I have loved Victoria’s Ying other work, especially City of Secrets. Her illustration is beautiful, and continues to be in this graphic novel. This book is touching and empowering. She handles the topic so delicately, and I wish I could go back in time and give it to my younger self. I imagine it must have been tough to write and I’m so glad she did. I already know many regulars to our shop who will appreciate the gentle hand that takes you through this story.

I loved this YA graphic novel by writer/artist Victoria Ying so so much. The story, the art, and especially the tone set by the blue & pink color palette... Huge thanks to @booksforwardpr for sending it my way.

I've read multiple books about disordered eating (& grief), and what I especially liked about HUNGRY GHOST was the fact that the family members making covert and overt comments about Val's weight never really change. I appreciated the author showing us how Valerie was able to find support in people outside her family, because sometimes, that's just how it goes. Life doesn't have neatly tied up happily ever afters, and oftentimes the people who love us will never be able to support us the way we need.

This protagonist is an obedient young lady who wants to eat little and stay thin as - her mother wants. She also wants to fit in with her friends, and eat with them. She turns to eating and then purge her food. When a tragedy causes her to reflect on what's important everything suddenly changes,
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This is a stunning graphic novel that discusses familial trauma in a variety of ways. The illustrations are STUNNING. I love the muted color tones.

Our MC has a lot of growth and it ends up a helpful note.

Hungry Ghost was a pleasure to read, despite the difficult topic. The art style is gorgeous, and I love all the characters. Everyone feels real, even if their story isn't the focus. I was a bit surprised by the twist in the middle, dealing with multiple heavy topics at one time, but it is not out of place. The author uses that twist to push forward the narrative and grow the protagonist.

In this graphic novel, we meet Valerie, of Chinese origin, who suffers from eating disorders. She leads a typical teenage life, with her friends, her dreams and the relationships she has with her parents, especially her mother.
The subject might be difficult to read for people affected by this disease, but the author deals well with the factors that influence and pressure on young people.

This book is a good read (I especially enjoyed Jordan) and it has a realistic ending. It might be a bit too serious for some but I would nevertheless recommend it to all teenagers, not only for the subject of anorexia but also for the perceptions that young girls have of their bodies.

Valerie Chu is quiet, studious, and thin. No one knew she was binging and purging for years. Tragedy forces Val to reevaluate her priorities, choices, and her own body. The path to happiness may be far from her hometown and her mother's toxic projections―but first, she will have to find the strength to seek help.

The book is in graphic novel format, so it reads quickly. From the start, Valerie's mother tells her just to taste food, not really eat it. She's to be a good girl and do everything right, stay thin and bring pride to her parents. Valerie's mother even berates her sister's food on holidays for having too many calories. The strain is constantly there, and we can see it in how Valerie is drawn in each panel. Even in her happier moments, that tension is there and never leaves her. The disaster that hits her family forces her to reevaluate her priorities and take the steps necessary to set boundaries and seek help.

This is an honest look at disordered eating, with features of bulimia and anorexia. The world of disordered eating isn't always neatly classified, and we can see here some of the ways it can develop and be maintained. The stress reaches a breaking point before it's potentially lethal for Valerie, but not everyone gets that chance. The novel has contact information for various organizations at the end so people can learn more and get support if they or people they know need help.

From a craft perspective, I definitely loved the art style of Hungry Ghost. Everything from the color palette - which felt like a pastel hug - all the way to the attention to detail. It was just exactly my style! Hungry Ghost is also a story about how hard we try to be good. The pressure of the expectations we can heap onto our hearts and onto our vision of the future. On all the things we hold dear to us and who we are as people. I felt for Valerie and the ways she - and we - are bombarded on the internet with images and rhetoric.

This was an emotional and frank exploration of disordered eating, toxic family relationships, and what it takes to break away from destructive tendencies and unhealthy ties to people who hurt you. I had my eye on this one for a long time and when I did finally sit down to read it I found it poignant, sometimes enraging, inspirational, and nuanced. I found myself gutted a number of times as I read this book, and I thought that it was a well executed examination of the very tricky physical and emotional entanglements that can affect a person with disordered eating, especially when other traumas come into play. I also loved the artwork, and it's not so surprising given that Ying has been attached to some amazing animation pieces and has done many different kinds of illustrations to boot.

I really enjoyed this very emotionally charged and personal graphic novel. Fans of graphic novels really should check it out, and I hope that it can start discussions about the hard topics it tackles.

Addresses an important topic affecting our kids in a heartfelt way. A must read to anyone hoping to get the conversation started.

thank you netgalley for the arc!
Val is always trying to be the perfect daughter, especially when it comes to her mother's expectations for her appearance. but Val isn't perfect. she's sick, secretly struggling with an eating disorder for years.

as someone who has struggled with disordered eating pretty much my whole life, I was really looking forward to reading something like this. the highlight of this book is definitely the art and color pallette. it's seriously beautiful. the representation of how eating disorders/disordered eating can be generational/learned and how seriously they can impact your relationships was spot on. eating disorders are incredibly isolating and I think this book did a great job of showing how that happens.

slight spoiler coming in order to describe what warranted a low rating from me.

however. I did not enjoy how by the end of the book Val literally credits seeing her fat friend being pursued by a man as the reason she "saw the light" and realized that you don't have to be thin to be loved. I also did not rock with the idea of "your mom is just loving you the best way she knows how" almost absolving someone of pushing disordered eating patterns and body shame onto their child?

overall, I think this book had potential but really fell flat in the resolve for the character.

