Came for the horror novel, stayed for the heart-wrenching tragedy of growing up.

This book is nothing I expected it to be and I was thrilled by every page. Ronny is a 14 year old girl doing her best to exist in a world that seeks to other her and her family. The neighborhood isn't "right", her family isn't "right", her...hunger isn't "right".

This sweet girl is going through all of the stresses of adolescence amidst a sea of crippling grief. She faces a loss of innocence so quickly and feels she has no one to turn to. As a middle school teacher, I see these same milestones tackled by many of my students and the helplessness to stop it makes my tummy hurt. Witnessing Ronny's experience was no different.

While this book was nothing but surprises and not nearly as gory as I was expecting given the pitch of Cannibalism and "for fan's of Jennifer's Body" this was a surprisingly captivating read and quickly jumped to my top 5 reads of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a free e-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

What Hunger explores how grief, rage, desire, and trauma shape and shift our identity. It surprised me, in the best way -- first with its humour and then with how immersive it was, how it moved me and made me think. The final third felt a bit too packed, rushed, and became repetitive, but I am still grateful for the ride.

Wholesome Cannabalism???

I loved this book so much. We follow Ronny, a girl about to enter high school who's world is upended by a family tragedy. This book is female rage, generational trauma, healing relationships, and starting high school.

Ronny feels real and raw. You just want to hold her hand and let her know that it gets better.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the early copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!!!

This book was absolutely FANTASTIC. I wasn’t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster it took me on. The anger, sadness, and the raging HUNGER for revenge. Catherine Dang does an incredible job of capturing raw emotion. The story had me fully invested from start to finish, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. If you’re looking for a gripping, emotionally charged read, this one delivers.

Thanks @NetGalley for the e-ARC!
#NetGalley

thank you netgalley for the arc.

"His panic made me calm," yasss girlll.

I liked some parts of this book, but it’s not my favorite. The story is interesting and different. I really loved the cover and the synopsis. I also liked how the book talks about family and growing up as an immigrant. Sometimes some parts felt relatable. I even rolled my eyes and thought, “Yeah, of course this would happen,” because duh it felt so real. But at the same time, some parts were a bit annoying because it didn’t feel like there was anything new about that. Annoying family antics etc.

I was also kinda surprised by how fast the first tragedy happened. I know it was very sad, but I think the grief didn’t feel deep enough. And then, when something terrible happened to Ronny again, it didn’t hit me emotionally. I wanted to feel more, but I didn’t. It was just ... okay.

And about her sudden craving for meat, I felt the reason behind it wasn’t strong enough. Maybe I just needed more emotion to believe it. But that’s just my personal opinion.

Overall, What Hunger has a unique story and strong themes, but I wanted more emotion and depth in some parts. That’s why I think 3 stars is fair.

This is about a Vietnamese-American girl who suffers a family tragedy and is forced to cope with the loss, a traumatic event, and a hunger for raw meat. I really enjoyed this. This book did a great job at capturing the stifling, hot environment our protagonist lives in and slowly building her descent into further and further depravity. The way the author incorporated the family and their lore made this book stand out as the best I’ve read in this up-and-coming girl cannibal genre.

Thank you so much for providing me this book! I will be including my review in my June Reading Wrap-Up on my TikTok account.

Wow. This is my favorite of 2025 so far! I mean, absolutely incredible. 🥩🍜🍻

The summer before high school, Veronica's days are passing by in a haze. She's bored, limited to her backyard reading smut. (I mean...not bad!) Her older brother Tommy is leaving for college and she doesn't know what she's going to do without him, leaving her full of dread and longing.

This is female rage done right. I love coming of age stories because we're simply always coming of age, especially as women. There are so many stages of life, and the hunger is like... trying to fill an unfillable void.

Facing a loss of control for the first time is nearly unbearable. It's animalistic. It's a battle and most of us emerge covered in blood, dirt and grime, angry because no one else understands. Until you find someone that does. Most women do.

Veronica is haunted and powerful, but has so much to learn about herself. I loved how simple this story was, how jam-packed it was with culture, home, and food. I felt like a friend coming over, sitting down at her dinner table experiencing a generational tapestry.

