The Memory Eater

Starred review from January 23, 2023
An orphaned teen striving to keep her family’s business afloat propels this delicately crafted fantasy from Mahoney (The Valley and the Flood). For two centuries, the Harlow family has served as caretakers to the Memory Eater, a monster magically imprisoned in the caves of Whistler Beach. Now, 17-year-old Alana, a queer, white-cued overachiever, and the last Harlow in Whistler, has taken over the family business guiding clients into the monster’s cave, where the customers’ unwanted memories are offered as meals. Following an incident in the caves, Alana has been experiencing gaps in her memory, and when she can’t recall the spell that keeps the monster contained, she realizes that these gaps aren’t a result of a concussion—the Memory Eater has been sneaking bites out of her memory, and has now escaped. To save Whistler, Alana must figure out how to retrieve her memories from the creature by digging into her family’s long-buried history, unearthing perilous secrets along the way. Via poetic prose, darkly ominous ambiance, and Alana’s witty, undeniably teen voice, Mahoney movingly addresses themes of atoning for past mistakes, confronting intergenerational trauma, and overcoming grief in this unforgettable read. The supporting cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kari Sutherland, KT Literary.

March 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 A memory-eating monster lives in the caves of Whistler Beach, where tourists and locals pay to lose their unhappy memories. After her grandmother dies, 17-year-old Alana Harlow inherits the family business and the job of controlling the Memory Eater. But there are holes in Alana's memory: about her grandma's death, her breakup with her girlfriend, Charlie, and even about the secret of keeping the monster sealed in its prison. Those holes are bites--in the shape of the Memory Eater's teeth. Now, the monster is free, and the town's citizens turn to Alana to save both their memories and the local economy (which runs on the Memory Eater's services). But as Alana searches for the Memory Eater, she discovers secrets about her magic, her family history, and herself. Mahoney combines a touch of magic with a story of grief, loss, and growing up under the weight of a whole town's survival. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy small towns with a magical underbelly and monsters with a human side.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2023
To the town of Whistler Beach, Maine, the Memory Eater -- a creature confined to a cave who consumes people's unwanted memories -- is big business. And that business depends on seventeen-year-old Alana Harlow. Like generations of Harlows before her, it's Alana's job to keep the Memory Eater in the cave and to make sure it feeds only on the memories clients offer. One day Alana makes a mistake that allows the monster to escape; starving, it attacks town residents, taking their memories without permission. (Alana knows the feeling: trying to recall a memory that the Memory Eater took is "like missing a stair. The swoop of air where solid ground should be. And then the drop.") With the help of her best friend and her ex-girlfriend (or, she'd prefer, not-so-ex-), Alana investigates the origins of the Memory Eater, uncovering a two-hundred-year-old family secret that connects them. It's a discovery that transforms her goal from subduing and controlling a monster to understanding it; in Mahoney's deliberate, evocative prose, the terror and guilt the character feels are slowly replaced by empathy and love. As in Laure's Remember Me (rev. 3/22), the fantasy element of removing a person's memories is intriguing but feels secondary -- here, it is Alana's willingness to experience her emotions, to receive others' pain, and to lean on her community for support that stand out. Rachel L. Kerns

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 1, 2023
Just over 200 years ago, a ship arrived at a small seaside community in Maine carrying human passengers who had lost their memories--and the monster that had stolen them. Now, 17-year-old Alana Harlow, whose ancestor magically trapped the Memory Eater in sea caves, is the last Harlow in Whistler Beach. After her grandmother's death, Alana took on the responsibility of maintaining the Memory Eater's seal--rocks revealed at low tide that must be fed with blood from the Harlow family line. She also runs the family business, taking clients to the Memory Eater's cave to have unwanted memories removed and supervising the process to make sure each person emerges safely. After suffering a terrible accident in the cave a few months prior, Alana is desperate to prove herself to the town council, but when she realizes that gaps in her memory can't simply be attributed to trauma, she confronts the Memory Eater only for the creature to overwhelm her and escape from its prison. Central to this haunting, emotionally driven narrative are the mingled themes of grief, love, and selfishness, all of which bear down on Alana as she tries to fix her mistakes and shoulder her guilt alone. The cast members, who are diverse in race and sexual identity, are vividly drawn. White, bisexual Alana's relationships with her best friend and ex-girlfriend, both of whom support and care for her, are particularly compelling. An eerie tale offering equal measures of fright, angst, and emotional catharsis. (Fabulism. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 3, 2023

Gr 7 Up-For 200 years, the Memory Eater has been confined to a cave in Whistler Beach, ME, feeding on the unhappy memories of people willing to forget. Seventeen-year-old Alana Harlow has been a guide to clients surrendering memories since she was a child, but with the recent death of her grandmother, she has now inherited the family business-a business on which the tourist town has come to depend. Despite the heavy burden she now carries, Alana strives to follow the family rules and cooperate with the town council, but when the Memory Eater escapes, the gaps in Alana's memory may signal a problem more serious than a hungry monster on the loose. Readers follow Alana, who is described as having black hair and blue-gray eyes, as she recognizes her own grief, attempts to atone for her mistakes, and accepts her irrevocably broken relationships. The heaviness of Alana's personal journey is balanced by the comfort she finds in unwavering support from her found family and the nervous thrill of a slow-burn, second-chance romance. The work's message is clear, but not forceful; central themes are thoughtfully outlined in striking prose, a steady pace keeps readers engaged, and the work overall is further enhanced by the diverse characters woven throughout. VERDICT A must-read study of memory and emotion, filled with complex characters in an eerie setting.-Maggie Mason Smith

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2023
To the town of Whistler Beach, Maine, the Memory Eater -- a creature confined to a cave who consumes people's unwanted memories -- is big business. And that business depends on seventeen-year-old Alana Harlow. Like generations of Harlows before her, it's Alana's job to keep the Memory Eater in the cave and to make sure it feeds only on the memories clients offer. One day Alana makes a mistake that allows the monster to escape; starving, it attacks town residents, taking their memories without permission. (Alana knows the feeling: trying to recall a memory that the Memory Eater took is "like missing a stair. The swoop of air where solid ground should be. And then the drop.") With the help of her best friend and her ex-girlfriend (or, she'd prefer, not-so-ex-), Alana investigates the origins of the Memory Eater, uncovering a two-hundred-year-old family secret that connects them. It's a discovery that transforms her goal from subduing and controlling a monster to understanding it; in Mahoney's deliberate, evocative prose, the terror and guilt the character feels are slowly replaced by empathy and love. As in Laure's Remember Me (rev. 3/22), the fantasy element of removing a person's memories is intriguing but feels secondary -- here, it is Alana's willingness to experience her emotions, to receive others' pain, and to lean on her community for support that stand out.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)