In an alternate version of modern-day Britain, the eponymous Book Eaters of Sunyi Dean's debut novel are an elusive race of humanoid beings who must literally consume books for sustenance. With only a handful of Book Eater families left — each living in seclusion, hidden from society — temporary arranged marriages are brokered between Houses to ensure their survival. This means mothers rarely get to stay with their children for long; instead they are ushered to the next marriage, or returned to their original families. Devon is one such mother. Already parted from her daughter, she vows to remain with her young son Cai by breaking away from the Family system and living freely. This becomes even more important when it transpires that Cai has been born with a rarer and more dangerous hunger — not for books, but for human minds.

The titular Book Eaters do not simply ...