Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for letting me read an eARC of this book! This book came out on August 12, 2025.

In this book we follow our main character, Veronica, who is a 14 year old Vietnamese teenager entering high school. Her older brother is Tommy, and he’s the start pupil of the school. He actually graduated at the beginning of the book & was the valedictorian of their high school. He’s set to go off to college when during the summer after he graduated, he gets into a fatal car accident. The rest of the story takes place in the following months after his death. We follow Veronica and her family as they grapple with Tommy’s death, while at the same time Veronica begins to discover a growing insatiable hunger.

Veronica is such an interesting character to follow as we watch her family grapple with Tommy’s passing, and the grief that encompasses their household. Quickly after Tommy’s funeral, Veronica’s aunt comes to visit and stay with the family while they get back on their feet. Veronica’s mother cannot drive as she is paralyzed by fear. Her father seems to be descending into his grief, and Veronica has been trying to figure out how life could go on without her older brother there to protect her.

This book explores grief, SA, coming of age and family dynamics in such an interesting way. Things seem to come full circle with this one in ways I could never have expected. I loved how the author tied in Vietnamese culture and history a bit. It was so interesting to learn about different parts of Vietnamese culture and practices. Also, I feel like I should mention that Veronica is definitely not a character you’re supposed to be rooting for. She’s a deeply flawed individual who is spiraling.

Overall this book was captivating and well thought out. It explores important topics while also being horrific in ways I couldn’t even fathom. It’s descriptive and cutting and raw emotion really bled through the pages. I definitely recommend, although I should also say this isn’t for the faint of heart! It gets gory in this one.

Catherine really captured the rage that can simmer in someone after they experience a trauma. In Ronny's case, her trauma was double, and you could really feel the discomfort on the page as she was ripped from her childhood cocoon and thrust into an adulthood that was so ugly and unforgiving. I'm not usually a horror reader, but I am so happy I took a chance on this book because it was beautifully written.

Ronny’s parents don’t talk of their old lives in Vietnam, but the home is rich in culture. When tragedy strikes, Ronny’s world is completely changed and when a boy crosses a line with her, she becomes hungry.

I love coming of age stories and I love horror stories, so it’s great when they come together. There aren’t a lot of coming of age horror out there like this. It gets a little… bloody, which was unexpected. I loved the cultural aspect of the story and how Ronny’s immigration and lives in Vietnam played into the story.

“I was a baby carnivore. I was fire and brimstone and I would burn whoever came into my path.”

What Hunger comes out 8/12.

This book was propulsive and right up my alley. I was standoffish at first but once it took off I couldn't put it down. One of the most unique coming of age novels I have ever read - as someone who loves this niche in the genre I appreciated the new take on it. The last 40 pages of this book had me GRIPPED! Absolute stunning portrayal of female rage and how it can be passed down from mother to daughter.

This was sad, gross, and rage inducing all at the same time. The moral of the story is men suck and I get why so many women in literature want to eat them lately.

3.75⭐️

This was such an interesting read. On the one had it was almost Lit Fic and on the other hand it was mild horror. To be honest, I think this would have been an incredible book without the horror attempt.
Basically, it’s about a girl who is the daughter of immigrants from Saigon. She has a brother who has a terrible accident and then she also has a traumatic experience in addition to that later on in the story. This trauma causes a hunger to open up inside of her. And the story is mostly about her, dealing with her family as they grieve and her dealing with her trauma on her own. Also her discovering and experiencing this new desire.
There’s a lot of themes in the story that I found were dealt with in a very realistic way. I could relate to Ronny the MC, and I loved the relationship that developed between her and her aunt. I also liked the progression of the story and the thing she later uncovers about her family. All these things made the story incredibly interesting and kept my attention, but then there were these little bits of horror that to me did not really bring anything to the story and could’ve been left out for the most part. This was a very wonderful character study and look into family dynamics that didn’t need the horror side at all. I get that down the road it ties into some background, but I think that background story could’ve been added in a different way.

Ok spoiler alert here ‼️‼️‼️

I mean,come on, you basically are saying cannibalism is passed down via genes that just didn’t make sense.

So yeah, take out that and this would’ve been an easy four star if not more.

***Thank you NetGalley, Catherine Dang, and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

3.5 ⭐️. pop off queen. loved this narrative of women behaving "badly" when all they are doing is reacting to the violence of men.

thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating story about a young 14yr old girl that had suffered a lot of loss and trauma in her life.
She was never the same, after the loss of her brother.
She had to learn to navigate all the feelings that came after the trauma.
She became ravenous. A taste for human flesh consumed her… as she felt the desperate need to consume others.

