Not Hungry

Not Hungry was a story written in verse about a girl named June who suffers from an eating disorder that hurts her relationship with her sister, a new love interest and herself. I think that I enjoyed that this was written in verse so that it was easily digested and quick to read, and I found that I quite liked some of the characters. However, this book lacked originality. In some cases, like the weird stalker ish love interest, this book had an interesting take on friendship and wanting to be in love.

This book fell short and made me unsatisfied. Sure the main character managed to restore her relationship with her sister and start a journey to recovery, but this book read like any other you could find. It wasn't surprising or different and I'm very sad it didn't take any other choices further.

Very disappointed that this was just an Average Joe book. Good, but average.

CW. eating disorder, harassment, drug abuse, verbal abuse, low self-esteem (I think I might be missing some)


This story is really sad but at the same time important and not easy to read. The author made me feel like I was the character and that is amazing. I really enjoyed how the main character, her sister and her friend grew throughout the story. How, even though the story is sad and focused on the mental health disorders this girl have, it found a way to become a way to empower and try to help others with similar problems. Is like it says in the bok "Everybody has secrets" but there is always a way to help yourself and others around you to see things in a better light.

I know is a book that would sink deeper with so many other people, but I think, in some way is an important book for everybody to read it. Even if you don't have an eating disorder you could be like Mae or Lacey or Toby and this book would help you see how can you help others or how can you pay a little more attention to how others acts or how what you say or do affects others around you. Good job to the author to make this book so important, sad and hopeful at the same time.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

I am so disappointed in this writing. Yes, the story could have been very interesting but the set up - almost like poetry was so boring and, in my opinion, there is no association with eating disorders and poetry. I could not finish

Not Hungry by Kate Karyus Quinn, 200 pages. POETRY
West 44 Books, 2019. $20.
Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
June has a secret, one that makes her lie every day to keep hidden. One day, she isn’t as diligent about making sure she’s alone, and her new neighbor becomes witness to her secret. June’s world starts to change after that not-so-secret moment, but are things getting better or worse?
I love that June’s story is told through poems. I felt like I understood her thoughts better, that I could relate to her more, and that her emotions were better conveyed through poems than they would have been through a traditional novel style. This story is one of secrets and lying, of perception and judgement, and of courage and love. I was surprised by how much I like it, not expecting it to touch my heart like it has.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

NetGalley provided for an honest review, thank you!
This book is about a girl with anorexia and bulimia who's secrets get exposed to the whole school by the end of the story. She falls for a popular jock who likes her but also keeps her as a secret. He finds out about her ED and almost uses it as a way to have her feel closer to him. I didn't like him at all but his character is the typical confused teenage popular boy who "wants his cake and eat it too" (no puns intended).

Also, the whole storyline with the sister and sisters boyfriend seemed almost disconnected. I get how he added conflict and revelations to both the sisters lives but it seemed fairly cliche BUT this is a young adult novel--have to keep that in mind.

I liked the main characters perspective on her ED though, it was realistic but by the end I feel she should have shown more worry and dread for recovery than her "okay, I'll just try to eat more" attitude. I'm happy though it ended on a positive note and she didn't bother choosing her love interest over her friend and sister.

Overall, decent story and realistic internal dialogue about eating disorders.

3/5

This is a short, yet powerful book that's written almost in verse/poetry style. As someone who suffered from a similar eating disorder in high school many many moons ago, June's story really hit me. I think this will be an impactful story for a lot of teenagers. It's about someone learning their worth. Your worth is not the size of your clothing or how a guy treats you. I loved how it ended.

Not Hungry is a book about secrets. June sees the secrets of others but has one of her own. She has an eating disorder. When her neighbor finds out about it, she is stressed beyond belief. But then she learns his secret too.