The book is Jennifer's Body-esque, but there's more meat to it. Pun intended 🫢

What Hunger comes out on August 12th! Thank you so much to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the ARC!

4.5 Stars

Wow, I had high hopes for this one, especially with the promise of it being for fans of “Jennifer’s Body” (a cult-classic that is permently etched in my brain, shout out to Diablo Cody). With that promise, I think I expected a dark, cannibalistic comedy. But, the tragedy of this story cuts so much deeper and that made me love it even more than I was initially expecting. I will try my best to set up this book without revealing too much, because it is a special trip to go on by yourself.

At 14-years-old, Ronny finds herself in an in-between of sorts. She is about to enter high school, her “perfect” older brother is moving to go to college, and her immigrant parents are possessive of them without ever revealing too much about their pasts (or secrets). In the wake of a (trigger warning) tragedy and (trigger warning, part two) an attempted sexual assault, Ronny finds herself with a seemingly incurable hunger. A hunger for human flesh. THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S A CANNIBALISM BOOK!

There are so many aspects of this book that were painfully relatable. Dang perfectly captures the awkward in-between of being a young teenage girl, wanting to be an adult but also recognizing you’ll never be a child again (especially as the fucked up world strips away your innocence). Ronny experiences multiple life-changing events in a short time frame and at such a young age, it feels like she is scrambling for some stability and comfort.

Come for the cannibalism, stay for the emotional sucker punch (speaking of which, this book could also be recommended for fans of the film “Sucker Punch”). If you enjoy coming-of-age stories, immigrant experiences, cannibalism, revenge, or have ever lived in the state of Missouri (trigger warning part three, this book takes place in Missouri), this book is for you!

There were so many times I lowered my book, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Experiencing everything through Ronny was such a tragic experience, and I am so thankful I got to experience it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a free e-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

More cannibal girlie books - what a time to be alive! I am not going to tell you anything about the book because I think going in blind to these kind of books is best.
This read more literary with a horror tinge. It is an unsettling read of a young girl who is grappling with a traumatic life event all while navigating a family who doesn't quite understand her because of the generational divide. The book navigates generational and cultural barriers within a family along side her response to grief. The overall atmosphere and tone of the book is heavy - which makes sense considering the plot of the book.

I would definitely recommend it to the lit fit readers! I will definitely be looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

This was very similar, like A LOT, to The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim. Cannabilism, coming of age, female rage, grief horror… literally exact. While it was a good read & well written, it was not what I was hoping for and I felt let down that the synopsis was so similar to Kim’s recent novel.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this opportunity.

What Hunger is a powerful coming-of-age novel that beautifully explores identity, family, and the Vietnamese-American experience. Catherine Dang captures what it’s like growing up with immigrant parents, navigating two worlds while trying to find your own.

Ronny is a compelling main character, and Dang’s writing pulls you right into her emotions—you really feel what she’s going through. One of the most moving parts is when Ronny begins to understand that her parents had full lives before her, and that there’s so much more to them than what she sees every day. It’s a quiet but powerful shift that’s written with real care.

This book is thoughtful, emotional, and so well-written. A great read that stays with you. The longer I think about it, the more I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What Hunger channels feminine rage into taking a bite out of body horror, generational trauma, and coming of age (literally!!) I typically don't enjoy books written for adults with younger characters, but I think Dang wrote Ronny's character perfectly for this story. At the age of fourteen she's dealing with a huge multitude of issues, at one of the most confusing times for a teenager, the onset of puberty.

I thought the tone of the story and pacing worked well, from Ronny's younger perspective. The book is a quick read, but Dang covers a wide range of heavy topics. I really enjoyed the way Dang immersed the reader in the Vietnamese culture with the food and Ronny's family. She creates tension with the family's traditions and the divide in that tradition with two children that were born into American culture, who don't speak their parents language or enjoy some of the traditional Vietnamese foods.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
* Loss of a Loved One/Grief
* Coming of Age
* Feminine Rage
* Family Secrets
* Abuse

𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲?
🥶 (No)

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:
The book does include sexual assault

What Hunger delivers an unhinged horror take on the emotional trauma of going through puberty, navigating high school, grieving the loss of a loved one, and dealing with complicated family dynamics. I would recommend adding this one to your spooky season TBR.

More female cannibalism books please!!