This book was an easy 5 star for me and I recommend it to those who love weird girl cannibalism books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Author: Catherine Dang, and Simon & Schuster for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!
The last 20 pages pushed this to 5 stars.

How do I even describe this book? I wasn’t sure how I’d feel going into it because me and some horror-ish almost magical-realism coming of age stories have not worked for me in the past. But oh boy what a book, packed a meaty punch in under 200 pages.

This book is about rage, grief, and food. This book is about family and the complexities of families. Especially the disconnect between immigrant parents and their American-born children. How the erasure of a person’s past can impact future generations. This book is about the importance of food keeping people and cultures alive. Our main character, Veronica, is at times monstrous and entirely relatable.

When tragedy strikes Veronica’s family the hunger takes hold and boring ass, lifeless meat will do.

HELL YEAH🤘🏼. This book was perfection- it was exactly what I needed to read right now to hit that female rage itch.

In this book we follow our main character Veronica, a 14 year old child of Vietnamese immigrant parents just starting primarily white high school in the Midwest, who is reeling from the early death of someone in her family. She’s going through the throes of grief primarily on her own as her parents begin to spiral and she finds herself more isolated from her friends. In her grief journey, she also experiences another traumatic event that ends in her violently needing to defend herself. This violence opens up a desire in her for more blood, and a desire for human meat.

I’m so in love with this book for the way it combines grief horror and cannibalism with female rage stemming from the violence and trauma women go through every single day. This book shows the grotesqueness of cannibalism compared to the grotesqueness of violence against women so artfully and it makes you want to defend and support Veronica’s depraved behavior. I also love how this book shows how trauma is generational, and incorporates the effects of racism, isolation, and immigration on this anger and frustration that builds in Veronica.

This book also has beautiful descriptions of Vietnamese food and culture, and shows the effects that forced immigration had on her parents, and how their grief is impacted by feelings of isolation in a primarily white community. It dives into the model minority stereotype and xenophobia.

I found this book to be masterful and so smart. If you were a fan of books like Chlorine, My Sister The Serial Killer, Shy Girl, or Motherthing, you will really enjoy this. Equal parts fun, enraging, depraved, disgusting, and gripping. I cannot wait to read everything else this author writes!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

What Hunger by Catherine Dang is a visceral, genre-bending debut that fuses psychological horror with a poignant coming-of-age narrative. Set in the sweltering summer before high school, it follows Ronny Nguyen, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, as she grapples with grief, isolation, and a violent awakening after a traumatic assault. Her sudden craving for raw meat becomes both a metaphor and a manifestation of buried generational trauma, linking her to her mother’s harrowing past as a refugee and survivor.

Dang’s prose is sharp and haunting, capturing the volatility of adolescence and the inherited weight of survival. Through Ronny’s transformation, the novel explores themes of female rage, cultural memory, and the monstrous hunger that trauma can leave behind. What Hunger is not just a horror story it’s a meditation on identity, power, and the primal instincts that surface when silence is no longer an option.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
A well-deserved 3 star read that had me cringing with disgust with the vivid descriptions. Want an excuse for calling into sick to work? Try reading the second half of this book and you will be sure to be hit with inescapable nausea. All that aside, this was my first read from Catherine Dang (a fellow University of Minnesota alum!! (ski-u-mah)). A great exploration of female rage when taken advantage of and put in precarious situations, this book explores how grief and trauma can turn one's life upside down. While it didn't make the cut for one of my favorites, I do think this book should be recommended if you are looking for themes that focus on female rage, retribution, grief, trauma, and helplessness. However, please (seriously) check your trigger warnings.

This book will also be talked about in an upcoming YouTube video that will be posted at the end of the year that discusses all of my advanced reader copies I've read this year. It will also be featured in an upcoming Bookstagram post.

I just finished this is one sitting 🫡 an absolute delight.

I was given this ARC earlier this year but never got around to reading it until now 😭 I was missing out!!

Several of my favorite books this year have had a focus on Asian culture, and I’m so happy to see these authors popping off. The audiobook narrator is also amazing, and I’m glad I chose to listen to this story as well!

This is basically a fast paced story about a highschool girl who has dealt with tragedy’s, and finds unique ~comfort~ to deal with those tragedies. Give me any story about a girl out for revenge and I’ll eat it up.