This book is written almost like a poem, short and choppy across the page (but doesn’t rhyme). This actually made the book easier to read for me because I usually skim. But in this instance it created a sort of juxtaposition of words that matched the narrator's thoughts. If I was a teen girl, I would think is short staccato like this too. Overall the book was a short and thoughtful read that shed light on the importance of honesty.
⠀
I received this book for review purposes from NetGalley. ⠀

I appreciated the style of this book. I think it would resonate well with younger teens. I kind of hated the mother, and I'm really over books about dieting/weight loss/being fat/eating disorders with a mother who is overbearing and borderline abusive. For once I'd love a book where the mother accepts her child for whom she is, and if she is told her child isn't eating, doesn't just give her broth with some veggies. This wasn't geared towards my demographic, but I thought it was definitely appropriate for the age group it is. It doesn't glamorize the eating disorder, but you can get a sense from June's perspective the sense of control she feels over her lack of eating/binge eating. The ending was sweet, and I'm glad that it was about sisterhood and friendship over boys.

The premise to this drew me in because I have dealt with my weight my whole life. I've even dealt with an eating disorder. This story really hit home and felt so real. It touched on a very sensitive subject and really showcased what it's like for someone that is dealing with an eating disorder. I really like that the story was told in verse so that the reader gets to see inside the characters head and the turmoil that this disorder causes.
Aside from just talking about eating disorders it also talks about the fat-shaming and bullying that June has to deal with which felt very real to me. It shows the emotional abuse and self-abuse. It wasn't an easy read by any stretch of the imagination but I do think it was a very good read. On a subject that isn't talked about enough. Girls and even guys are dealing with these issues and they need to know they don't have to face it alone. With that being said my only complaint was that I didn't feel there was a real resolution I guess. There needed to be something that talked about how to get help. What steps you could take to get that help if you're dealing with this issue. That's it though. Other than that I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

June is fat,her sister mae is also fat but beautiful.June doesnt eat much at times or throws up what she eats.Her family and friends just think she is on a diet Her friend Lacey is obsessed with the popular kids at school and starting rumors.June is tired of being hungry all the time.It is creepy that Toby likes to look into people's windows.I like the format and how it was a quick read.Toby gives mixed signals and treats her one way at school then pays attention to her at home

Written in verse, Not Hungry is about a girl who is navigating high school and her own life. She opens her story telling the reader that she is a liar- she tells the people in her life that she's not hungry, but in reality, she is always hungry. Battling her perception of herself (and her perception that others think she is fat), she attempts to restrict her food, but ends up binging and purging. Her secret is found out by a boy at school, and suddenly, her life is spiraling even more out of control.

I liked that this book was written in verse, and from the point of view of the main character. The conflict was revealed pretty early on, with other complications revealing themselves as the plot moved forward. However, the story was very short. It wasn't super complicated, and had a resolution that didn't leave the reader guessing. I would have liked more character development and plot points, but as a quick read, it was pretty good.

7/10 would recommend.

June is hungry. All the time. She is either starving, or binging and purging but because she is overweight nobody notices she has an eating disorder. They only see a fat girl on a diet. Neither June or her sister, Mae, are fine. Mas has a boyfriend that treats her like trash. He verbally abuses her. Toby is no better he has his own secrets that he dont wont out one of them being his friendship with June.

When I first requested this ARC I thought it was just poems about eating disorders. It is wrote in verse. It has a lot of issues that teens have to deal with today like fat shaming, eating disorders, and bullying. This book has a nice flow. It was easy to follow along with the characters and the story. The format made it go by quickly with isn't a bad thing. I kinda feel like the author the author could have went into more depth about ED's because they are more that binging, purging and starving. Maybe it was that way because of the format. I kinda wish it was longer but It still gave all the answers you needed. I didnt really connect with any of the characters except June a little bit because I've dealt with ED's most of my life. Given the word count the author did pretty good at keeping everything connected.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher through Netgalley.

3 stars ⭐ (i guess??)

I'm very conflicted about this book, I almost DNFD twice but I'm happy I finished...

