I gave this book 3 stars
Yes it talks about her struggle with an eating disorder but it doesn't give to much background into why in my opinion of how this all developed yes she thinks she's fat but that's all that it tells you not anything else
The mothers reaction to hearing her daughters struggle feels so unrealistic to me that it just turned me to this book almost completely.
My favorite character in this book was Mae she's the only one that seemed willing to help her sister get better.

Good things about this book:
-fat girl representation
-overall concept of fat and beautiful, and that they are not mutually exclusive
-discussion about eating disorders and bullying

Things I didn't like about this book:
-it's very short, it's written in verse and told very quickly there is no attachment that you'll feel towards any of the characters whether or not you see yourself in them. The story is told so quickly but there's no time to get emotionally invested.
-there's no resolution or connection made between eating disorders and bullying. While I appreciated that they talked about the idea that fat people can and do have eating disorders, a solution of dancing and promising to get help is not okay. If you're going to tackle such a large issue you need to explain to young readers how to deal with it. Put some resources in there, talk about getting help and emotional support.
-the level of bullying at the end of this book was very unrealistic to me. While I actually detested Erick as a character, and bullying is alive and real and just as horrifying as it's always been, the fact that any of what happened would actually happened at a school function is unrealistic.

Overall I appreciate where the author was going with this, but as a fat girl who has had an eating disorder, this book needed some sensitivity readers and a little bit more research. Let's continue to talk about positive fat girl representation and the connection between eating disorders and bullying, but we need to make sure that books accurately describe and supply the resources for recovery and help. That is especially true for books directed at young readers.

character was childish writing was basic topic was powerful and awesome, kinda split on this one but def glad it was a thing written

First, I really appreciate the author creating a story based on eating disorders. This is a topic we don't hear about enough and it is such a real issue in today's society. I found this aspect of the story very interesting, as it is something I have never read about before.

Second, this book was very short due to it being written in verse. I am not a big fan of this, but I was still able to enjoy the story because I connected with the characters. Although I enjoyed the characters, I feel as though the story was a little underdeveloped and ran flat in parts.

Overall, I really like the message this book sends and think it is a really important book in this day and age.

Not Hungry seemed rushed and not well researched. The author failed to portray the mental illness and progression of the eating disorder in depth.

I’m a huge fan of books written in verse, I normally find them beautifully and lyrically written. This was no exception, my only wish was that it was a bit longer. I found myself completely immersed in the plot, because it was written so realistically. I felt like I knew June inside and out, which I feel was the whole point of the story. It was nice to hear how June felt and I can see how realistic the whole story seemed. I do feel like the book ended tied in a bow and presented very neatly. This may be the only thing I wouldn’t mind have been done differently.

I really enjoyed June and Mae as characters, the seemed so real and it was nice to see things from their perspective. Their mom was a whole other story, she made me want to pull my hair out at points. She was just awful and made me so angry the way she would glorify June’s eating disorder symptoms. Then we have Toby… I’ll let you get your own take on this awful person!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this beautifully written novel told in verse. I feel like it brought up many tough issues, eating disorders, body and fat shaming, and dealing with unsupportive parents. I wouldn’t mind another book that goes on to show June’s recovery or what happens after this one ends.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
💚
There are 3 lies and 2 truths in June's life
Lie 1 - I'm Not Hungry
Lie 2 - I'm Fine
Lie 3 - It'll Be Okay
Truth 1 - Everyone Has Secrets
Truth 2 - June Has An Eating Disorder
💚
Not Hungry is a shorter book than I was expecting, and has been written in verse, most likely to show just how sporadic June's thoughts are, and it is a nice change for me. We follow June in what feels like a short period of time, and learn of her Bulimia and how she and her sister Mae are bullied and suffer "fat shaming"
💚
My Positives:
1. I like the fact that it was an easy read, it was also very quick, and the books layout was also a nice change for me
2. Love the fact that the sisters finally stuck up for each other and stayed at the dance feeling empowered together
3. I'm glad that Mae did not stay with Erick just because it was nice to call him her boyfriend, it was nice to see her have some self pride.
💚
My Negatives:
1. Felt slightly underwhelmed after reading the book, I was expecting a bigger story and more of an in depth exploration of eating disorders after reading the sypnosis
2. Felt the character building was quite minimal, however I did hate Erick (empathise on the ICK) within moments of the book after seeing his behaviour.
3. The ending annoyed me, there could of been more of an explanation on where June seeked help, rather than them being at a dance saying she'd speak to the guidance counsellor Monday.
1.5 🌟

Not Hungry by Kate Karyus Quinn is a YA story about June who is struggling with an eating disorder (unspecified binge eating/bulimia?) and is thrown into turmoil when the boy next door finds out her secret. I appreciate what this book was trying to do, but unfortunately it did not sit well with me.

