a few thoughts:

1) strong premise but not strong enough writing to carry it out. as mentioned by another commenter, you know nothing about the characters except for what they’re doing, which is a bummer

2) the books blurb about mother-daughter bonding should be removed considering its basically the plot twist of the book but you know it’s coming

3) loved the vietnamese culture aspect

4) i still had fun

I went into this book blind and I thought it was a coming of age story.

Unfortunately this book didn’t appeal to me. It was a story and a young girl that has the desire to eat raw flesh. I just couldn’t get into this one.

Cannibalism, teenage angst turned feminine rage, trauma & grief, this book had it all. For people who liked Nightbitch and The Eyes Are the Best Part, this will scratch that people eating, body horror itch in the back of our heads. Told from the perspective of a teenage girl the horror is just a little more potent and raw.

I wouldn’t classify this as adult fiction, the writing is a little simplistic, but it was still a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

Cool premise, not great execution. First warning, this was very descriptive and did make my stomach turn. I like the representation of grief and family dynamics. I loved Ronny‘s relationship with Tommy, but ultimately the story fell flat. I’m not sure if it’s because Ronnie is 14 but the writing felt very simple. The horror and gore also feel out of place, like it wasn’t fully integrated into the story. If Ronny’s anger had been shown differently, I don’t think much of the story would’ve changed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC


I am here for women eating men. Frankly, we should eat more of them.

At the core, this is a story of a young woman struggling with grief, violence and immigrant parents she feels incredibly disconnected from. And I do think as women, we can all relate to the struggles Ronny faces, and the rage she feels

an interesting combination of family drama and feminist horror, this book features both intergenerational trauma and visceral gore. a winning combination, if you ask me. i thought the narrative was really well done, especially the character arc of Ronny's mother. really my only complaint about the book is that the ending felt too abrupt, leaving both the protagonist and the reader unsatiated in regards to the revenge plotline that the second half of the book seemed to be leading up to. still, the ending did take a direction that i didn't expect, and i appreciated the author's choices there. i believe it's worth the read, as long as you don't go into it expecting a satisfying, "good for her" revenge story. instead, readers should enjoy this book for what it is and allow their expectations to be subverted.

3.5 stars. I was so shocked and surprised when I read this book. All the emotions i've expereinced reading this book will be hard to articulate into words. But all I have to say is to go pick this book up on pub day.

Right after her brother's death, Veronica experiences two traumatic events that spark a disturbing, uncontrollable hunger. I appreciated how body horror was used to explore themes of trauma and adolescence—how both can consume you in ways you don’t fully understand. With immigrant parents who struggle to relate to her and her brother Tommy, Veronica begins to crave—and savor—human flesh.

The role of food in this story really stood out. In her author’s note, the writer reflects on the influence of her mother’s cooking and the impact of the pandemic, which deepens the book’s exploration of food as both a privilege and obsession. The openness to the ending stood out to me, as there are some things left unresolved - such as Ronny's rape and also their murder of the neighbor.

This takes demanding a "pound of flesh" to a new level!

At its core, this short novel is about grief, female rage and the question "Do we REALLY know our parents?". An inventive look into being a son/daughter of immigrant parents and feeling out of place in both worlds they inhabit. Dang created characters that felt so real even with a plot that at times sickened me. But what's more sickening than cannibalism is how some of the men in this book behaved.

Can't wait to see this book popping up on all of the "weird-girl" book recommendations - it deserves a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

This story truly grabs the monotony of adolescence and the otherworldliness that monotony becomes after tragedy strikes. After the family tragedy, Ronny finds herself and her family adrift, longing for the simplicity of childhood while also yearning to be respected and have the freedoms of an adult. Amidst all of this, she finds herself craving raw meat. This book touches on race, gender, and the feeling of Otherness unique to a Vietnamese American girl.

There was a lot going on in this. I was actually unsure of this at first and thought I was going to dnf this book. Lucky for me I kept going because this book was really good. It was a tiny bit slow to start but once it got going this book was amazing. It was dark and tragic. You find yourself really rooting for the mc even as she continues to devolve deeper and deeper into her anger and grief and madness.

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.