What I DID NOT like:
- June's love interest IS PURE TRASH, from the moment he appeared I just knew he was going to treat her like shit and he did... (this was the main reason why I almost dnfd)

What I LIKED:
- June and Mae's relationship was literally the best thing about this book, you could really feel their love for each other. It made me want to have a sister.

Told in verse we follow the life of June and her struggle with anorexia breaking the myth that 'fat' girls can't be anorexic.



Her sister Mae is also a big girl while her mother seems to encourage her to lose weight while she goes under the radar of best friend Lacey who notices everything about everyone else around.



However, when Toby moves in next door, she finds herself crushing on him, Lacey does too though and she also finds out he has a secret as they spend time together though never in public.



The night of their school dance, we see how Erick is a nasty piece of work to both sisters especially as he bullies Mae into doing what he says and reveals a huge secret about June to their school...



This is a book that you could get triggered by I will say as a recovering anorexic since my early teens issues raised could trigger easily especially the talk of weight, foods and treatment from the boyfriend in the book. However for people who want to learn about eating disorders this will help them to learn how it can be a burden on lives.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

There are so many different and what I feel would be better ways to expose and acknowledge this very real group of people. I just think this didn’t get the message and bring it all the way home.

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Poetry is not usually my thing, but I am trying to branch out more so thought to give this a try. It. Was. Excellent. The poems are all part of the progressing plot and are beautifully written. This is truly a lovely book!

CONTENT WARNING: Eating disorders

I’m extremely picky about books with eating disorder rep, so I went into this read trying to abandon my skepticism. The premise of a novel about an overweight girl struggling with an eating disorder (the actual type of disorder is never clarified, but there are elements of bingeing, purging and restricting) was promising. The often ignored truth of EDs is that anyone can suffer. At any weight. I loved that the book addressed this.

June is the protagonist of this novel, written in verse. She is suffering with an ED, something that is severely overlooked by her peers due to the damaging stereotypes of what an eating disorder sufferer “should” look like. Her mother, upon noticing her restriction, even goes as far to congratulate her on her weight loss. Heartbreaking. Her peers and family mistook her weight loss as a success, rather than an illness. I cannot speak for this situation as it is not identical to my own experiences, but this felt honest and real.

I liked the verse style, I think it came across like the sharp, damaging thoughts that are accurate in EDs. I did however, think too much was packed into this short book. Toxic relationships, eating disorders and bullying were too ambitious for a book that, considering its format, took me twenty minutes to get through. The resolution at the end of the book was rushed, and at this point the ED rep went downhill for me. The seriousness of June’s situation was not addressed here. Recovery is a lot more complex that the book suggests.

All in all, there were aspects of this book (FINALLY, someone talking about eating disorders in the same space as larger bodies) that I enjoyed. The downfall was it’s length, and that the topics included therefore fell short. Given more room to expand and explore the themes, this story might have rated higher.

This was an interesting read. The formatting was fun, with the words twisting and turning and less complete sentences. It made it go by quickly, which isn't a bad thing, but I wanted more story. I felt so bad for June, her mom is a terrible role model and her sister dates a guy who verbally abuses her. June is overweight and feels like she's not good enough, so she goes on a cycle of starvation, binging, and purging. Then she meets her new neighbor, who's cute and popular and likes spending time with her, but only when no one knows about them.
My favorite part of this is that it focuses on the sister relationship and shows that you don't need validation from anyone, especially a guy. I would have loved this to be longer, but I thought it was well done.

June is fat. And she's not eating. But all everyone sees is a fat girl on a diet. Not someone who is starving herself.

<blockquote><i>"The purging place,"
I call it.

Where I bury my shame.</i></blockquote>

This book has a lot of potential. It brings out to the light controversial topics of today's age: eating disorder. Fat-shaming. Self-deprecation. Blackmailing. Bullying. Manipulation. Emotional abuse. Weak parentage.
This is not an easy read. But <i>it is</i> an important one.

