(Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my copy!) This book! Such a weird little book, but so compulsive and incredible – once it got going, I absolutely could not put it down, and never knew what was going to happen next. Ronny and Tommy are sister and brother, the only children of their immigrant parents, who never really talk about their life in Vietnam. Tommy is the golden child, but has recently started pushing back at his parents and their ways of thinking, and Ronny largely feels unseen and unheard. When something horrible happens, Ronny doesn’t know how to cope with her new normal, and finds herself striking out in an extremely unexpected way. This is also a book about female rage, but also about generational trauma and family history. I don’t want to give more away, but if you’re into weird books, definitely read this one.

If I had more properly set expectations, perhaps I would have had a better time with this. However, based on the cover, the blurb, and the fact this is marketed as a cannibalism book, I was expecting far more horror than what I was presented with. Because honestly...how dare a cannibalism book feel so boring! I wanted so much more from this and it just failed to deliver on what I was expecting. The horror aspect is very light and I feel like I was reading a litfic book most of the time that only dabbled with horror scenes - but could never fully commit to them!

I went into What Hunger expecting a kind of inverse The Vegetarian by Han Kang, a slow-burn transformation centered on food, femininity, and refusal. What I got was something far more satisfying. In fact, I ended up enjoying What Hunger more. It dives headfirst into the messier terrain of identity and trauma.

What stood out most was how Catherine Dang explores the shift in personality, the way trauma mutates us and reshapes our relationships. Veronica’s transformation doesn’t feel metaphorical or symbolic. It’s visceral. It's lived. Her hunger isn’t abstract; it's earned. And as extreme as the cannibalistic urges may be on the surface, they're grounded in a kind of emotional logic that makes them disturbingly believable. Has a man hurt you? 'Ef it. Just eat him. Honestly? Fair.

Veronica’s rage, especially as a young woman, feels true. There's no hand-wringing about likability, no moralizing. She’s angry, she's messy, and she's hungry. Not just for flesh, but for justice, for autonomy, for space to feel something other than powerless. I especially appreciated her relationship with her mother, a character who initially seems cast in a more traditional light, only to reveal a dark steel of her own.

That said, calling this "horror" feels like a bit of a mislabel. While the book touches on horrific subjects, and yes, cannibalism is at the center, it didn’t scare me. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to. The real horror here isn’t the gore, but the world that shapes women into vessels of rage and hunger in the first place. Still, if you're going in expecting traditional scares, you might be surprised to find something quieter but more unsettling.

In a year where I’ve read more than my fair share of cannibalism fiction, What Hunger stands out... Because its monsters look a lot like us. And sometimes, they deserve what’s coming to them.

I really liked the different elements of dealing with grief and family dynamics, especially among the women in the family and didn't expect to see those themes in this story. I do feel like, though, that maybe a bit too much was trying to be done as once while also bringing in this element of horror and specifically cannibalism.
It felt like this was just a world without consequences, which I found to be odd. It was like Ronnie just did things and then we moved on but with very little thought into why she was doing what she is doing. I guess that's kind of being a teenager but I would have liked if there was a bit more exploration into that.
The ending also felt rushed and like it was meant to tie up the story but there wasn't much build up or implication to any of the revelations that were made.
Overall though, I did enjoy this story and do tend to like stories with cannibalism as a vehicle for female rage/trauma but think there are better stories out there if that's an itch you're looking to scratch.

What Hunger is a dark and emotional coming-of-age story that combines complicated family dynamics, identity, rage, grief, and generational trauma.

Veronica “Ronny” is the teenage daughter of Vietnamese immigrants who is just about to begin high school. After some traumatic events take place. She develops an insatiable appetite for raw meat.

I really liked this and was rooting for the main character, Ronny. I love that she stands up for herself and isn’t afraid to take matters into her own hands. I never knew what to expect and was kept on my toes. This book is truly unhinged and made my jaw drop a couple of times. The surprising connection between Ronny and her mom is probably one of my favorite parts. I thought the manifestation of grief is done so well that it made me relive my own. This book is tender yet bold and unapologetic. I especially appreciate how her family’s history and culture are tied in and meaningfully contribute to the story. There is some good insight on the pressures of immigrant families and the complexity of intergenerational trauma. I don’t typically gravitate towards horror books but I was pleasantly surprised with this one!

