We all know that eating humans is bad, right? But what if you couldn’t help it? What if it was a condition that you were born with, like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell or heterochromia? Author Megan Mostyn-Brown writes of The Need, a genetic mutation that makes humans crave the flesh of others. Call them what you want — cannibals, vampires, murderers — but they’re still people, trying to figure out a way to live peacefully in the shadows, surviving with the uncomfortable and unforgiving curse of consumption.
The Need is a rare genetic disorder. Those who have it must consume human flesh or die. For some, The Need is power. For others, it is a curse.
The Need, Amazon
Talia and her teen twins Rosie and Sam are running. Always running — away from their past lives, away from new adventures, and away from Talia and Sam’s genetic condition that makes them crave human meat. But the family can’t run forever; Talia’s wealthy (and also cannibalistic) in-laws want to “cure” Rosie’s normalness, and Sam’s penchant for hunting friends at school has gotten them in trouble with the law, leaving a trail of death and questions in their wake. Every move begs for a new town and new identity, but they soon learn that there is a time when all of that comes to a head and cannot be run from. In a small town in upstate New York, all of their lives and lineages converge together when the Need becomes too strong to hold back and keep secret.
Told in four parts with each section from one character’s perspective, The Need is a dive into multiple inner dialogues, a swarm of background information, high emotions, and of course, curious moments about what certain people might taste like. This book is written in a similar fashion to other epistolary-style novels; characters speak in the moment as if what was happening on the page is happening in real time. We’re given access to their deepest thoughts and worries, allowing us to fully grasp what it feels like to live their lives. I absolutely adore epistolary writing, so The Need was perfect in that regard. Plus, getting into the minds of so many different characters — all with different opinions, issues, and traumas — is an exercise in great writing coming from Mostyn-Brown. Based on that alone, I would definitely pick up another one of her works, seeing as she has an eye for character development on such a big scale.
On that same note, each person has a whole world behind them. Talia’s time before the twins is as detailed as her time after having them (and their run from grandmother Vera). Vera’s rise from street rat to stardom and eventual cannibal fashion mogul is both a triumphant tale of “rags to riches” as well as the sad downfall of someone just trying to make a better life for themselves. “Normal” (Need-less) individuals like Rosie and her friend Carolyn are thrown into the deep end trying to be just that: normal. And everyone eventually ends up tangled in a big mess of lies and promises, making The Need an extraordinarily interesting read from the start to its end.
And at the crux of it all is the Need itself. Unlike a lot of YA books about vampires and other supernatural love interests, The Need makes this genetic disorder one that is pretty damn realistic. It’s spoken about just like any other disease, one that could happen to any unfortunate person. While people with the Need are shown to be ravenous and uncaring, there are times when they are more human than those without; for example, Sam lives up to the expectation of being the “bad” kid (which really, isn’t his fault), but selflessly makes his past transgressions up to his family at the end.
And while I am not the type for sappy stories, The Need mixes the drama with horrifying moments of cannibalism. Descriptions of attacks are told from every angle: extreme enjoyment, drug-fueled rages, remorse, determination. You could easily picture every instance in your head, characters drenched in blood, slowly lapping bits and pieces of their victims — hating, and sometimes loving themselves for doing so. Sam in particular has many moments of thinking about what others might taste like, hinting at his unfortunate compulsion. This disease absolutely runs your life, whether you have it or not.
The Need is a powerful, heart wrenching tale of acceptance. In a world where no one asks to be born, yet some are still given an unfair deal, people with and without this insatiable quest for human flesh both want the same thing: acceptance and freedom of who they are. Each chapter gives you reason to love and hate each character, but most of all, a reason to understand them. And though this isn’t a real-world mutation, I think lessons from The Need can definitely be used for real-life scenarios with medical diagnoses, familial trauma, and more. The Need was an excellent page-turner that made me crave more the more I read.
The Need is available for purchase on Amazon. For more, follow author Megan Mostyn-Brown on Instagram.
