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Solidifying this Digestive Review

 Camille DeAngelis' modern romance is anything but traditional. The phrase "gut-wrenching, butterfly swirling love" is anything but what a typical romance devourer would consume. The main character, Maren Yearly, is a young woman abandoned by her mother who admittedly couldn't handle her daughter's unique circumstances and pursuing the whereabouts of her father who might have more in common with her than her mother originally let on. Maren travels consistently throughout the country, based in the United States, allotting herself the opportunities of gaining an identity and forging ahead in realizing who she is as a woman, while also keeping her deepest secret under wraps. Until, an older gentleman goes out of his way to make her feel welcome and a younger man's eye lingers longer than expected, recognizing they hold more in common than just a few years of age.

DeAngelis' story began with Maren's first months as a child, but when Maren's mother made the difficult yet necessary decision to abandon her at the age of 16, was the appropriate beginning to the storyline. I found it exceptionally moving when Maren made the decision to follow her mother seeing as this woman was the only person who'd ever been there for her consistently, then just... wasn't. I'd have pursued my own mother as well. However, it took more effort for Maren to choose to leave her mother after viewing her desperate pleas at returning home to Maren's grandparents for support. In taking footpath leading to her father, Maren discovers more about her own personality and who/what she's willing to put up with in order to remain alive.

All in all, I'd give this novel 4/5 stars. I was firstly intrigued when I viewed the trailer for the recent premiere of the movie adaptation. Ultimately, it was the cannibalistic nature that I hadn't been expecting but was utterly fascinated by. It drew me in further to realize that it wasn't a traditional romance per say in the sense that Maren would've experienced a traditional relationship between herself and a man -- but that she allowed herself snippets of interactions in which infatuation or what could be deemed the beginnings of a love interest bloom. There wasn't any sort of happy ending, just a completed one. Sometimes tidying up a storyline with just an open-ended enough scenario makes for a thorough read. I'd recommend it to those interested in following a nontraditional aspect on a young adult novel.

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