Ok, so this book is written in verse, which isn't a problem in itself, but what I didn't realise is this is classed as a 'Hi Lo' read - meaning it is intended to have a high impact with a low reading level - which is great, it just didn't suit the severity of this story

This book is really short, like 30 pages on my kindle. Meaning a lot of the serious issues like eating disorders, bullying and relationship abuse weren't addressed in depth. In my opinion, they were glossed over.

Saying that, I feel eating disorders were handled in a very insensitive and graphic manner so anyone who has been touched by an eating disorder should stay clear.

tw: fat shaming, bingeing, disordered eating encouraged by a parent, bullying, emotional abuse, sexual harassment

In short, If it wasn't so short and I wasn't trying to catch up on my reading goal, I probably wouldn't have finished this. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, let alone the young readers it is intended for.

*I was given a copy of this via Net Galley for my honest review.*

I didn't love this. I also didn't hate it but it hit me in a very real place within my own life. The main character, June, handles her eating disorder a bit differently than I do, I have been recovering for more than half of my life, but I can relate to the way she internalizes how she views herself and her relationship to food.

One thing I wish were more prominent in the book is the relationship with the people around her, which we go more of a glimpse of towards the end, when everything came to light for the people who support her most. When she comes into her own, that is where she begins to blossom into who she really is, regardless of whose watching.

I'm not a huge fan of poetry, but it worked for this sort of broken thought process.

Overall, I liked it and I was able to relate in a very personal way.

Though this book is advertised as a hi-lo reader, I was disappointed that the book did not delve very deeply into either plot or character. The main character's eating disorder was almost glossed over. I feel that sometimes, it's difficult for authors to do verse storytelling well; this didn't feel like the verse format did anything for the story other than make it a "quick" read. Just because it's a hi-lo (High interest, low reading level) doesn't mean the author should skimp on depth of character and story. It also felt unresolved. Other authors also address eating disorders, but take readers through the real stress and struggle of recovery, not just of admitting there's a problem. I would not recommend this book for my students, not even for my low-level readers.

Writing about teenage girls and eating disorders can be difficult to do without falling into the pitfalls of stereotypes. Thankfully, Not Hungry is able to navigate these waters beautifully!

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book! It is written in verse and truly speaks words that are normally hard to say. Being someone who has always struggled with my weight, I felt June & Mae's pain, their struggles, and their happiness at the end. Wow, I just love it.

I'd like to place a trigger warning on both this book and this review for eating disorders.
Not Hungry follows the story of June, a girl with an eating disorder who constantly tells the same lie: she's not hungry. However, as her secrets are revealed, she questions everything she's known to be true. I viewed this as a story about making the decision to get help from a self destructive behavior, but I would have liked if it went a little more in-depth into recovery, since there's a truly hard road to recover from an eating disorder. Personally, as someone recovering from anorexia, I believe this book should have been longer in order to show the self discovery one makes while being in recovery. Overall, I liked the final decision June made to get help, but I would have liked to see her some time into her recovery, especially since I am yet to find a book that focuses on eating disorder recovery.

The first thing I noticed about this book was the bright pink, rather girly looking cover, with a plate at it’s centre, with a rather generous size piece of cake/cookie/bun. I also discovered it was categorised as a HiLo book, and I wanted to publicise some of these books on my blog. If you are not familiar with the term “Hi Lo Book” it is a book that offer highly interesting subject matter at a low reading level, therefore it encourages older children/adults into reading about a subject they may be interested in but perhaps they aren’t so good at reading. I say anything that encourages more people into reading is great. Usually the fact that the book has the “poetry” genre label would usually put me off, but, this year I decided to read more books that weren’t necessarily in my normal comfort zone of reading.

The main characters in this book are June, Toby and June’s sister Mae. June considers herself to be overweight, everyone thinks June is on some fad style diet, only she isn’t. June has an eating disorder where she will eat nothing at all, then perhaps see a tray of buns her older sister Mae has baked and she will sneak around and when no one is watching June will eat them all. After eating so much in such a short time June will then run to the bathroom or outside behind a certain hedge to be sick, therefore ridding herself of what she has just binged on. There is no in between with June, she is either eating nothing at all, or really bingeing until the point at which she is sick and ridding herself of what she has just eaten. It is during one of her trips down the garden to her favourite bush to be sick behind that she meets Toby. June is mortified this boy she doesn’t recognise has seen her being sick, he knows her secret. June settles her worrying by thinking she hasn’t seen this boy before so maybe he was just a visitor, what is the likelihood of her seeing hm again. Unfortunately for June, this boy, Toby has just moved in with his grandmother, Junes next door neighbour and will be attending the same school. June is really scared she’s convinced that Toby will say something so when he doesn’t, she is shocked.

