The Summer I Ate the Rich

by Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite

A Haitian-American girl uses her previously hidden zombie abilities to exact revenge on the wealthy elites who’ve hurt her family.

Brielle Petitfour loves to cook--but with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path. When her mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in her dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh. Inspired by Haitian zombie lore, The Summer I Ate the Rich scrutinizes the socioeconomic and racial inequity that is the foundation of modern times.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary, Zombies, Fiction, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2025

Reviews

[Zana · Rating 2 out of 5]

She did not, in fact, eat the rich.

I really, really wanted to like this. It had an amazing start, with a very visceral, repulsive scene with Brielle cooking cow brain egg scramble for her mother, while resisting the urge to eat the brain raw. If I had to describe this scene in food terms, it was well-seasoned and extremely flavorful. 10/10. Take all my money.

But then everything after that?

Mild, with seasoning that was barely there that you had to pay close attention to actually discern any type of flavor.

Man, what a letdown. The summary and title promised a lot, but it was like I read a different story. I thought that this would be BIPOC female Hannibal; it was anything but. The only people eating the rich were the rich themselves. And even then, it was in a "blink, and you'll miss it" kinda way.

I wouldn't even consider this horror. There are actual YA horror novels that really dive deep into the genre, so I know that this book could've stretched its limits. I couldn't be more disappointed.

I wanted to appreciate the story for its insights into wealth inequity and living in poverty, but even then, it was pretty much just a simplified version of these topics. Every talking point came out of the University of TikTok, Department of Sociology. If you're chronically online, you've seen these breakdowns.

I wish the book talked more about specific situations that only a person living in poverty would've experienced, like how receiving Medicaid involves the government scrutinizing every tiny facet of your financials to determine if you're poor enough. Iykyk (unfortunately).

Brielle's zonbi powers barely factored into the story until the ending, where it felt like a deus ex machina and like the authors remembered that she was actually a zonbi and could do something that wasn't just thirsting for human blood and flesh (and even those scenes were few and far between).

And honestly, the one thing that took me out was when Brielle received health insurance for her summer internship, and that she could add her mother to it. The American in me was so confused and taken aback that I couldn't suspend my disbelief. I wish it worked that way, but like Childish Gambino said, "This is America."

Overall, this was a decent YA read. I appreciated the Haitian immigrant/child of immigrants angle, but other than that, this novel definitely didn't deliver on the promise of its premise.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) and NetGalley for this arc.

[Kezia Duah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

The authors really said, “Let’s shed light on the immigrant experience, but make it zombies!” HA! I love it.😝 What’s even more interesting is that it’s not the typical zombies we’re used to. oh no no no. it leans more into the original concept rooted in Haitian culture… the more you know, right?

Unfortunately, that’s kind of where my excitement ends. This is one of those stories where you think, “I appreciate the message or messages,” but I still found myself wondering what kind of story it was supposed to be by the time I finished.

Now, going into this, I wasn’t expecting to take it too seriously. The blurb gave me “fun ride” energy, and I was totally down to just go with the flow. But even with that mindset, I still wanted something more from the story.

The portrayal of the immigrant child experience was done well. Definitely relatable, not just for me but for many others too. But beyond that? The other parts of the stories….I kind of got the point… kind of didn’t?

I did enjoy the main character, though! She’s definitely a quirky one, and her unpredictable actions kept me intrigued. Her dreams and aspirations were beautiful, and the relationships she builds throughout the story were genuinely heartwarming. And of course, her dynamic with her mom was the emotional thread that kept me invested enough to stick with it.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[megs_bookrack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Summer I Ate the Rich was a mixed bag experience for me. I'm not even sure how best to explain my thoughts and feelings on this one, but let's give it a whirl, shall we?



In this story we follow Brielle, a Haitian-American girl, living in the Miami area with her Mom. Brielle has big dreams of becoming a world-renowned chef.

Her Mom works in a domestic-capacity for an extremely wealthy family. It's not easy work and she's also dealing with a chronic illness that leaves her dealing with constant pain, and a lot of medical bills, but she does her best to provide for them.

Unsurprisingly, Brielle spends a lot of her time and energy trying to help her Mom, worrying about her, and trying to make sure she gets the care she needs.



After her Mom's job is no longer there, Brielle has to step up in a big way; using her culinary skills to support them.

Brielle's menu items are far from mainstream, and she keeps the rich families eating her food guessing about what exactly is titillating their taste-buds.

The short answer: human flesh.



I'll be the first to admit, a lot of this story flew over my head. I enjoyed Brielle, and followed along quite well in the beginning, but then it got to a point where my eyes sort of glazed over.

I understand and appreciate the important topics these authors touch upon in this story, and I think their own inspiration for writing it is compelling ((be sure to read the Author's Note at the end)), however, a lot of it lost me, NGL.