This book very much reminded me of [author:Elizabeth Acevedo|15253645]'s book [book:The Poet X|33294200]. They are both dealing with heavy topics and both are written lyrically. Personally, I find these two themes working very well together. They are able to describe something very complicated in very few words. The writing style also leaves quite some place for the reader's own imagination. The sentence structure works, at least for me, the way that it makes me think about what's <i>not</i> written there.

<blockquote><i>"Now I throw up,
eating in reverse,
closing my eyes
so I don't have to see.
The ground is not like the toilet,
whisking all away with a brisk flush.
It just takes it into itself.
Isn't that what dirt is anyway?
The guts of the earth."</i></blockquote>

The main character and our narrator is June. She's a high school student, and with her best friend Lacey, they're both "the unpopular ones". Lacey's obsessed with finding out everyone's secret. But she is completely blind to her best friend's biggest one. Never she questions if her friend's <i>"I'm not hungry."</i> couldn't mean something else that a diet.
June's sister Mae is (according to her) beautiful. Fat but beautiful. Mae dates this neckless jerk, Erik, that treats her like garbage. Then there's Toby, the boy next-door that learns her secret one night when she let her guard down. They become friends but he is careful not to acknowledge her at school where anyone might find out they know each other.
And, at last, June and Mae's mother, that made her daughter a soup after learning about her eating problem <b>but</b> fished out all the noodles because <i>"We don't want all your hard work to be wasted."</i>

<blockquote><i>"It'll be okay,
she says.
This is Mae's favorite lie.
Like most lies,
it's the thing
we most wish
was true."</i></blockquote>

Honestly, while reading this book I had literally zero expectations about the ending. For the first time in forever, I went in completely open-minded. Frankly, with such a short story like this, I didn't even know how I wanted it to end. But surprisingly, I was very satisfied with the way the author decided to wrap up this story.



MILD SPOILERS BELOW



<blockquote><i>"I sit alone
trying to process
everything
that went
down.

Trying to
decide
where I
fit
and what
I should
do next.

Eat,
I realize.
I should
eat."</i></blockquote>

This is a story of <u>acceptance</u> and the road toward it. It's a bumpy one but it's worth it. I recommend this book to everyone. You may not like it, but you'll definitely learn something.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll be upfront and say I wasn’t a massive fan of this book.
This book was told in verse which I’m not a massive fan of.
I felt the book focused way too much on the body aspects of eating disorders and overall I felt because it was such a sensitive topic that it wasn’t told well at all and I wouldn’t recommend this book to any young reader.

1 Star.

Not Hungry – Kate Karyus Quinn

Soooo, I don’t usually tend to read much poetry, but requested this one purely from its summary in NetGalley – basically, a fat girl starving herself to lose weight but other people not realizing and just thinking she’s on a diet.

I’ve been that person, I’ve been the person who skips meals so that I can lose weight. I’m the person who doesn’t like eating in front of other people because in my head they’re thinking “look at the fat girl eating”. I’ve been the person at a size UK 12/14, I feel like I’m massively overweight and everyone must be laughing at me. I’ve been the girl that even though I know some of those thoughts are irrational, I have no control over them. So I completely understood June. June rarely eats, and on the occasions where she binges, she vomits after to purge herself. Admittedly, I was expecting this to be a novel when I first began reading it only to find it was poetry. Did that impact on the overall effectiveness? No. Would I read it again? No. Did I completely enjoy it? Kind of.

I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was a novel, but I do feel like the line breaks helped move the poem along and was used to create impact. It paused in just the right places and created silences for dramatic purposes. It touched on so many subjects, eating disorders, abusive relationships, first loves, you can kind of see how it’s suited to its young adult audience. In today’s society, unfortunately, these are things that our youths do go through. We are made to feel we can’t be anything but slim, we can’t look anything but perfect, no one will love us if we’re not perfect. It’s not until you get a little bit older that you start to understand that that really isn’t the case. I’m 29 now, am I comfortable in my own skin? Absolutely not. Do I love myself? No. But do I know I’m worth more than I thought I did as a teenager? Yes. This would probably be a useful read for a secondary school, it touches base on those subjects that are relevant to children of that age and therefore might be a great mental tool for the vulnerable ones that may need it.