This is a much heavier read than I was initially expecting so I urge you to look at content warnings before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt that cannibalism was an interesting way to explore generational trauma, grief, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a bit of a darker and heavier read, but also with some revenge and insatiable hunger for survival.

When Veronica loses her older brother, Tommy, in a car accident, her life starts to fall apart. She’s used to having her brother leading her through life - he’s the first one to live through everything so she knows what to expect… except, now, she has to go through her first year of high school without his guidance. She has a hard time adjusting to life without him. Not just because of school, but because her traditional Vietnamese family is struggling without him too. Her mom, who usually has everything together, can barely dress herself. She’s no longer able to drive the car, meaning Veronica has to take the bus to school, her father has to do the grocery shopping, and her aunt has to come stay with them to get through this tough time.
When Veronica’s friends get boyfriends, they get invited to a party. Although Veronica can think of a million things she’d rather do, she goes anyway. When Veronica thinks she meets a nice boy, she finds herself in a terrible situation that awakens an insatiable appetite within her - and it may be something that was passed down to her.

I absolutely loved this! I gave it a 4, but it was more of a 4.5. I love horror that comes from a place of grief because there’s something authentic and beautiful about it.

I went into What Hunger already expecting to enjoy it, but I didn’t expect it to knock me off my feet the way it did. This book exceeded my expectations in the best way.

Catherine Dang takes what could have been a familiar coming-of-age arc and infuses it with something raw and unforgettable. Ronny’s hunger isn’t as simple as a horror element. It’s grief, rage, and identity made flesh. The role of food in connecting memory, family, and identity made the story feel grounded, even as it moved into more monstrous territory.

What impressed me most was how layered this book is. On the surface, it’s bloody, unsettling, and compulsively readable. But underneath, it’s a story about family, intergenerational trauma, and a young girl trying to navigate a world that suddenly feels unrecognizable after loss. The horror elements aren’t there just for shock, they carry emotional weight and add unexpected depth.

I’m going to be recommending this book to anyone who will listen. Fans of The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim will eat this book up :)

What Hunger is a haunting coming of age horror novel that follows Ronny, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, as she struggles with generational trauma while navigating the turbulence of adolescence. After the devastating loss of her brother Tommy, the one steady presence in her life, her already fragile family fractures further leaving Ronny to cope in isolation, cut off by both cultural and generational divides.

Going in, I expected graphic cannibalism (something I typically enjoy in horror), but I was pleasantly surprised by how layered this novel turned out to be. Alongside its horror elements, the story offers a glimpse into Vietnamese culture, especially through food which is described so vividly it sounds mouthwatering. At its heart, the novel is heavy with themes of grief and rage. The scenes of Ronny’s hopelessness and her aching longing for her brother are devastatingly effective. Catherine Dang makes you feel Ronny’s pain as if it’s your own. Her rage feels not only justified but inevitable, especially as tragedy continues to strike. The unsettling development of her craving for raw meat adds an unnerving layer to her grief, blurring the line between horror and heartbreak.

I found myself deeply sympathetic toward Ronny and rooting for her, particularly once she sets her sights on Michael’s character. The thread of Vietnamese cuisine woven throughout the novel is especially powerful, showing food as a source of memory, connection, and even healing. When Ronny’s aunt visits, she helps Ronny gain perspective on her parents’ struggles, offering moments of compassion and insight amidst the horror. Through this, Ronny begins to understand not just her own grief, but the generational pain carried by her family. Despite the tragedies and darkness, her aunt’s words echo a reminder: even in horror, there is light to be found.

What Hunger is raw, painful, and unforgettable. A horror story that cuts as deep emotionally as it does viscerally. I will definitely be reading more books by this author after enjoying it so much. Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What Hunger is a dark and haunting coming of age story that blends family drama, cultural identity, and body horror in such a unique way.
Ronny’s voice felt so raw and real, and I appreciated how the novel didn’t shy away from the complexities of trauma, family ties, and female rage.
This book won’t be for everyone because of its intensity, but for readers who enjoy character driven horror with cultural depth and lyrical prose, it’s a bold and memorable story. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Hunger. It is the force that has driven life since the dawn of time. Always manifesting from a place of need, hunger takes on many forms … sometimes, even grief. In Catherine Dang’s sophomore novel, she takes a departure from the suspense genre of her debut Nice Girls, and takes on a subject more … visceral.