The synopsis mentions it being a modern-day fable, and that is quite apt. In addition to Brielle's perspective, we also get these sections, they might have been called Intermissions, or Interludes, but they are told in a very whimsical-style by beings I believe were supposed to be Brielle's 'sisters'.

Those sections were a complete wash for me. They were so jarring in comparison to Brielle's perspective, and they were taking me out of the story every time.

In the audiobook, they also had different narrators, which was great, I love multiple narrators, but these sections, the Muses, all I could picture was the ladies from Disney's animated movie, Hercules.



And I guess for me, that felt more out of place and distracting than I think the author's intended. I'm sure this is just me, I'm most likely missing a very real reference, or connection, to some greater story, or folklore, but I still need to be honest about my experience.

At the end of the day, I was hoping this would be much darker and clear in its execution than it turned out to be. I was into it at times, but then it would veer off and leave me spinning my wheels, wondering what was happening.

Nevertheless, I would recommend it for any Reader who feels the synopsis sounds intriguing. It's definitely worth giving it a shot, and I would be interested in reading more from these authors.



Thank you to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, as well as Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

There's def a good story here. I appreciated the themes and risks the authors explored and took, however it just wasn't suited to my tastes, and I do rate based on my overall experience in comparison to other books of the same genre.

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rich and deeply impactful novel deals with wealth and class disparities while delving into a much overlooked culture. I have a lot of feelings and thoughts about this book but will only give the basics for this review because it's one of those books where the less you know going in the more pleasantly surprised you'll be when reading.

Brielle is a seventeen year old Haitian American and lives in Miami in the Little Haiti district. She lives with her very traditional mother who suffers from a painful disease. They work for the rich but have very little for their labors.

Brielle is a fantastic character. Not only is she an excellent aspiring chef but she's also a... zombie. But a "zonbi" in the Haitian sense and not the kind you traditionally think about. She's very much a caring, loving person despite her "urges".

As we explore her life and Haitian culture, we'll learn some dark secrets from her mother's past which will have an effect on a plan she has hatched to bring some relief for herself and her mother.

There's more to this story though. And I think you'll enjoy discovering those things as much as I did. I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case you haven't noticed, there's a cabal of millionaires and billionaires trying to ruin the planet, and make everyone of its denizens as miserable as possible, so as far as I'm concerned, there aren't enough AWFUL THINGS in the universe that can befall these people. Eating them would be doing the world a favor, though I suspect Elon would taste worse than lutefisk left to rot three weeks in the trunk of a Cybertruck. Trump, however, roasted slowly on a rotating spit, might prove to be quite succulent. (And, yes, he WILL have a golden apple in his mouth.)

This is not, in my opinion, a horror novel. Our heroine Brielle is not out there slicing, dicing, and sauteing the one percent, though she does manage to get revenge on them that done 'er mother (and multitude of others) wrong. I was not a fan of the extremely implausible romance, nor of the Haitian muses. On the plus side, I liked all of the characters who actually had to work for a living, AND the food sounds AMAZING, though the recipe for Brielle's "special ingredient" is the only one included

I'll give this one four stars even though it was not the book I wanted it to be. The writing is strong, and the authors show promise of even better things to come. I can't wait to see what they cook up next.

Boiled Bezos with a julienne of vegetables might hit the spot . . .



Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the read.

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more eating the rich and less dating the rich and it was frustrating because this book started out so strong. I was viscerally angered by the situation Bri and her mom were in, I liked the nuanced and complex relationship they had. The setting of the scene was SO GOOD.

Alas, the story was meandering and featured many unnecessary additions that padded the wordcount without adding much of any value to the story that ultimately concluded in "there could be good rich people".

2.75 rounded up.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so this is not really horror in the way it presents itself to be. Barely. But I do think it's a good book if you go in with the right expectations. I do wish this had gone harder with the concept and really leaned into the potential horror elements. It could have been amazing. But let's talk about what this book does well.

The Summer I Ate the Rich is YA novel dealing with wealth inequality and racist microagressions, specifically focusing on Haitian immigrants. It's drawing on the Haitian zonbi mythology and mixing it with Western versions of zombies. Brielle is a Haitian teen girl living in Florida who loves cooking. She's also a zonbi who craves raw meat and human blood. But she's focused on taking care of her mother who works for a billionaire family as a home aid. When her mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle finds a way to help out and the super rich seem to love her food, even if they don't know what she seasons it with...

Thematically this does an excellent job of unpacking wealth inequality and the treatment of immigrants. Brielle is a great character, but she never seriously seems to struggle with her unnatural hunger, and even the dishes she makes are portrayed in this low-key kind of way. She's impulsive and fights back while trying to get power for herself. I found it to be a compelling story, just not the one I expected. The audio narration is pretty good. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Steff Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I…almost left The Summer I Ate the Rich feeling deeply confused. Despite what was a rather excellent character introduction, the plot was so convoluted and superfluous, as though somehow not a single editor advised the authors to trim down everything they were trying to overstuff into the story. But honestly? The author’s note cleared everything right up for me. When your story begins with such a personal beat, incorporating a vast array of commentary that the authors are deeply passionate about, it stands to reason that the plot gets lost along the way.