I didn't connect with this writing style, therefore, I did not finish it. I read about 60% of the book and did not feel attached to it at all. TW: EATING DISORDERS

I loved this story! I haven't read any books in verse about this topic, and I think the author did a great job.

*Thanks to NetGalley for sending me this in exchange for an honest review!*

So, recently I've gotten into books told in verse and was ready to read this!

Not Hungry is about an overweight girl named June and her struggle with high school, her complicated feelings for the new boy next door, her sister Mae's boyfriend, and her eating disorder.

Things that I thought were pretty good were how realistic it was as to how not many people notice where someone is struggling with an eating disorder. I personally have been that person to not notice for a while, sadly. I also loved to hate Mae's boyfriend Er-ICK. I did think that was a funny touch. I also really loved her decision at the end of the book. I also really loved the discussion about how you could be fat and beautiful. It's true and lovely.

I really enjoyed how easy it was to read, but it was lacking something. Maybe more details or it just needed to be longer. I just didn't get emotionally attached to the characters as I know I could have been.

Overall, I give 2.5 stars because it was a nice read and tackled important subjects, but it just didn't capture me.

Wow! This book was amazing! I loved the poetry format of it. It made it seem more real like it was actually written by the teen. I really enjoyed it and made it go by so fast. I read it all during my lunch break. This book might be considered a trigger warning. It reminded me a lot about my eating issues in high school. I didn't love the honest truth about how the mother praised her daughter for passing out because she didn't eat...It made me sad!

A wonderful read and really raw.

Kate Karyus Quinn has written some weird books. I feel like she is always trying to push the boundaries with what she writes and I love that about her. I was a little hesitant picking this up, I felt that writing a book about an eating disorder entirely in verse was very much a risk. This could have gone terribly wrong. But I always appreciate Quinn's unique take on things so I wanted to give it a try and keep an open mind. Plus, it's super short so if it was a total disaster, not much time wasted.

I expected this to be more of a poetry book when I read that it was written in verse, but it's actually just more like a creatively styled short story. It likely would have worked just as well if it was written in paragraphs. But I appreciated the unique take. It did sort of allow you to flip through the pages quicker, though it also limited how deep of a dive it could take into some pretty heavy subject matter. It almost made it light, which in a way made it easier to absorb, but also didn't offer full substance for anyone who needed more. As always, for me, the shortness left me unsatisfied. I always want more. Fitting, given this is a book about an eating disorder and starving oneself; I needed more, I wasn't full.

But I did like what it gave me. I felt it accurately portrayed some of the teen girl feels, that loneliness, the wanting to fit in, the not feeling pretty or thin enough. It was a little heartbreaking and sad, witnessing June ache and long. Binge and purge. I was rooting for her, and enjoyed watching her find her footing, even if only briefly.

Things seemed to right themselves almost too quickly, too easily, in the end, but it was a good wrap up to a short, heartfelt story with a strong message that I can really get behind. This may not be much, but every bit is quality and well worth the quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

June has a big secret. It's only two words, but it's a secret that affects her entire life. She's not hungry.

I think this book is a good start to something, but I feel like it never really got there. It's like a snapshot...you get the jist of what is happening, but not the whole story.. I wanted more. There were hints as to why June was starving herself, but no real explanation. The format was also strange to me, and I'm unsure how I felt about it. I just wanted more.

I liked that it was written in verse although that can sometimes lead to a certain detachment, which I felt for the characters.
I wish the book was longer and I missed a bit more of June's back story.

