An emotional wreck speaking. This book deserves 1000 stars. Minimum. Every single line hit so deep and I'm not even anorexic. By the time I was finished with this book, it validated some of my deepest, darkest feelings. Thoughts that can tag me as a disobedient, disrespectful, unruly daughter in front of the previous generations. Being a South Asian, I can't say the opportunities to fall into the beauty trap weren't there. Weighing over 75 kg in a poverty stricken country, I was constantly bullied. I just learned to get used to it, something no kid should ever have to do.

The illustrations - they are pretty, eye-catching and carry emotions so well. They perfectly capture the vibes of the moments, and the detailing broke my heart a billion times. Above all, the writing portrays reality, instead of giving false hope and that is what I love the most.

I'm simultaneously glad and nervous that it was my first book of the year. Glad because I can't imagine picking a better book, sad because how am I going to survive the rest of the days?!

4.5 stars

Content warning: eating disorders

The art:
Absolutely perfect for the story delivered! Pastel, muted colours, sketchy lines, adorable, expressive and at times heartbreaking, the illustrations do so much for the story, and I was hooked from the start.

The story:
I think too many of us can relate to a strict upbringing; academic grades above all, watch your figure at all costs (never mind that you're a growing child), having our lives micromanaged, having our friends insulted for being carefree or "fat". On top of that, the absolute irony that a lot of the same cultures that over-emphasise being thin are also centred around good food! You're proud of your culture, but you have to stay beautiful a.k.a skinny.

And yet, we want to be good, no perfect! We want to blend in, be cool and be a model child, so we cope, we create a facade at the cost of our well-being.

This story delves into this and more so poignantly, delivered with brutal honesty and yet so much care. It was what I needed and I am sure it will help so many other young readers.

Thank you so much Macmillan, Netgalley and the author for a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This was an absolute pleasure.

Hungry Ghost is a graphic novel about a girl trying to deal with her eating disorder while juggling school, first love, and family problems. I really wanted to love it, because the theme of EDs is one very close to my heart, but I sadly found this book lacking. I am sure that it could be triggering to MANY readers and if you are looking for a book that deals with mental health and specifically EDs, I would not recommend this one.

And here are just some things that I think should've been handled with better care:
- ED behaviours are shown on-page - and we know that this sort of modeling can be triggering to people with EDs
- EDs are shown in a pretty hopeless, "you are probably never gonna get better" way. I think this could be so discouraging to so many people, because NO; You can heal from an ED. Period. It's a complex issue that deserves care and attention, but it is not hopeless.
- MCs fatphobia was never challenged. She has a fat friend who is happy and content - and this was such a good thing, a plus-size SC who loved to eat and liked herself. But sadly the MC and her honestly horrible and toxic views of fat people ruined even that good aspect of the book. The MC was downright vicious with her friend and the fight they had never really got resolved. Yes, they "became friends again" but where were the discussions about the fatphobia she expressed very plainly in their fight? Where was the growth on the MCs part? We'll just let her feel bad about the fight itself and losing her friend, but not about all the horrible things she said about her body. Books
- A big part in the MCs journey was her mother, who had very toxic views on beauty and weight. A lot of people who struggle with EDs can sometimes track the origins to the views of their families. BUT despite the MC realizing that she should distance herself from her toxic mother, she still doesn't challenge her views. Once her aunt tells her that her mother still "loves her in her own way", the MC just rolls with it. Sure, family is important and the relationship between the MC and her mother is worth something, but Hungry Ghost makes it seem like you should endure that toxicity without talking about it and regardless of the toll it takes on your mental health.
- There was also a grief component that played a part in the MCs questionable growth, but I think this graphic novel was simply too ambitious - too many themes in too few pages, none handled with care and sensitivity it deserves.

I would never want to minimize the experiences of the author who dealt with an ED as well (or still does?). There are so few books out there aimed at teens who deal with EDs, I simply wish the ones that do get published dealt with this theme in a more sensitive way, thinking about all the people who might stumble upon this book, who might have an ED, a loved one with an ED or are in recovery. Some might find solace in it, but I do believe that it could be triggering to many more with the messages it passes on.