The Summer I Ate the Rich had all the makings of a unique and compelling horror novel, but instead of fully embracing its darker elements, it ultimately struggled to balance too many ideas, leaving much of the story underdeveloped. What should have been a simple and straightforward tale critiquing the greed of the rich via excellent characterization of zombie-fueled revenge ultimately couldn't find its footing amongst an overabundance of plot threads that ultimately did not come together fully by the last page.

The authors clearly wanted to tell a story about a mother-daughter relationship that highlights the injustices of the healthcare system and the mistreatment of poor in America. Their personal connection to the subject matter—rooted in their own mother’s struggles with the healthcare system—is meant to add emotional weight to the novel and Brielle's motivations. I respect the effort to weave these real-world issues into a speculative horror setting; I was excited for it, even. However, as Maika and Maritza Moulite try to tackle too many different types of social commentary while also weaving in Haitian zonbi mythology, the result is a story that feels scattered and hesitant. Rather than a thoughtful blend of horror and societal critique, the book struggles to commit fully to any one of its themes, leading to an underwhelming execution on all fronts.

The biggest issue for me is the novel never truly embraces the horror elements promised by its premise. The title suggests a bold, morally complex story where Brielle consumes the rich partially as a result of her bloodlust but primarily as revenge for their greed and crimes. To my dismay, the novel hesitates to go all the way with this idea. It feels as though the authors were afraid of making Brielle too morally ambiguous, softening the horror elements in an attempt to keep her sympathetic. And I cannot stress this enough: we did not need this.

Honestly, I would go as far as to say that we needed the exact opposite.

This cautious approach ultimately weakens the narrative, as Brielle’s ailment (or curse?) never carries the weight it should. I was incredibly excited for the incorporation of Haitian zonbi lore, so much so that I did a little further reading on the subject as I got further along in this novel. While I’m no expert (so, please feel free to correct me on this if I am misunderstanding), from what I understand of this article, traditional zonbi mythology is rooted in the fear of enslavement and control rather than the Westernized version of zombies as flesh-eating monsters. This new information genuinely enhanced my excitement to see how all of this would be incorporated, only the problem came with the idea that Brielle’s zonbi status gives her a form of mind control when people eat the ground up human she's included in her cooking. I'm gonna be honest, it sort of felt like a misapplication of the themes behind the lore rather than a meaningful expansion, leaving me completely confused.

This, combined with the fact that Brielle’s mother calls her a monster for her “curse” further muddles the themes. If the book had leaned into the traditional zonbi lore as a metaphor for systemic oppression and the loss of agency, it could have been a powerful statement. Instead, the mythology is altered in ways that don’t seem to serve the story’s core message.

But, most disappointing of all the themes presented in the book comes from the overall main premise. The concept of “eating the rich” should have been a visceral, unsettling, and thematically rich horror element, but instead the book pulls back, resulting in a frustratingly half-formed execution. Readers should have left this book feeling pumped and vindicated, that karmic justice is finally being brought to those who have enriched themselves off the suffering of the poor. I spent so much of the novel waiting for the worst of the rich to be murdered and eaten and fed to the others and it never happened. In fact, the biggest death of the whole novel was an accidental hit and run. What's worse is that the reveal of the driver held so little emotional weight in the end that it felt more like a useless side plot than anything else.

The romance and marriage aspects felt unnecessary, detracting from the novel’s main themes as well. In a book that should have been about Brielle’s dark reaction to injustice, moral struggle, and the tension between her and her mother, having a romance subplot felt like a pointless distraction. Preston's entire existence—outside of perhaps being murdered and eaten, which would have been cool—irritated me every step of the way, serving to detract from any promise the story had. Rather than deepening the narrative, it took valuable time away from developing the themes and horror elements that should have been at the forefront.

Again, I'm left feeling as though the authors were truly afraid to take risks in regard to Brielle's characterization. It's like if you condemn your dark, justice-seeking character to lackluster behavior, holding them back for the sake of keeping them likable. What is the point of Brielle craving human flesh, then? What is the point of her cooking people into her menus? It never felt like they fully committed to the admittedly modern zombie themes, which ultimately took away from the immeasurably exciting aspects of the premise we were presented with. And thus the most important, bone-chilling story elements we were promised become a rather pitiful side plot.

And it's so disappointing because I can't help feeling that, if Brielle had just been given the freedom to be dark and not only give into her cravings enough to a) engage in murder, b) actually eat the rich, and c) do so in a specific targeted fashion this book would have been so much better. I mean, just think how amazing it would have been if the plot had involved Brielle hunting specific targets to cook into her meals? Imagine if she fed those specific targets to other specific targets? Think about the emotional impact that we could have had if monstrously greedy Silas had been forced to eat his own father? Or his son? Think about how satisfying it might have been to have Brielle reveal such a truth to him before murdering him for the next dish!