Devoured this book (pun intended). I didn't know what to expect from a book about Vietnamese cannibalism, but it's one of my favorite reads of the year! The writing was poignant, the atmosphere haunting. Everything felt so meticulously thought out and the food descriptions were delicious. I felt uneasy at times, as intended obviously, and was drawn in to the setting of What Hunger. The themes of female rage, the Vietnam war, generational trauma, and family were equally thought out and makes the reader feel as though they are there. To compare it to other works of media would be diminishing, but I found the "vibes" similar to Jennifer's Body (in terms of the female rage/monster plot) and Raw, 2016 (cannibalism/family plot), but it explored the themes so much more than either of those works. At times, the description and vignettes of the Vietnam war felt similar to Ocean Vuong's imagery, however, it did not treat it like a tragic, forgotten entity, but rather the brutal, present country it is today. The immigrant experiences made me reflect on my own, despite my heritage not being Vietnamese, but I think any Asian/first-gen/immigrant can find themselves in this book.

I LOVE cannibalism as a literary device. I love it. It’s my favorite. And this is a fairly short read. There’s slight body horror for lack of a better description. If you’re unsettled easily it isn’t the book for you.
This sort of read is one I call “Weird Girl Literature.”
It happens to be my favorite genre, I love stories about girlhood and womanhood and the struggles, especially in the tone of horror.

“There was a drive in me, a hunger buried deep within me. I moved without thought, gulping him down like air. What hunger.”
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“I scarfed him down. He was hearty, warm like soup and calming like syrup.”
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Veronica is a 14 year old Vietnamese American girl and it’s the summer before high school year starts. Veronica looks up to her older brother who is graduating this year. They have a pretty average family and relationship with their parents, they bicker and they fight. After a tragic event happens that summer, Veronica is pushed to her limit at a party, she develops an insatiable hunger..
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This book was everything! It is coming of age, female rage, and mother-daughter bonding/strained relationship. I ate this book up so fast. The pacing was perfect. The descriptions of Vietnamese food was so fantastic and overall I really felt immersed in the story. I will definitely be checking out all of this authors work!

So many books are marketed as female rage lately, I never know when to believe it. What Hunger absolutely nailed it. It handles it without losing the plot completely. This is a story about hardships, grief, trauma, and womanhood told in a refreshingly creative way. Are our main characters total stand up citizens? No. Will you still feel an abundance of empathy while reading this novel? Yes. It started off a little slow while gaining its footing but once the earlobes got involved, all bets were off. Highly recommend

This book had me at the “pitfalls of female rage.”

This novel floored me. I went in with zero expectations and read 40% of it in one night. It’s a coming-of-age story about a fourteen-year-old girl who is the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants. She’s grappling with generational trauma, a horrible tragedy, and the horror that is teenage girlhood.

Ronny is only fourteen and doesn’t do much. She spends her summer reading magazines and sitting in her backyard. Her brother Tommy is the opposite; he’s going to college soon and is her parents’ pride and joy. Ronny dreads the day that Tommy leaves for college and she will be alone with their parents.

Their parents came from Vietnam, and while they never talk about their past, some of it comes out through the food they eat. This book contains such beautiful and rich depictions of food and how it can be at the center of a family’s way of communicating.

However, there’s a sudden tragedy in Ronny’s life and the world she knew is blown to pieces. She has to grapple with her sense of self and what’s to come. After she attends a party for the first time, a boy goes too far and she’s consumed by a hunger and rage larger than herself. This hunger craves raw meat, which will dictate what ensues….

I thought this was deeply moving. Ronny’s Vietnamese heritage plays such a huge role in this and it was really stunning. Thanks to @netgalley for early copy! Novel comes out 8/12.

*What Hunger* by Catherine Dang is a beautifully written, emotionally charged exploration of desire, identity, and the complexities of human longing. Dang’s prose is both lyrical and raw, capturing the depth of her characters’ inner worlds with striking clarity. The story pulls you in with its quiet intensity, blending themes of vulnerability and strength in a way that feels both intimate and universal. A captivating and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

Thank you to Simon Teen for the gifted eARC.

This book was better than I expected. Gross but I really enjoyed it. Feminine rage, trauma, grief, complex family dynamics….. and meat. I’m going to be thinking about this for a long time.

This was great! Had what felt to me like very realistic depictions of high school friendship and the intersection of teenage angst and grief. The world felt real and vivid and absorbing. If you've got a strong enough stomach to handle some gore this is a nice coming of age horror hybrid!