Stories about eating disorders are hard to tell, and often are done poorly. Hungry Ghosts is not one of those stories. It is beautifully done, touching on very sensitive topics in a realistic yet careful way. It's a difficult read but also very important. I highly recommend it but please look into trigger warnings before going into it. The artwork is lovely and suited the story.

TW - body shaming, fatphobia, death of a parent, grief

4 stars

A beautiful examination of generational trauma and eating disorders. Ying shows how ongoing commentary from relatives helps to reinforce societal expectations of beauty and thinness. The inclusion of a confident, fat friend was a nice change of pace from the fat friend who is made fun of.

I don't often read books about eating disorders and unhealthy relationships with food so I always appreciate it when I do stumble upon one (though it's always a tough read). This one was very short but it packs a punch. I thought the art was very pretty and even though the ending was bittersweet, I felt it highlights a reality that sometimes isn't shown so I enjoyed it.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

When reading stories (both comic books and novels/short stories) about eating disorders, I will think of the characters in the background, the friends who don’t know what is happening or simply do not know what to do, the family (are they hurting? Are they helping?). I suppose it is a personal trait, having both known and dealt with family who do not act as one expects to/ is used to read to.
In this case, Victoria Ying’s Hungry Ghost is just a triumph, the much-needed contrast to those characters who are always ready and able to help because they simply know how to and have all the answers. Val’s mother is such a real character, convinced of what she is doing, unable to understand her daughter has a problem even when she is just screaming it at her with her actions and then her words… It broke my heart into a thousand pieces. This is the representation I didn’t know I needed until I found myself wiping tears away. It hurts so real it is visceral, but at the same time, and somehow, it manages to end in a more positive note, there is a way out, friends are always there if you can see your errors, family is also always there and they do what they can, what they have known to be the best truth their whole life; what they thought was the best for you. It is you, as it is Val, who needs to take action, to realize a mother does not have all the answers and one needs to find their own place.
The same way I hope this story will find its way to all the readers that need to see their own reflection in these beautiful pages and maybe, after all this time, can start healing.

I was feeling blue after starting this and now I'm like a mess. But, in a good way, if that's possible.
This story is hungrier than most of the other stories in a very specific way. It tells a travel thought emotions and feelings that is not for everyone.
Searc thing for something different, soft and heartwarming? This is it.

I think what makes this book so difficult to read is the reality of it all; it’s brutal honesty and how harsh society and culture has become when it comes to female bodies.

The grief could have been visited a little deeper as that is just as difficult to discuss as ED, but I still think it wasn’t cookie cutter.

Full review on No Flying No Tights - https://noflyingnotights.com/blog/2022/12/26/hungry-ghost/
"Victoria Ying’s Hungry Ghost is a well-crafted graphic novel about a difficult topic, and I recommend it for high school or young adult collections. It will appeal to readers who look for family or relationship drama and realistic narratives, and I will be recommending it to many students in my library."

A touching and heartbreaking story about a young girl who wants to be good, who wants to be pretty and perfect... even if it means she isn’t allowed to eat. This is a story about Valerie Chu, a quiet, studious, and very skinny girl. She is raised in a house in which her mother constantly monitors her food, constantly telling her to not be fat, to eat less, to diet and lose weight if she wants to be pretty and perfect... and Val just wants to be good, to be the daughter her mother wants.... but that means she has developed an eating disorder, constantly making herself throw up to maintain her figure. Val isn’t happy, she doesn’t love her body, she’s anxious, tired, and sad, but what can she do? When tragedy strikes, it forces Val to re-evaluate what she wants to do with herself and how she will face her mother. This was a very realistic and heartbreaking depiction of a young girl dealing with an eating disorder. As someone who deals with the same kind of environment and home that Val is in, as someone who relates heavily to how Val is being treated, I thought this was spot on and it truly touched my heart that Val had the courage in her to take a stance for herself and get better. The artwork in this book was gorgeous but above all, the story was absolutely beautiful. Val is dealing with her body image, with a complicated and unhealthy way her mother shows love for her, and grief as she navigates a difficult time in her life. She took the steps to get better, to face her demons and to get help, and that was wonderful.

*Thanks Netgalley and First Second Books, First Second for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book, exploring a teenage girl's troubled relationship with her body and with food, absolutely devastated me. The art, light and pastel, is absolutely stunning, and the characters are rich and complicated. Every relationship that Val (the protagonist) had with another person (Val and her mother, Val and her best friend) in this book was complex in its own way, and the gentleness and nuance with which everyone was treated were breathtaking. I do typically avoid overwrought metaphors when writing book reviews, but I finished this book a few minutes ago and I feel like I got punched in the chest. Stunning in every way, and I will absolutely be recommending it. I think there are a lot of people who need this book.