468310719

Publisher: Amulet Paperbacks, 2015

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Sasha Savage is in love with Jack Greenway - a handsome, charming, clever...vegetarian. Which would be acceptable if it weren't for the fact that Sasha's family are very much 'carnivorous', with strong views to boot. Behind the respectable family facade all is not as it seems. Sasha's father Titus rules his clan with an iron fist, and although her mother Angelica never has a hair out of place, her credit card bills are shocking and her culinary skills are getting more...'adventurous' by the day. As for Sasha's demonic brother Ivan? Well, after accidentally decapitating a supermodel in their family bathroom his golden boy image is looking wobbly. To the outsider the Savages might look like the perfect family, but there is more to them than meets the eye. When the too-curious private detective Vernon English starts to dig for darker truths, this tight knit family starts to unravel - as does their sinister and predatory taste in human beings...

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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.

From School Library Journal:

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

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