What Hunger follows teenaged Ronny Nyugen as she comes of age amidst the tragic loss of her older brother. Growing up in their childhood home with their immigrant Vietnamese parents wasn’t always easy or conventional, but Ronny knew where to walk because Tommy walked there first, blazing a path for them to follow into the future. That is until Tommy’s bright future is ripped right from his hands after a terrible accident just before he heads off to college.

As Ronny attempts to navigate high school alone while also juggling her own and her parents’ grief, she discovers she has an insatiable hunger … for raw meat. Ronny finds all of her feelings about herself, her life, and Tommy bursting forth from her by way of an immense craving, a hunger she just cannot satisfy. The months after Tommy’s death pass by with Ronny tiptoeing through the waters of teenage angst, while also exploring ways to assuage the hungry animal inside her.

What Hunger is an unconventional book that completely takes you by surprise once the plot starts to kick in. It is body horror masquerading as coming of age literary fiction, and I quite enjoyed the unexpected turn of events. While the hunger for meat is the driving force behind this finely crafted novel, it is also a moving and poignant story of a young girl coming to terms with immense grief. The thoughts and feelings contained in this book hit raw and true, and you will find yourself rooting for Ronny to come out on top through it all.

It was not until I finished What Hunger that I realized that I had previously read and loved Dang’s debut Nice Girls. I was quite pleased to discover that I had found another Dang book to enjoy, and I appreciate her obvious ability to write from a variety of genres. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy well-written coming of age stories, but who are also looking for something a bit different and subversive.

I devoured this book in a mere four days because the exhilarating plot gave me a whole lot of food for thought to gnaw on. “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang is an unsettling exploration of the complexities of womanhood, seared in the rawness of Vietnamese culture and the deep emotional trenches of family ties. This feminist horror novel captures the naked, gritty essence of a coming-of-age journey, where the protagonist dives deep into the tumultuous and bloody waters of self-discovery amidst grief, tragedy, and unspeakable acts.

Within the bones of the narrative lies a profound sense of family disconnection, worsened by the grief of losing an immediate family member. The author skillfully weaves this theme into the story, illustrating how such loss can fracture familial bonds and leave lasting scars on those left behind. The characters struggle with their emotions and revealing the truth buried with their beloved family member. Their grief festers into bitterness and despair, making their pain resonate with readers on a deeply personal level.

One of the most delightfully dark aspects of “What Hunger” is its rich depiction of Vietnamese culture and cuisine. The author uses food and folklore to intertwine the poignant exploration of family history with undercurrents of something darker eating away at Veronica’s family members. Readers are treated to an often grotesque and feral sensory feast, with vivid descriptions that not only highlight the importance of meat as a symbol of wealth in Vietnamese culture but also serve as a backdrop for strained familial ties and a deeply disturbing heritage. This element adds a uniquely twisted flavor to the narrative, reinforcing the connection between identity, culture, and the act of nourishment.

Additionally, Dang does not shy away from exploring the often savage and sickening experience of surviving being a woman, between the sudden cravings, the frustration of mood swings, and the infuriating way society treats women. Through Veronica, the author delves into the primal aspects of femininity, highlighting the struggles and the visceral realities that women face. This raw portrayal is both empowering and enraging, encouraging readers to confront the complexities of womanhood in a society that often seeks to silence these voices.

“What Hunger” is a powerful and provocative read that challenges societal conventions that leave willful women insatiably hungry — not just for sustenance or survival, but for identity, belonging, and connection. Catherine Dang masterfully crafts a compelling narrative that resonates with anyone who has grappled with loss and the search for self in a world that can be both beautiful and unbearable. This book deserves a place on every bookshelf for its unique storytelling and profound themes, making it a must-read for those who appreciate feminist literature with depth, nuance, and a touch of body horror. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Vegetarian by Han Kang or the works of Delilah S. Dawson.

This book was quite depressing for a good portion of the story. I felt sad for the main character, Ronnie, for so many reasons. She is dealing with grief, teenager stuff, violence against her, and a poor family dynamic. Then things started to pick up. I didn't mind the meat aspect but felt the story missed it's mark. There is something missing in the wrap up which felt suddenly rushed and left unanswered questions. I think there was potential but this one missed the mark.