Thanks to @west44books and @netgalley for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this novel in verse, which is out on 8/1. June struggles with her body image, and she tells the same lie over and over again - “I’m not hungry.” As she watches her sister’s dysfunctional relationship with her jock boyfriend, a new guy moves next door. By night, he and June are friends. By day, he ignores her. Things come to a head when June can’t hide her secret anymore, but what she discovers when it is revealed is not what she expected. This is advertised as hi-lo and has older characters, but I plan to add it to my collection. I will be recommending it to my eighth graders this fall. #yalit #middleschoollibrarian #librarian #librariansofinstagram #novelsinverse

*thank you to Netgalley, West 44 Books and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.

This wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I had expected it to be a poetry book but I don't think it was. It was more of a loose writing style of a short story. But I didn't mind. The story was good. I think though it might have been maybe a bit better as a short story, maybe diary entries but that's not to say this style was bad. I did find it a bit distracting at times though even though it was fun to read it the way it's been formatted.

It's about a girl, June and her Sister Mae. June has an Eating Disorder and that's what the main focus is of this book. Mae is the girls who's boyfriend is a total jerk. I didn't like either of the two main male characters or But I did like June and Mae and I was proud of both girls in the end. 

I'm still 50/50 on this book though. It just feels like something is missing. I don't think I would recommend this but I also wouldn't say to you not to.

I gave this book 3 stars
Yes it talks about her struggle with an eating disorder but it doesn't give to much background into why in my opinion of how this all developed yes she thinks she's fat but that's all that it tells you not anything else
The mothers reaction to hearing her daughters struggle feels so unrealistic to me that it just turned me to this book almost completely.
My favorite character in this book was Mae she's the only one that seemed willing to help her sister get better.

Good things about this book:
-fat girl representation
-overall concept of fat and beautiful, and that they are not mutually exclusive
-discussion about eating disorders and bullying

Things I didn't like about this book:
-it's very short, it's written in verse and told very quickly there is no attachment that you'll feel towards any of the characters whether or not you see yourself in them. The story is told so quickly but there's no time to get emotionally invested.
-there's no resolution or connection made between eating disorders and bullying. While I appreciated that they talked about the idea that fat people can and do have eating disorders, a solution of dancing and promising to get help is not okay. If you're going to tackle such a large issue you need to explain to young readers how to deal with it. Put some resources in there, talk about getting help and emotional support.
-the level of bullying at the end of this book was very unrealistic to me. While I actually detested Erick as a character, and bullying is alive and real and just as horrifying as it's always been, the fact that any of what happened would actually happened at a school function is unrealistic.

Overall I appreciate where the author was going with this, but as a fat girl who has had an eating disorder, this book needed some sensitivity readers and a little bit more research. Let's continue to talk about positive fat girl representation and the connection between eating disorders and bullying, but we need to make sure that books accurately describe and supply the resources for recovery and help. That is especially true for books directed at young readers.

character was childish writing was basic topic was powerful and awesome, kinda split on this one but def glad it was a thing written

Not Hungry seemed rushed and not well researched. The author failed to portray the mental illness and progression of the eating disorder in depth.

I’m a huge fan of books written in verse, I normally find them beautifully and lyrically written. This was no exception, my only wish was that it was a bit longer. I found myself completely immersed in the plot, because it was written so realistically. I felt like I knew June inside and out, which I feel was the whole point of the story. It was nice to hear how June felt and I can see how realistic the whole story seemed. I do feel like the book ended tied in a bow and presented very neatly. This may be the only thing I wouldn’t mind have been done differently.

