What Hunger

'Pulses with a simmering rage' Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best PartThis is not a tale where the girl is running away from danger - instead, she is the danger. It's the summer before high school and Ronny Nguyen spends her days reading trashy magazines. Standing in contrast is her brother Tommy, the pride of their immigrant parents and destined to be the first in the family to attend college. Their parents, M¿ and Ba, rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the language of food. Mealtimes are a tapestry of cultural memory: spring rolls with nem chua and bowls of ph¿ tái with blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, M¿ and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended and she is overtaken by a strange force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for flesh, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage. "Whether it took days, or months, or years, I would come for him. And I would savour the moment."

One of Goodreads, Book Riot, and AV Club’s Most Anticipated Horror Novels of the Year<BR> <BR>“Incendiary...this one hits hard.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) • “Intense, visceral, and not to be missed.” —Booklist (starred review) • “A tour de force.” —Capes and Tights<BR> <BR>A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nguyen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere. <BR><BR>It's the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.<BR> <BR>Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family's meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.<BR> <BR>But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.<BR> <BR>What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage. Ronny's Vietnamese lineage and her mother's emotional memory play a crucial role in this tender ode to generational trauma and mother-daughter bonding.