There’s nothing better than when the book you’ve been dying to read ends up being everything you hoped for and more. What Hunger went places I didn’t totally expect and perfectly blended the coming of age fiction with horror ❤️‍🔥.

As much as I love when books are compared to Jennifer’s Body, not all books end up meeting that bar, but What Hunger easily did. I can only imagine what a follow-up to this would look like. 18-year-old Ronnie? 20s or 30s with life experience? Yes please. Her rage was already so sharp, and her view on the world defined at 14. I can only imagine how that grows, especially with certain unexpected twists.

The writing is very cinematic, and I found it easy to slip into the story every time I picked it up. It felt as if I was there next to Ronnie, which would be interesting to say the least during certain scenes 😅. Like many of the FMC’s we’ve been introduced to through the countless good for her stories, I want to be friends with her.

If you’ve been in the mood for or loving the coming of rage stories, you need to pick this up. You’d be missing out otherwise. Just… maybe don’t eat while reading it? It’ll be difificult because Dang’s description of the food is phenomenal. So be careful 😉.

4.5 / 5 stars

Vietnamese-American Veronica “Ronny” Nguyen has always lived in the shadow of her older brother, Tommy — the golden child who can do no wrong and is set to leave for college in the fall. However, Ronny would rather stay in that shadow than face being left behind in a silent house with her conservative parents, who refuse to talk about their lives in Vietnam.

But when an unthinkable tragedy shatters the Nguyen family, Ronny begins her first year of high school without Tommy’s steady presence and with grief pressing down on her. Less than a month into the school year, she’s assaulted at a party — and in the aftermath, she discovers something terrifying inside herself: an insatiable craving for raw meat, and a hunger for vengeance that only grows sharper.

What Hunger starts out like a standard summer-before-high-school coming-of-age novel, but then takes a sharp turn into dark places and outright horror. There’s no supernatural monster here – the horror comes from Ronny herself, from her body and her cravings, and from the grief and trauma she carries. The writing leans into visceral sensory detail (there’s a scene with raw bacon... and you know what, I’ll leave that thought there) while also rooting Ronny in a deeply human way.

What really struck me about this one was how alive Ronny felt on the page. Female cannibalism as vengeance seems to be having a moment in horror right now – but Ronny isn’t a femme fatale or seductive monster. She’s angry, hurting, and sometimes terrifying, but I always understood her (not something I ever thought I’d say about a teenager with a taste for flesh). She’s not just processing her assault – she’s grappling with loss, xenophobia, and expectations from parents who keep themselves at arm’s length. A sense of generational trauma and cycles of grief is woven throughout the novel, giving the story a resonance well beyond its body horror.

Readers should be aware that this one goes to some unsettling places: sexual violence, animal harm, and graphic descriptions of raw flesh. But if you’re craving a horror-tinged coming-of-age novel that isn’t afraid to stare straight at grief, rage, and survival, What Hunger more than satisfies.

this is for the Jennifer's Body girls!! this is Jennifer's Body if Jennifer was Needy.
I loved the writing, the exploration of grief, the feminine rage. the only complaint I have is that the ending felt a little unsatisfying to me.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for my free ARC of What Hunger by Catherine Dang — available now!

» REVIEW «
Apologies for the brevity and delay of this review, but summer has got me backed up on reviews and ARCs 😅

What Hunger is a lovely, taut exploration of grief horror, and I was enraptured the entire time. Beautifully written and packed with themes of family, belonging, healing, and tension—don't miss this one if you're a psychological horror fan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this story, especially with the full circle moment at the end. A coming of age tale, rich with Vietnamese history and culture sprinkled throughout filled with female rage and cannibalism. This book was my cup of tea. I can’t wait to see what else this author comes up with in the future!

Wow a fast and compelling read!! Maybe for readers who liked NIGHT BITCH or THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART, it’s part family drama part horror? But a really good read about woman rage and how it manifests in family lineage too. Didn’t expect where this book ended up going!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book. It was a very interesting ride! I enjoyed the story telling. It was odd and creepy, but also relatable in a fucked up way. I enjoyed the ride, but 3 stars. I wasn’t really a fan of the ending. It felt like it lacked a bit at the end which left me feeling a bit disappointed.