We all loved when Arya Stark took these risks. We wouldn't have hated Brielle had she done so as well. And yet it truly feels like that held the authors back so much.

Ultimately, The Summer I Ate the Rich had a fantastic premise but it never fully delivered on its potential. A bolder, more focused approach—one willing to embrace the horror and explore the deeper implications of its themes—would most certainly have made for a much more compelling read. Instead, the book feels like a collection of intriguing but underdeveloped ideas, held back by a reluctance to commit fully to its darker and more unsettling possibilities.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a fun YA with eat-the-rich vibes, though admittedly it was a lot less zombie/Fantasy elements than I thought there'd be, and I wouldn't even say a dusting of Horror. Very Contemporary with like magical realism vibes.

TL;DR the synopsis and my expectations do NOT fit the book, but I still had a fun time and was entertained throughout.

I thought the audio was great and having the Haitian accents for the main character's mom and sisters definitely carried the performance. There's a billionaire character who's got elements of various famous billionaires like Musk (cars/space/parents/claims-he-could-solve-world-hunger-but-doesn't), Bezos (door desks) and others. And I definitely appreciate the way the main character is able to immediately try to change the world.

The story gets a bit muddied over time as allowances are made for some of the billionaires, more focus falls to petty snobs, and fewer actions are done to affect macro changes like you truly can with that staggering amount of money.

But I found the whole story really suited to a YA audience, loved the complex relationship between the main character and her mother, the representation of silent illnesses like fibromyalgia (my mom also suffered from this, but with even more stigma and less treatment back then), and her side friends were very fun.

A fun romp that's apt for our times, but my thirst for vengeance/justice wasn't indulged as much as I'd hoped beforehand.

Cover still totally slaps.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
-------------------------------
THE HIDDEN TOOTH IN THAT COVER!!!

[Ghoul Von Horror · Rating 1 out of 5]

TW/CW: Language, blood, violence, misogyny, classism, death of parent, drinking, anxiety, cannibalism, toxic family relationships

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path.When Brielle’s mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh.
Release Date: April 22nd, 2025
Genre: YA Horror
Pages: 400
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Parts about Brielle being a zombie

What I Didn't Like:
1. Boring
2. Story switches storyline

Final Thoughts:
I read 100 pages of this and it was so different from what I thought I was getting. I thought I was getting this zombie Hannibal story of a girl cooking humans like she's Sweety Todd. That's not what I got here. It turns into the story of girl (yes - a zombie) that gets a new phone that is weirdly linked to her mother's bosses sons phone. She gets a text asking about donating money and doubles it. Then she somehow - - without not knowing this dudes bank account to donate money to other things. Why would these charities just have his bank account on hand for them to just take a donation from? Also I imagine it takes more than a text to allow a company to take 10 million dollars from an account. I withdrawal or deposit $100 to my bank and I'm getting a text and an email. I'll never be a millionaire but pulling out this money can't be that easy.

Characters are dry and boring. Brielle just feels like a normal person. It's hit over head time and time again how she has no emotions or cares about others but we are never shown this.

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Wyetha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave 3.89 ✨ stars, partly due to my thoughts on the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this title.

I didn’t think that there would be a twist on that when I saw “Haitian Zombie Lore” in the synopsis. Brielle is a zombie, but not the mad-flesh-craving, brain-eating, slow-moving kind. Well, not so much because she does crave raw meat at times.

♪ 𝄞 🎵 ♪ ♬ They want to steal your brains 🧠 and eat your knowledge ♪ 𝄞 🎵 ♪ ♬…yeah, not that. (LOL)

In Haitian lore, it’s different. In this story, we learned that Brielle is a zombie, but not of her own doing, and not of a reanimated corpse brought back to life through the supernatural powers of a bokor. Brielle is a smart young woman, and I love YA novels that show this side of people. You can be poor in finances but rich in life.

Her only goal is to take care of her family, especially her Mom, who has chronic pain. Brielle wants to be a cook, and at just 17, she’s a genius in the kitchen. Everyone loves her cooking, even though it has a “special” ingredient.

Brielle was beginning to grow her supper club when an opportunity came to help her community and those less fortunate. Although Bre did what she could for the greater good, it was illegal. Instead of being arrested, her repayment for that incident was to intern for a big pharma firm in Miami. Brielle (while she didn’t like it) figured this would be an excellent opportunity to help her family. She could make money and add her mother to her medical plan.

Her mother has always been apprehensive towards her, but Bre is used to this coldness, and she knows it’s because she’s a zombie.