My Goodreads review:

Man... The feels with this one.
Started crying nearly halfway through and didn't stop.

Spoilers ahead!

I knew from the start that the father would die. For me that didn't do much. I get that it hurst especially when you have a close bond. (I don't have that with either of my parents due to circumstances) but I know how Val feels. The hunger, the bingeing, purging, the emptiness, the hate and disgust you feel about yourself. Never being happy with yourself and not understanding how someone else can be happy when they don't meet the "beauty standards" society has decided on. The feeling of never being enough, always hearing the disappointment in their voices and seeing it in their eyes even when it's not there.Them telling you what's wrong with you and if they say it enough you not only start to believe everything they say but you also start to see what's "wrong" with everyone else. Even though there is nothing wrong with them or you. You get bitter and ugly inside and in the end it will come out and you'll hurt the wrong people, maybe you didn't mean to. But you did. For me "being happy" or "finding happiness" is one of the hardest things in the world. I'm 33, i don't love myself and I'm still working and trying my best to be the best "me" i can be. But the darkness is so much more inviting and not as much work. But we try ever day. For me that's what the last part of the book stands for. Trying. To be better. To feel better. To be yourself. To love yourself. ❤

"I guess grief is supposed to make you hungry".

I was intrigued by the gorgeous cover of this book and the cool title. And I'm delighted to be approved for this one:) Thank you to the author, publisher, Netgalley, and Hear Our voices tour.

This book was just incredible for me, the illustrations were so sweet and vivid, the moral lesson is captured well through every pages. This book will also grip us to travel to Paris for a while and it was just so adorable. As the book title is "Hungry Ghost". I only found the hungry spice in the story without seeing any Ghost or gothic vibes as I was expecting this book focuses more into horror, this fact got me kind of disappointed!

However, I couldn't lie that I like this book and would definitely recommend it to every readers who enjoy Young Adult books!

I read it in one sitting and loved it so much! Thank you for allowing me to read it in preview!
I work in a bookshop in France (excuse my English, please!) and I look forward to being able to recommend it!

Stacy Willingham is setting the bar high for thrillers in 2023!! This follow up to her debut is strong, compelling and completely bingeable as an insomniac mother tries to uncover what happened to her missing son while everyone keeps assuming she's the one responsible for his mysterious disappearance! Great on audio narrated by Karissa Vacker. This book is every parent's worst nightmare and had some great twists and turns. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Beautiful art and a raw account of a teen's struggle with bulimia and finding love for herself. Depicts body dysmorphia, difficult family relationships, grief, friendship, and crushes. A great addition to all graphic novel collections serving teenagers.

This graphic novel grapples with eating disorders, identity, self-love, and mother-daughter relationships. Valerie is thin and is pushed to extremes by her mother's constant obsession with what she eats, sometimes at the detriment of her friendships and overall wellbeing.

I loved it, The story is sad and hopeful at the same time, and I suffered a lot with the main character and his constant struggle achieves the same.

The illustrations are beautiful, which makes reading enjoyable and charming. Totally recommended. Good job to the author for conveying a great message of self-love and acceptance in this graphic novel.

If, like me, you have ever struggled with an eating disorder, this book will be a reminder that it is always worth fighting for yourself.
Important, valuable and full of understanding.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for my advanced reader’s copy of Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying.

“Maybe it doesn’t take being thin to be happy.”

Tigger Warnings: eating disorders, body shamming, and loss of a family member

Our main character Valeria has an eating disorder, but she doesn’t want to admit it to herself. After a tragic accident Val must decide what is important to her. Being thin or finding ways to love herself?
Wow oh wow. I do not have the words to describe how impactful this story is. Even as someone who has not struggled with eating disorders, I have struggled with my weight and my body image my whole life. I could relate to Val, especially with her negative thoughts towards her friend Jordan, because I have had those same thoughts at myself. I am like Val in the ways that I am still trying to find ways to be happy and love myself. A story about self-love and being kind to yourself. I think this is a story that everyone can relate to in one way or another.