Loved this one and it's mix of coming-of-age, Vietnamese family dynamics and horror!
You'll never eat pho the same way again

I really liked this book. It starts off quiet and slow following 14-year-old Ronny before she begins high school and quickly turns dark and intense after she experiences a tragedy and a horrifying experience at a party. When Ronny’s strange hunger begins, it’s super creepy but also kind of fascinating. It really shows how much pain and anger she’s been burying. It’s a weird but powerful story about growing up, dealing with family issues, and finding strength in unexpected ways

I didn’t finish this one so it’s not a full review - I appreciated the characters but I wasn’t personally engaged with the cannibalism themes

This is a coming of age story about Veronica, a 13 year old child of Vietnamese immigrants. After her brother Tommy’s high school graduation tragedy hits the family. Her unbearable grief combined with the trauma of an incident at a party produces an all-consuming rage and hunger for revenge in Veronica.

This is a book about cannibalism, but it is also about Vietnamese culture, the experience of being the child of immigrants, and a relationship between a mother and daughter.

The cover of this book is gorgeous. I really enjoyed reading this book and thought the character development was done really well. I am a fan of the cannibalism as metaphor for female rage genre and I think this is a great entry. I enjoyed learning about Vietnamese culture and the relationship that Veronica has with her mom. I thought the book explored generational trauma very well. I saw a lot of people comparing this book to Jennifer’s Body, so if you’re a fan of that movie, be sure to check out this book.

What Hunger was so much more than I was expecting.

Catherine Dang explored so many facets of a young woman’s life in this coming-of-age story- grief, revenge, connecting with culture, learning about (the past of) her parents, trauma and generational trauma, and so much more! Veronica was a complex, relatable, and lovable character even though she was flawed and going through so much in her life all at once.

As much as I was invested in Veronica and her descent further into her newest addiction and craving, I was so invested in her relationships with her mom, dad, aunt, and Vietnamese culture. I personally haven’t read anything that so clearly depicts how the Vietnam war affected Vietnamese people and in turn their first generation Vietnamese-American children. I loved how Dang used food as a bonding experience and to reflect how Veronica’s parent’s were feeling at any given time. Food/hunger/revenge/female rage/survival were all tied together so well and it really worked for me!

I definitely recommend What Hunger and am looking forward to reading more from Dang!

i really enjoyed this arc! thank you netgalley !

for some reason the concept of cannibalism has been in multiple recent reads and grossed out but i’m enjoying it. i enjoyed reading about a diverse culture and the influence that had on the characters along with the theme of grief and healing from a death in the family. i def would read more of this author in the future!

What Hunger by Catherine Dang is an incredible story with absolutely beautiful and evocative writing. This is a coming of age novel that deals with extremely heavy topics such as death, grief, abuse familial trauma, racism, misogyny, and immigrant stories- along with a dose of cannibalism. Veronica is a 14-year-old Vietnamese girl who is prepared to have a big, wonderful summer with her older brother Tommy before he goes off to college- until he is killed in a car accident, and everything gets worse from there.

I loved this book. It was visceral and cathartic, especially as someone who used to be a teenage girl dealing with things far beyond what I should have been and then having to go to school the next day. I absolutely sped through this book because I was hooked and needed to know what would happen next. I truly recommend this book for everyone, especially former teenage girls who maybe still feel like teenage girls more days than not.

I would like to thank Simon & Schuster publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
What in the world did I just read? Wow. In my effort to branch out and read more widely, this book immediately grabbed my attention. The cover art was intriguing, the summary promised an intense story, and it absolutely delivered.
Catherine Dang’s What Hunger follows Ronny, a 14-year-old entering high school when tragedy strikes her family, followed by an assault that alters her world. Forced to move forward, she must navigate the complexities of family life and a new school while carrying the weight of her trauma. Dang’s ability to capture the emotional turbulence of adolescence is what hooked me into Ronny’s character. I remember the overwhelming enormity of EVERYTHING during those teen years—Dang brings it to life with stunning nuance.
What makes What Hunger a truly worthwhile read is how it explores the complex ways trauma shapes a person, especially someone still discovering who they are and what they want. Add in mother-daughter bonding, and PRESTO! This book is intense, gripping, and unlike anything you’ve read before.