Brielle would learn a lot this summer and make friends she didn’t count on. Through family and allies, Bre would do more than grow her supper club. She would also take an axe to big pharma and how they prey on people’s needs by having them addicted to a drug to survive, but making it unaffordable for the masses.

This is a great YA novel that’s mystery, light on the horror and not graphic. I think it’s a great read.

[Kelsey Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, if you are wondering if you should read this, just skip it.

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: fatal hit & run, cannibalism, mentioned addiction & OD, racism
3

I thought this one had a really fun concept, that got me excited to read right away. The thing about Hannibal (NBC) that makes it so unique is the way the food itself is handled, and I think this book does that so well. All the detail in the food prep and the dishes themselves definitely added something necessary.
I also thought the "Greek Chorus" of sisters was a good touch.

However, I signed up for some class wars and cannibalism with a heart dose of horror- and that's not what I got. Yes, classism is obviously at the root of this story, but there's very little horror, and the cannibalism could be replaced with like ~fairy dust~ and nothing would change. It did not feel important that she was a zombie, beyond the occasional comparisons of the enslaved zombies to class oppression. The author note actually said that this was first conceptualized without zombies.... I believe it.
And I kept waiting for something big and explosive- I was bored during a lot of this, and was certain it was just the story ramping up. But it was not. Th conclusions in this book are not at all satisfying.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started so strong but fell so short.

[McKayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided an early copy of this book for review from NetGalley.

I chose this book because “eat the rich” has been a mantra by which I, personally, have been living for years. The concept of a young Haitian-American woman literally eating the rich in a reclamation of power seemed to me to be a satirical and powerful way to comment on income inequality and racial hierarchy.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is the book I ultimately read. To start, I could not figure out how seriously this novel wanted me to take it. At times, I believed I was meant to see this story as a light-hearted take on some serious topics, something evidenced by the lack of a real plot and certainly any character development. This book was mostly comprised of ideas and events than any real narrative structure, relying on the reader’s own desire to “eat the rich” to keep them engaged instead of a compelling story. If the book had been funnier, more ridiculous, more in-your-face, I actually think this could have worked.

But then there were times that I thought the book actually wanted me to take it seriously. These times were largely the Greek chorus interludes, in which Brielle’s sisters in Haiti provided some heartbreaking and important context for their mother and the circumstances that led to her move to the United States. These sections also contained the strongest writing, which was poetic and lyrical, unlike the rest of the novel, where the writing was not bad, but certainly nothing that caught my attention or wowed me. During the times when the reader was being told a story of love and possession and defiance and difficult choices, I found myself questioning the rest of the novel; why is this the story of Brielle, who, throughout the course of this novel makes very few choices and mostly just reacts to events that happen around her, instead of her mother, whose past is agonizing and shocking and torturously difficult to imagine oneself in? In these “flashbacks,” so to speak, Brielle’s mother is a woman of agency and nerve and fortitude, and I feel that in the “present” of the narrative, she’s largely reduced to a burden that Brielle must navigate around and account for.

Because of these odd tonal differences, I found that I couldn’t not take the story seriously, which had the unfortunately effect of my actually thinking about the plot. Or, where a plot should have been, had one been included. As I said before, Brielle, ostensibly the main character of the story, largely does nothing from beginning to end. The only real choice she makes, an on-a-whim decision right at the beginning to donate millions of dollars of someone else’s money when she has the opportunity to do so and the belief that she will not get caught, leads to a cascade of events that sometimes don’t make sense but that give her little opportunity to actually do anything. I think that, were she a real person, Brielle would have quite a lot of agency - after all, she’s not even a legal adult and she has a successful private catering business in Miami - but as a protagonist in a narrative, she doesn’t do much over the course of this book. Things happen, and she goes along with them, seemingly biding her time until…something. I’m still not sure what.

In general, the characters seem as superficial and lifeless as the plot. No one feels real, complex, or deep, and I would be hard-pressed to identify a character I believe grew or changed over the course of this story. Certainly I would not go so far as to call any of the characters likable, though I don’t believe that a character needs to be likable to be valuable to a story. It seemed that the characters largely existed in two camps in this book: “good” people who supported Brielle and didn’t say shitty, racist things out of pocket, and “bad” people who…were the opposite. There was very little nuance or room for complicated relationships or motives, which made every character read as flat.

I’m honestly not sure how I’m supposed to feel about Brielle’s romantic relationship with Preston. There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest one is that I don’t understand how Brielle’s zonbi powers work (and, I suspect, neither do the authors, as the fact that Brielle is a zonbi is so absent from much of this book as to be a non-factor altogether). From what I could interpret, by the end of the novel, Brielle has…charmed? Preston into marrying her? At seventeen? So she can be come a part of the ultra-elite that she has spent the rest of the novel claiming she hates? Is this not the very definition of girl-bossing too close to the sun? But it’s okay, because Preston only got close to her because he wanted to know if she knew that he was the one who killed his great-grandfather? I think? To be honest, the romance felt very shoe-horned in, and yet I think the novel would completely fall apart without it, because so much of the time spent in this story is spent with the two of them and their rather ridiculous romance.

