What Hunger

Raw, violent, tender, beautiful: Catherine Dang's coming-of-age horror encapsulates both the savagery and fragility of teenage girlhood, like if Jennifer's Body was elevated by a rich exploration of grief and a Vietnamese refugee family's experiences in America after fleeing war. Dang's darkly playful portrayal of cannibalism is vivid, funny, real - and a perfectly gruesome metaphor for female rage. It builds and boils, and the final twist had me cheering.

Intense, visceral, and not to be missed.

Gut-wrenching and raw (in more ways than one), What Hunger lays bare the devastating impact of grief, and how traumas, both past and present, can collide, redefining one's understanding of family, heritage, and identity. This utterly engrossing tale of female rage had me at page one, going from slow simmer to full boil in the most brutal and delicious of ways.

Tender, bold and brutally honest, What Hunger follows a Vietnamese refugee family struggling with questions of identity and grief. Dang deftly balances a poignant coming of age story and a gripping portrayal of feminine power. A brilliant novel filled with heartbreak and suspense.

A hypnotic blend between a touching coming of age story and visceral exploration of adolescent rage, What Hunger made me laugh, flinch, and cry. I couldn't put it down.

What Hunger is a raw portrayal of the violence that bubbles up inside us in the uncertainty of grief and adolescence. This book is as fierce, unpredictable, and tender as the teenage girl at its center

What Hunger is a beautifully woven coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and intergenerational trauma. Dang's writing pulses with a simmering rage, and the novel's bloodcurdling conclusion will leave readers with a lasting sense of satisfaction

Brutal and poignant; Dang writes beautifully about the complexity of adolescence and generational trauma.

Dang keenly captures her narrator's alienation and anger, and the intergenerational tale concludes with a powerful revelation about the parents' unspoken trauma from the Vietnam War. This one hits hard.