An absolutely incredible book I could not put down. This book was about families, trauma, and resilience. And it was most especially about women--sisters Althea, Lillian, and Viola, and Althea's two teenaged daughters--and all the ways they hurt and love each other.

This was a powerful book that covered many different subjects including eating disorders, violence, incarceration. The book focused on three sisters as they struggle to deal with the incarceration of the oldest sister and are picking up the pieces of each of their lives. While sometimes it felt like it was a tough read I am glad I finished it. The characters were well-written and powerful.

I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars here.

First of all, how cool is the title of this book?

This powerful, poignant debut novel examines how easy family ties can go from comforting to smothering, and how the scars of youth can still prove damaging long into adulthood.

"If, as a mother, I am my father's daughter, and I hate everything about him, what am I as a sister, who was all the mother they had?"

Althea was little more than a teenager when her mother died, leaving her to be a surrogate parent for her three younger siblings, Viola, Joe, and baby Lillian. Their father was a traveling preacher, mercurial on good days and violent on bad ones, wanted little to do with his children, but Althea wasn't really sure how to do more for her siblings than simply follow their mother's example. Sometimes that worked, but sometimes her siblings chafed under her discipline.

When Althea met Proctor, he offered protection—from the responsibilities of surrogate parenthood and from her fears about her father. Although they had two daughters of their own, Althea never felt like she "got" motherhood, often struggling with her relationships with her daughters, especially her oldest, Kim. Althea and Proctor became pillars of the community, owning a restaurant and leading many fundraising events for different charities.

But in an instant, everything fell apart. Proctor and Althea were arrested, guilty of crimes that left their entire community feeling angry and betrayed. They went from being respected to being ostracized, and that treatment extended to their girls as well. Suddenly Lillian is given responsibility for raising the girls, and while she does the best job she can, she has her own problems, her own issues to deal with. And when Viola arrives, trailing the debris of her own life, they try to see if two broken people can help bring normalcy to two teenage girls who have had their lives pulled out from under them.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls was an emotional read, difficult at times yet full of hope. It's a story of how our lives can be affected just as much by things unsaid as they are by things that are said. It's also a story about how the people we need the most can also be the people who cause us pain, sometimes inadvertently. And it's also a story about how important it is to have people in our corner, and sometimes those people are not whom we're expecting.

Reading this book, it was often hard to believe that this was Anissa Gray's debut novel, because the storytelling was so self-assured. Many of the characters were so rich and complex, and Gray slowly peeled back their layers so it almost felt as if you were getting to know them in real life. Strangely, however, Proctor and Althea remained a bit of an enigma to me, so even though they were at the center of the book, they never felt like fully formed characters, and I didn't understand what made them do what they did.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls is definitely one of those books you'll think about long after you've finished reading it. It's the arrival of an incredible literary talent, and I look forward to following Gray's career.

NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group provided me a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

While I put this book on the back burner for a while I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. The story follows three sisters as they struggle with their teenage daughters/nieces and with themselves. Their relationships with each other are complicated and realistic, and the multiple perspective storytelling really allows you to connect with each woman and better understand her thoughts and actions. By the end I was relieved see each character in a more hopeful and positive position in a way that felt real and not a picture perfect storybook ending.

I requested this title based on a recommendation by author Joshilyn Jackson, whose books I love. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one personally. There are so many characters introduced very quickly, and it was a challenge to remember who evereyone was every time I picked it up to read again. It's a good story, and well written, but I just am not loving it enough to want to finish it.

I'm so grateful for this heavy, emotional, and poignant book. It handles a lot of difficult and painful topics (eating disorders, incarceration, violence against children) in a thoughtful and productive way. It took me a while to understand the characters and the timeline, but it was worth the wait. The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls has a strong ensemble cast of characters, each at a critical and painful moment in their lives. Anissa Gray talks about trauma, grief, and anxiety so well. This is an incredibly powerful story.

A debut novel by Anissa Gray about sisters and daughters and their perception of each other and their roles in a family stressed by the imprisonment of the eldest sister/mother, Althea. The story is told by the 3 sister's voices and the letters written by Proctor who is in prison to his wife, Althea. There are decisions to be made by all as they determine the care of Althea's and Proctor's two teenage daughters. A well-written novel, not easy to put down.