At the end of the day, I don’t think this novel set out to accomplish what it wanted to - although I cannot guess what it is that it wanted to accomplish. I hate to be let down by this book, because I did really have high hopes for it. I just wish it had delivered on any of the promises made in its summary; now that was a book I would have loved to have read.

[jaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you, like me, are coming to this book expecting a sick, twisted revenge story about a Haitian girl feeding one-percenters brains… turn around. To be honest, I didn’t know that was something I wanted until I read this book's summary. It wasn't what I got. Good points were made throughout the novel, but I wasn't terrified or disgusted. Which was… disappointing.

Let's be honest! This story is about a Haitian girl getting a summer internship, falling in love, and working to make her dream of becoming a chef come true. Does she feed racist white people other people? Kinda. Does she have zombie powers? Well, yeah. But they are pretty much an underlying story line and aren't explained very well.

What I loved about this book, is how relatable it is. As a black girl working in corporate America - I have experienced this stuff and more. But I didn't need to read about it. Because this book was so much about her work experience, I feel like we didn't truly need her to have zombie powers. Then when the zombie powers were mentioned, it was rushed, confusing, and washed down as she was repetitively focused on hiding her powers. The selling point of this novel was a more so a convenience the FMC used on occasion.

Recommending for to anyone who believes that becoming a one-percenter is the best form of revenge against one-percenters.

[Hannah]

First of all, "bone-chilling" is extremely inaccurate. Second of all, for about 80% of this book I was thinking, "Wow, this is three books being thrown together when they could all be better developed if they were separate novels." Third of all, I hope because I what I read was an ARC, but I don't have faith because I know publishing, that this is going to get a serious copyedit before pub, because holy fucking shit does it need it.

But anyway. Great idea here to mix Haitian zonbi concepts and American zombie concepts, because there is great sociocultural stuff to work with there, and also I am very here for eating the rich whether figuratively or literally, and I remember really liking the Moulites' approach to class stuff in their first novel, which I read when it first came out. But boy oh boy was this an extremely light touch, which means a) not particularly horrifying to think about or read about; b) not really described in a way for me to grasp whether there is some kind of mystical thing happening while the not-particularly-viscerally-horrifying thing was happening, and c) it was easy to forget about and just be kind of like "wow, it sure was extremely easy for this girl to get everything she wanted in life." Also, the marriage thing is just fucking ridiculous and I don't understand it because of the aforementioned unclear mysticism, and the taking down of the bokor was truly the most anticlimactic, underdescribed thing I'd ever read.

Somehow this had the ridiculosity of a Gossip Girl or Crazy Rich Asians while also trying to trying to have the verisimilitude and class critique of a much deeper novel about how difficult and dark it is to not want to die when you're a person out of place in a world of that kind of immense wealth, but those kind of don't work together when you're leaning into the gloss of it all (which requires not thinking deeply about it to just enjoy the namedropping of fashion designers and the drinking and the good food and everything else) but also trying to make a point about class (which requires, you know, thinking deeply)? To be clear, I don't mean that you can't have a class critique that also describes all those things, I just mean the tone and the approach are different depending on whether you are trying to do a class critique or just a Cinderella escapist thing, so mixing them was weird.

Anyway, an A+ concept with a B- execution and D+ editing. I definitely put some of the responsibility here on the editor, who dropped the ball immensely.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been looking forward to this book since I first saw the cover and title more than 6 months ago. I didn't even know what it was about but loved the title and cover enough to add this to my to be read list. I was unbelievably excited when I was approved through NetGalley for an advance copy on audio. This did not disappoint at all.

This is horror, as the main character, Brielle, is a zombie, Haitian mythology, not Hollywood horror movie style. In many ways this feels almost like a cozy horror. I'm totally not sure if that's a thing or not but it should be. The characters are mostly likable and the setting is often lush. Brielle lives with her mother who is a home health aide for the elder patriarch of an extremely wealthy family. Brielle has sisters living back in Haiti with other family while she and her mother live in Miami, Florida. Brielle is a talented amateur chef and for a variety of reasons begins to give in to her zombie instincts.

This audiobook is narrated by Ashley De La Rosa, Fedna Jacquet, Khaya Fraites, Melinda Sewak, Mieko Gavia, and Zuri Washington. Brielle is voiced by one narrator and the other narrators cover other characters in the story. The narration was top tier. I don't want to give spoilers but the reason this has so many narrators is handled in a very unique way, which kinda reminded me of BBC Radio Plays.

