Maren Yearly

Maren Yearly is the 16-year-old main character of the novel. Maren is a cannibal who eats her first victim when she is just a toddler. Her babysitter gets too close to her and is too affectionate with her, so Maren eats her. The next time Maren eats someone is when she is at summer camp. A boy named Luke, who has a crush on her, invites her to meet him at night in the woods. She cannot stop herself from eating him. Her mother picks her up from camp and moves them to a new town. Maren develops a terrible ear infection that she thinks is a punishment from God.

Over the next eight years, Maren eats seven more boys. Each time, she and her mother clean up the mess and move to a new town. On her 16th birthday, Maren’s mother takes her out to...