Interesting story about two sisters who must deal with their third sister in prison for defrauding the community where Althea and her husband Proctor had a restaurant. Althea’s twin daughters go to live with their Aunt Lillian while their parents are away.

The author of this debut novel spends a long time setting up the characters and their families. The third sister has an eating disorder. One of the twins has weight issues and is angry and sullen.

I kept thinking everything would come together in the end but I was left unsatisfied.

Notable debut novel about family, relationships, and forgiveness. The story focuses on the Butler family, three sisters, Althea, Lillian and Viola and their brother, Joe.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Riveting and intense. The story was filled with twists and turns that I didn't expect. The family is at the heart of it and that isn't always easy to live with. Held my attention and gave me goosebumps.

This story is about a poor family that has stayed together inspire of abuse, neglect. and a mother's early death that forced a young girl into the adult role of Mother. Each sister has her own view of thing and what actually happened with the father and brother. It takes a while to sort out all the stories but it does come together in the end. There is a lot of drama and heartache but the situations fell real and the characters are believable.. A great read.

This book was sent to me- I thought it sounded interesting,
started reading,
Althea in prison - reflecting
she was sentenced to 5 years and her husband was sentenced for 7 years.
Althea needed to be there for her 2 sisters and brother, but more importantly for her 2 daughters.
She is attending jail Bible study,
thinking God, angels, and Bible stories may as well be dolls, unicorns and fairy tales to her.

The focus shifts around to different characters
Lessons are learned
Insight is realized

I really enjoyed this book! The dynamic between the family members and the trauma of growing up without a mother figure was quite moving. I especially enjoyed Althea and the relationships she developed while "away" from the family. What a moving storyline! A great read!

A very heavy story about a family trying to survive the many traumas in their lives. Althea, Viola and Lillian are sisters, in very different places in their lives. Althea and her husband, Proctor, are sent to jail while their daughters, Kim and Baby Vi struggle to make sense of their situation. Well written but slow moving and at times, my interest waned.

I read this book as background for a promotion on BookBrowse which is going very well. Currently among our member-reviewers it is averaging a very good 4.4 rating. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and my appreciation of it continues to grow as I mull over the story weeks later.

This is an amazing story, a moving family drama. Proctor and Althea are arrested which astounds everyone. They seemed to be the least likely to have committed a felony, fraud. The story covers their relationship, within and without the prison system. It also portrays the struggles of their family. This is beautifully done!

Ok gang, so I have to do therapy for my knee twice a week. It takes two hours but the last half hour is 15 minutes ultrasound treatment, then 15 minutes TENS unit and ice.

It feels longer than that, so I took my Kindle Oasis with me last time I went.

#NetGalley sent me this book and as soon as I opened it, I could NOT put it down!

Great characters, great storyline!

I hope this becomes a movie one day!

In this searing, touching novel, the lives, loves, and traumas of the four adult Butler children are examined through alternating chapters when the eldest, Althea, and her husband Proctor are sent to prison for taking charity donations and using them to purchase items for their restaurant. Lillian, the baby of the family, lives in the family home she has rehabbed, and has taken in Althea and Proctor's daughters--quiet, studious Baby Vi and wild child Kim. She bears the scars of childhood abuse (physical but not sexual) by her brother Joe, who has followed in their preacher father's footsteps. Viola has earned her doctorate and lives in Chicago, where she is a therapist to young women with eating disorders like the one she has suffered from much of her life. They all have a strained but loving relationship with Althea, who served as a substitute mother when their mother died at a young age. The townspeople who held Althea and Proctor in high esteem have since turned on their daughters, shunning and verbally abusing them. When Kim disappears, it becomes clear that this family must come together to face the futre.

This is a wonderful telling of so many things---family loyalty, deceit, dysfunction and just how strong women can be when called upon to do the impossible. This is a book that is hard to put down and the characters remain in your thoughts long after you finish.

was given an advanced reader copy of The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quiet book about a family with lots of troubles. It is not one of those twisty, mysteries, with shocking endings. It is a true family story with arguments, illnesses, dysfunction, and a realistic happy ending. If you are looking for a book full of twists or excitement, this is not the book for you.

Enjoyable.