In addition to the obvious horror elements, this has gothic elements added to the mix for a more seasoned story line. In many ways, Brielle's need to hide her zombie instincts mirrored elements of the pressure on Black folks in Western societies who work or attend school in primarily white spaces. The story does highlight the Black woman immigrant experience in the US with a morally gray tone and a pinch of romance. Overall this was fun and engaging. I was unsure where the story would end up but like how the author finished this tale. This had shades of the British TV shows In The Flesh & Being Human combined with minor elements in tone of the movie The Skeleton Key. I rather enjoyed this and look forward to more novels from these authors.

Thank you to authors Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

[Hayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more; the summary seemed like it was exactly my taste (pun intended) and I thought a blending of American Zombie lore and Haitian Zonbi lore was such an interesting concept. I also loved the idea of a strong Haitian-American protagonist taking on the ultra wealthy and dishing out justice.
Unfortunately, that’s not the book I ended up reading. This book doesn’t deliver on the promise of horror and “eating the rich” ends up being more like playing a prank on them and then marrying one of them (that plot line came out of nowhere and kind of derailed the story, in my opinion).
We also don’t really get to see Brielle, the main character, actually struggle with her Zombie/Zonbi nature nor do we get explanations of her abilities , which is a little confusing in context of the story (aka why is her mother so afraid of her?).
I think the bones of a great story is here, like a first draft, but it just doesn’t match up with the blurb and doesn’t feel “completed”.

Thanks so much to the publisher for allowing me to read an ecopy for an honest book review.

[Amanda R Sims · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Summer I Ate the Rich is about the legacy of slavery in Haiti, Haitian mythology, mind control, dreams of culturally showcased culinary excellence, the exclusivity of modern medical devices, Miami uber-rich big pharma with hot sons, and the dangers of not knowing what's in your food. I think. It seemed to suffer from an identity crisis, jumping around between these themes, trying to be too much. The majority of this book is an unlikely YA romance that is not helped by the 17 year old first-person narrator. This is very far from horror, and the revenge plot feels like a subplot. This seems much more like a Cinderella retelling if Cinderella was actually a sociopath instead of anything aligning with the Eat the Rich movement. 

I really like the cover. The audiobook narrators did a great job, though the Greek Chorus of sisters was a bit confusing via audio. 

Thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and Macmillan Young Listeners for the ARC to review.

[Katherine Gardiner · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is what i get for judging a book by its cover. i thought the art, title, and premise were so promising but was so disappointed by the actual story.

[KMart Vet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bold, genre-bending blend of satire, horror, and Haitian culture. It’s messy in its ambition, occasionally spread too thin, but there’s something deeply refreshing about how unapologetically different it is from anything else out there.

This book is best when it's about family. Brielle’s love for her mom, her mother's protection and fear of her daughter, her tentative connection to her sisters, and the ever-present weight of the immigrant experience ground the story in something bittersweet and tender. The Haitian cultural threads—especially the incorporation of zombie lore—were honestly the best part. They brought a rich sense of history, lore, and magic to the story that I genuinely adored.

That said, the novel tries to take on entirely too much: generational trauma, the healthcare system, wealth inequality, racism, addiction, identity, love, and the opioid crisis... and it ends up biting off more than it can chew (pun 100% intended). Each of these themes is important, yes, and they’re interconnected—but juggling so many heavy issues in a single novel left most of them underdeveloped. It felt like we skimmed across the surface when I wanted to dig deep.

The title sets up an expectation of full-on class warfare and vengeance, and while there are sharp moments of critique, the story is more introspective than savage. There’s definitely a bit of bait-and-switch there—the kind where you expect carnage and get moral dilemmas and peaceful resolutions instead. Not necessarily a bad thing, just... not what the marketing promises. There will be no eating of the rich here, my friends.

Still, I had a good time. The writing is strong, the audiobook slaps, and the moments that do work (especially the family dynamics and cultural heritage) are genuinely special. If you’re here for the vibes and not just the vengeance, there’s a lot to savor.

Thank you to Storygram, Fierce Reads, MacMillan Audio, and the authors for the complimentary copies. You know I love a tandem read! This review is honest and voluntary. All opinions are my own.

[Carissa | the.grim.readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

[ReadingTilTheBreakOfDawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having previously read the Moulite sisters, I was excited to see where they would take this particular story. They are so good at giving us very relevant stories, but with a twist. And this one comes in the form of zombies! Or zonbi in the case of this particular book.

The Summer I Ate the Rich is about a Haitian mother and daughter who live in Florida working for the wealthy. As many immigrants to the US, they came for a better life, but there is always a disparity between the classes and the Moulites show how this works in Brielle's life. Brielle is a teen that loves to cook and has a little side gig cooking for the wealthy. She has a penchant for meat, but likes to serve her customers something a little more unique. With her intentions clear, her dinner club is a hit and her customers are soon lining up. Thank goodness, because her mother suddenly loses her job, but Brielle comes up with a way to help her. After "assisting" a wealthy man and donating his money, Brielle is offered a summer internship which ends up helping her mother and also has her rubbing elbows with the rich in a way she never did before.