The ending was also so wholesome. Was not what I was expecting. I highly recommend this 🥩

A Visceral, Powerful Exploration of Grief and Identity

From the first page, Catherine Dang's What Hunger grabbed me and refused to let go. This isn't a typical horror novel, and that's what makes it so brilliant. It's a deeply unsettling, beautifully written, and profound exploration of grief, family trauma, and the messy, visceral reality of growing up.

The protagonist, Ronny, is an unforgettable character. Her journey is raw and authentic, and the metaphorical "hunger" she experiences is a masterful way to represent her overwhelming sorrow and rage. Dang’s prose is sharp and evocative, grounding the surreal elements of the story in a reality that feels both painful and true. The dynamics between Ronny and her family, particularly her mother, are portrayed with an emotional complexity that will resonate with anyone who has navigated a difficult family relationship.

What stayed with me most was the book's unflinching honesty. It doesn't shy away from the dark, uncomfortable corners of the human psyche. It feels less like a narrative and more like an emotional experience, leaving you with a haunting feeling long after you've finished the last chapter.

What Hunger is a bold, brave, and deeply impactful novel. It’s a modern coming-of-age story that subverts expectations and delivers a powerful commentary on what it means to be a young woman processing immense loss. It's a must-read for anyone who appreciates literary fiction that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty.

girls supporting girls!!!

holy cannoli!! first off Catherine Dang is now an auto-buy author for me! secondly, the first like 10% had me BAWLING! the way Dang is able to capture what its like being a younger sibling, childhood summers, growing pains, and the confusion of being a teenager is poetic. I truly felt like I could relate to our characters and their pain was my pain. But the way Dang was able to perfectly conclude everything in this story with such grace and simplicity was extravagant. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Thank you Catherine Dang for the ART!

thank you to netgalley and simon and shuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review


this book is perfect for the people who loved the book bunny by mona awad i really enjoyed it and cannot wait to read more from the author!

First off, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy!

I honestly didn’t know what to expect going in, though I do wish I had paid more attention to the major trigger warnings (that one’s on me). Still, I was completely captivated by the story. Ronny’s journey hit close to home—navigating grief as a young teen while growing up with immigrant parents felt so raw and real. The way she uncovered who her loved one truly was after their passing, all while carrying her own baggage, was heartbreaking yet powerful.

And about the cannibalism—we all knew it was coming, but the way everything unraveled was so gripping that it still managed to catch me off guard. The execution was unsettling in the best way, and I couldn’t look away as it all unfolded.

If this book has been on your radar, do yourself a favor and pick it up—it’s the perfect eerie read for spooky season.

I did not end up completing this novel, as I found it very difficult to get into. I don't believe the genre was something that really matched my interests.

When I picked this up, I was expecting a sadgirl litfic coming-of-age story told through the lens of cultural foods based on the blurb. I was NOT expecting straight up cannibalism. And yet, here we are.

The sheer feminine rage that went into this book is priceless and I wish it had been advertised that way -- I would've picked it up much, much faster. Bro should be terrified of her and I hope she haunts him for the rest of his (preferably short) life lmao.

In all I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of being genetically predisposed to cannibalism, but I could NOT put this book down once I hit 60%, so I'm more than happy to ignore the last few pages in favor of stewing over that middle ride.

4.25

This was so good. Cannibal first-gen American girl coming of age story??? I didn't realize I was missing this in my life. While this wasn't the most grotesque book you'll find, it is very heavy. Veronica experiences a lot of violence in a short amount of time, and this is the story of her attempting to cope. She does not have a strong support system at home in terms of confidants, as her parents work to provide and are very closed off from their kids.

While this is frustrating, we come to understand that her parents are also just surviving in this country and trying to leave their pain in Vietnam. This touches on so many aspects of the immigrant experience without being preachy. The important and impressive lives her parents had to leave behind to then be seen and treated as nothing in the States. To go from respected people of wealthy families to being ignored because they didn't know English fluently. This is a painful reality that many immigrants face and that American-born people are not aware of.

Though the cannibalism and the raw meat were gross and difficult to read, Ronny's pain was so visceral. I felt her grief and her anger; to me, THAT was the hardest part to read.

Some inconsistencies bothered me in terms of the language barrier. It was said that Ronny couldn't understand Vietnamese very well and often had to have things explained to her, but for the most part, she understood all discussions and communicated with her family with no issue. Similarly, her parents understood/spoke limited English, but somehow understood their children fully when their children spoke to them fully in English.

I’d say if you are a fan of Chlorine by Jade Song or Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, it’s safe you’ll enjoy this very much.