I kicked off 2026 with a sapphic young adult horror read containing a unique premise. This Delicious Death depicts life after a pandemic that turned a portion of the population into flesh eaters. This event, called The Hollowing, turned central characters Zoey, Celeste, Val, and Jasmine into Ghouls who need to consume flesh in order to survive.
The book picks up two years after The Hollowing, when the four teenage girls are traveling to a music festival in the desert. While they’ve come fully prepared with synthetic flesh to consume so they can enjoy their adventure like normal teenagers, a drugging plot at the festival throws everything into a tailspin. The four girls must discover who is behind this scheme to save themselves and the other Ghouls attending the festival.
For such a gory premise, the book does not contain as much bodily horror. The book focuses mainly on the personal relationships between the characters and how they’ve dealt with their own transformations. The book’s strengths lie in its diverse cast, representation of characters and relationships less popularized in the genre, and a modern spin on a classic fear of cannibals.
The premise of a Hollowing really drew me to this story. Cottingham touches briefly on the stories of each of the main characters during their transformations through brief vignettes at the beginning of each chapter. I wished there was more time lent to this world building, as it is such a unique premise and clearly comes with a load of trauma for each of the main characters. Their lives and worlds have changed so dramatically, and I would’ve loved to dig more into that story (prequel soon, maybe?).
Overall, This Delicious Death is a great read for YA Horror fans who love a good mystery and lovable characters.
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