I liked the idea of this book and the way it started. I really wish the authors would've dove a little deeper into the horror aspect and gave us more of the zonbi life Brielle was living. Brielle is such a strong character and gave us just enough to keep me interested. The beginning was strong, but fell off when it became more of a love story between two people from different social classes. But I give the writers credit for the way they depicted the rich and the working class and adding conversation about racial inequality along with big Pharma and the way that affects the different social classes. It seems oh so relevant to the life we are living now. I just wish they would've leaned more into the thriller/horror aspect, along with the social topics, because they gave us a taste (no pun intended) and it could've been so much more.

Overall, this book had a great concept and I really liked many aspects of it, but my expectations were higher than what was delivered. It works well for a YA, but still could've been stronger. I liked the Haitian American culture we got included, especially listening to the audiobook performances. The narrators did great and gave us some good accents for the characters, bringing the characters to life. 3.5 stars

[Bethanie Free · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Summer I Ate The Rich offers a poignant take on income discrepancies and the absolute joke that is the United States health care system.

The book follows Brielle, an American born child of a Haitian Immigrant who is afflicted with the Zonbi. I loved reading the way that zonbi were written in the novel and the quirky take the authors followed. It made it very interesting and different from your every day zombie novel. It gave a look into the way other culture’s shape zombies in a way that can relate to the current world we live.

Brielle is a smart, quick witted high school student that was not afraid to tell it how it is when she fights for injustices of herself and other’s. She is unapologetically who she is and does not change that for other’s around her.

I absolutely LOVED the incorporation of Haitian culture and everything I learned about it

I am rating it five stars for the absolutely necessary spot this book holds in a YA’s catalog in order to fully grasp the problems within the US’s immigration system, healthcare system, and class system. That being said I did have a lot of issues with some aspects of the book that didn’t quite line up for me.

Namely, I wanted more zombie and less love story. If you are going to present me with a horror novel, I would like at least half of it to be about that aspect. It seemed like the zonbi aspect of the story line was glossed over and I was given a YA fantasy love story with zonbi aspects. What is the back story of the muses? In what world can a high school student get a paid internship with provided health insurance that covers a dependent, much less a parent? Where is more about the supper club? I feel like I was promised a lot that was not delivered to me.

Such an incredible and amazing concept that has so much potential. The writing is incredible as well and everything read exactly how I feel like the authors wanted it to. The characters were well developed and unique in personality and life stories.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this book!

I really enjoyed this, but HATE that this is being marketed as YA horror, because it’s really not. This is a magical realism coming of age story that I think fans of Needy Little Things and A Good Girl’s Guide to murder would really enjoy!

Brielle is funny, she’s smart, and she’s ready to take down the 1%. I loved her voice and perspective, and found her to be a super compelling and interesting character! Her Haitian heritage is super important to her as a character, and I honestly thought it was incredibly well done. The zombie side of her is definitely played up in the marketing a lot more than it appears in the book—you could basically take that subplot out and it’d be almost the same story, which was a bummer.

Thematically it checks a lot of boxes and does so well—racism, micro aggressions, wealth inequality, immigration. It all ties together well and shows the importance of using an intersectional lens with talking about these things. And it does it in a very age appropriate way with the perfect amount of rage and frustration behind it.

I thought the narration on the audiobook was great too! The multi cast style worked for the way the story was told, particularly with the division of the “parts” and hearing the ancestors speak.

I was definitely expecting a different story based on the blurb and the marketing, but it was a really good book if you go into it thinking more YA thriller vs horror.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars, rounded down

This was such a unique voice! Immigrant rights, healthcare inequality, backbreaking labor in the service industry: all things that this book tackles. Oh, and the impulse to (literally) eat the rich. I don't know, it feels kind of timely... This book is really engaging. The character voice, the zombie (and zonbie) lore, the fleshing out (pun intended) of this world and this cast of characters: everything was great! I did feel it lost steam a bit in the middle, but I was so otherwise absorbed that I hardly noticed the plot meandering.

Anyway, I've got more to say here, but all of that's for my full review, publishing at Gateway Reviews on April 4, 2025. Swing by if you get the chance!

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

[Cyd’s Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 4.0 stars.

I really love the Haitian representation in this book, it was woven brilliantly with fantasy and a little horror.

Brielle is a fantastic character, I really admire her drive throughout this book even if she is a little reckless. Preston was an unexpected character, but added so much to the story. It may be odd considering Brielle’s scenario and her choices, but I’d love to try her cooking I won’t lie.

This story was really fun and easy to devour, I highly recommend this for a unique read.

[Kelli Krystne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was nothing like what I was expecting. I found certain parts (poverty and being treated less by the wealthy) very relate able. I loved the Haitian influence and characters in the book. Overall, I thought the book was very interesting and I was hooked from the start. There really was never a dull moment in this book.

[Keysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

DELICIOUS