I loved the characters of June and Mae, that they have each other’s back no matter what, even though they may not put it into words every day. The book unfolds a little bit like a diary or as if June is actually talking to the reader. June describes herself as a liar, but she only ever tells one lie and that’s when she says “I’m not hungry”. It’s sad that June feels like she has no one to confide in, or rather she feels like she hasn’t got anyone. When all the time her sister Mae is insecure about her weight and curves too. Though as the older sister has a tad more confidence and dresses very well for her individual body shape. When the two girls finally trust each other to open up to one another , they discover they are a formidable team.

I aren’t totally sure what I think of the character called Toby. Sure, he hasn’t had the easiest childhood but now he is living with his grandmother things are better. Though he knows about June’s issue with food and doesn’t call her out on it or ridicule her at school, I feel, in my opinion that he plays with her emotions and the fact she isn’t very confident.
Toby has two separate identities, the one he is when he is at home with his grandmother and wants to go on walks and hold June’s hand. Then there’s the Toby at school who is part of the popular gang, that girls crush over and he doesn’t even acknowledge June’s existence.

I was really annoyed with June & Mae’s mother when June admits to not eating her mother’s reaction is not to encourage her to eat but to almost pat her on the back and say she wished she had June’s will power to not eat anything!

The character I loved to hate was Erick. By the way, I seriously laughed out loud at the parts where he is referred to as Er..”ick” it really suited him! I despised the way he treats both his girlfriend Mae and her younger sister June. The cheek of him getting angry when Mae makes different cookies to the usual chocolate ones that he has been selling to his friends!! I found the homecoming dance scene amusing when for a change he is on the receiving end of the sarcasm rather than being the one dishing it out.

I won’t go into detail but there is a scene where June has to make a choice and I have to say I am so happy with the choice she made. A few days or weeks earlier she wouldn’t have been confident enough in herself to make the choice she did.

So, to sum up I found the way June’s eating disorder was described and talked about to be in a simple, realistic but very honest way. I think this book would make a great conversation starter within the right setting, giving a safe environment for females or males to start a discussion on their own eating habits.

I don't love books written in verse, and didn't realize that's what this was when I requested it. The story was good, it just felt like a missed opportunity to really explore it fully.

This book tells the story of what it is like to be overweight/obese. Yes, the story itself is fictional, but it's how thousands of people feel every day.
It is very easy to slip into an eating disorder; it takes hold of you before you even know what's going on, and when you finally realise, it's too late.
If you're anorexic, it's usually portrayed as glamorous and something to aspire to be; if you're bulimic or binge eat, you're gross, so you have to hide it. This book tells the story of just that.

The book is written in free verse. I would have liked it more had it been written as a novel, as the verse doesn't really flow. It is also difficult to get the writing right on kindle as I was never sure if my font was the wrong size or the paragraph/passage was supposed to end where it did.
It's a quick read, and as such it's an okay one. I would recommend this book to very young teens who are not familiar with the topics yet.

NetGalley and publishers have kindly provided me with an ARC. My views and opinions are my own.

3.75 stars.

"my dream isn't to be
anorexic.
but for people
like Lacey
to think i could be"

as someone who had an eating disorder in high school, i really appreciate this. through verse, June's story feels even more raw and painful to me. it's not a pretty read, but i think it's worth it.

It's very rare to read a book about eating disorders in fat girls and I totally dig it. I wish I could have read this book when I was a teen, fat, low self-esteem and struggling with an eating disorder that even know as an adult isn't taken seriously. It's so important to see yourself represented in a book.

I love how we see Junes progression from self-hatred for herself but love for her sister, and seeing June begin to accept her problems and understand that she doesn't need to be ashamed of who she is!

And written in verse?! even better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this title. It was a quick read, and I thought Quinn did an excellent job tackling the difficult topic of eating disorders, body image/perception, and abusive relationships.

Although some people may complain about this aspect, I really enjoyed the fact that there's a character who you completely loathe and then get to enjoy when they get what's coming to them. The ending is quite satisfying, and it leaves you with hope for the main character.

Some of the verse sections where June discusses her eating disorder are beautifully written and a great example of verse fiction. I'd definitely recommend this title to our teen patrons!

2.5 stars - As someone who has been ridiculed for their weight and suffered from a binge-eating disorder, I can attest to how real this story feels. It can be especially difficult to work through these disorders when the adults in your life are celebrating your unhealthy habits while telling you that your accomplishments aren't good enough. With that being said, I think that having this story written in verse really helps to showcase the uncontrollable and sporadic thoughts that come along with any mental illness.

Its always nice to see a part of yourself represented within a story. However the bullying that took place towards the end seemed a bit unrealistic and the same conclusion could've been achieved through confrontations with other prominent characters.

What really brought down my rating though was the lack of any resolution. If you're going to offer a story to young adults about eating disorders, you also need to include how to get help and demonstrate the recovery process. Sorry but dancing and saying you'll get help just doesn't cut it.