Other quotes:
“Will people care that much about my body when I die? Am I my body? How can this thing, this thing that I hate- how could anyone care about it that much?”
“You can’t rely on her to be enough for you. No one ever is. You have to find your own way to be happy.”

(I'll be reviewing for a professional magazine) so I can't publish all my thoughts specifically however this is a PHENOMENAL graphic novel specifically with the coloring, mood, and character development. I will have multiple copies for my high school library.

Tw: eating disorder, grief, depression, mental health

The illustration in this graphic novel is stunning, i love the pink colouring, the art style well suited the story. This book focused on eating disorder with our main character suffered from ED and emotional abuse from her mother who constantly monitor her weight and foods she taken to the point she becomes bulimic. This is a harsh reality and certain scenes reminded of what i gone through but in here, it was much worse and bad for our MC. Her mother was always particular on weights and insulting others for their body size which makes me mad. Living with a person with this toxic mindset affected you much worse and for our MC to go through her life this way, make her depressed.

There is friendship but also crushes when threatened, they pose threat to the relationship. This was a sad read for me but one i like a lot

With her mom's constant reminders about not eating too much or getting fat racing around her head, Val falls into a binging and purging eating disorder. I really enjoyed this title, and thought it tackled a lot of the underlying issues around eating disorders.

Uff....Such a heavy topic in beautiful pictures.
It felt like a slice of life, very authentic and emotional. I liked the characters a lot and the struggle although it was a bit of cliché for the storytelling but I still enjoyed it very much and wouldn't think much about.
It's a though topic and so so important for anyone.
I hope to see more of Victoria Ying in the future.

This had sooo much potential but missed the mark for me. The book did a great job capturing what it's like to live with an eating disorder and one's innermost thoughts, but I felt annoyed at the Val's and her other's fatphobic sentiments. Also, way to lash out and insult your friend while the male character who gave mixed signals remains blameless...

Good that this graphic novel briefly touches on themes of grief and mourning, I wished it had gone more in-depth. The character arcs were also incredibly unsatisfying, especially Val's mother who displayed zero growth and wasn't challenged enough. She was clearly a toxic parent but never suffered the consequences.

I loved the Chinese representation and food illustrations. Having grown up in an Asian household myself, I could definitely to relate to a lot of what's depicted here e.g. nosy relatives and their unsolicited comments about your appearance, the pressures, how we express our love through food. The colour palette of light turquoise and peach was subtle and beautiful.

Overall, it was a good read but I wanted so much more.

3.5 stars! This is a great comic, the emotions it stirred up in me :') Sometimes you can't change others, but you can change yourself, and the way you think and such. I think this comic has that YA feeling, since the main character is in high school, I'm sure teens would love it, but I also liked it! It's a quick easy read, the illustrations are beautiful too!

For Valerie Chu food is constantly on her mind. Not just food, but her mother. No one knows what’s going on as Valerie leaves to use the bathroom after every meal, and tragedy strikes, everything breaks down. Will she be strong enough to speak up and get the help she deserves?

Hungry ghost was a powerful read about a girl struggling with eating disorder. I found it to be devastating to read about how someone that important in her life would say such horrible things to someone they love. From experience, ED is a cruel mental disorder, and I hope that everyone who finds the courage to seek help, will learn that you are good enough. You truly are.

An important story to tell. I want to also compliment the artwork—it was amazing. It suited the text and it made the story float. The transition happened a little bit fast, which was the only negative part I can come up with. But other than that, it was a worthwhile read.

I’d recommend it to readers who likes graphic novels, stories that are based on real life experiences, or if you are interested in the topics of mental health/disorders.

Happy reading!♥️

I got this book for free from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and powerful. This was a tender and painful story about love, loss, friendship and self-acceptance.