I really enjoyed June and Mae as characters, the seemed so real and it was nice to see things from their perspective. Their mom was a whole other story, she made me want to pull my hair out at points. She was just awful and made me so angry the way she would glorify June’s eating disorder symptoms. Then we have Toby… I’ll let you get your own take on this awful person!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this beautifully written novel told in verse. I feel like it brought up many tough issues, eating disorders, body and fat shaming, and dealing with unsupportive parents. I wouldn’t mind another book that goes on to show June’s recovery or what happens after this one ends.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
💚
There are 3 lies and 2 truths in June's life
Lie 1 - I'm Not Hungry
Lie 2 - I'm Fine
Lie 3 - It'll Be Okay
Truth 1 - Everyone Has Secrets
Truth 2 - June Has An Eating Disorder
💚
Not Hungry is a shorter book than I was expecting, and has been written in verse, most likely to show just how sporadic June's thoughts are, and it is a nice change for me. We follow June in what feels like a short period of time, and learn of her Bulimia and how she and her sister Mae are bullied and suffer "fat shaming"
💚
My Positives:
1. I like the fact that it was an easy read, it was also very quick, and the books layout was also a nice change for me
2. Love the fact that the sisters finally stuck up for each other and stayed at the dance feeling empowered together
3. I'm glad that Mae did not stay with Erick just because it was nice to call him her boyfriend, it was nice to see her have some self pride.
💚
My Negatives:
1. Felt slightly underwhelmed after reading the book, I was expecting a bigger story and more of an in depth exploration of eating disorders after reading the sypnosis
2. Felt the character building was quite minimal, however I did hate Erick (empathise on the ICK) within moments of the book after seeing his behaviour.
3. The ending annoyed me, there could of been more of an explanation on where June seeked help, rather than them being at a dance saying she'd speak to the guidance counsellor Monday.
1.5 🌟

*I was given a copy of this via Net Galley for my honest review.*

I didn't love this. I also didn't hate it but it hit me in a very real place within my own life. The main character, June, handles her eating disorder a bit differently than I do, I have been recovering for more than half of my life, but I can relate to the way she internalizes how she views herself and her relationship to food.

One thing I wish were more prominent in the book is the relationship with the people around her, which we go more of a glimpse of towards the end, when everything came to light for the people who support her most. When she comes into her own, that is where she begins to blossom into who she really is, regardless of whose watching.

I'm not a huge fan of poetry, but it worked for this sort of broken thought process.

Overall, I liked it and I was able to relate in a very personal way.

Though this book is advertised as a hi-lo reader, I was disappointed that the book did not delve very deeply into either plot or character. The main character's eating disorder was almost glossed over. I feel that sometimes, it's difficult for authors to do verse storytelling well; this didn't feel like the verse format did anything for the story other than make it a "quick" read. Just because it's a hi-lo (High interest, low reading level) doesn't mean the author should skimp on depth of character and story. It also felt unresolved. Other authors also address eating disorders, but take readers through the real stress and struggle of recovery, not just of admitting there's a problem. I would not recommend this book for my students, not even for my low-level readers.

Writing about teenage girls and eating disorders can be difficult to do without falling into the pitfalls of stereotypes. Thankfully, Not Hungry is able to navigate these waters beautifully!

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book! It is written in verse and truly speaks words that are normally hard to say. Being someone who has always struggled with my weight, I felt June & Mae's pain, their struggles, and their happiness at the end. Wow, I just love it.

I'd like to place a trigger warning on both this book and this review for eating disorders.
Not Hungry follows the story of June, a girl with an eating disorder who constantly tells the same lie: she's not hungry. However, as her secrets are revealed, she questions everything she's known to be true. I viewed this as a story about making the decision to get help from a self destructive behavior, but I would have liked if it went a little more in-depth into recovery, since there's a truly hard road to recover from an eating disorder. Personally, as someone recovering from anorexia, I believe this book should have been longer in order to show the self discovery one makes while being in recovery. Overall, I liked the final decision June made to get help, but I would have liked to see her some time into her recovery, especially since I am yet to find a book that focuses on eating disorder recovery.

The first thing I noticed about this book was the bright pink, rather girly looking cover, with a plate at it’s centre, with a rather generous size piece of cake/cookie/bun. I also discovered it was categorised as a HiLo book, and I wanted to publicise some of these books on my blog. If you are not familiar with the term “Hi Lo Book” it is a book that offer highly interesting subject matter at a low reading level, therefore it encourages older children/adults into reading about a subject they may be interested in but perhaps they aren’t so good at reading. I say anything that encourages more people into reading is great. Usually the fact that the book has the “poetry” genre label would usually put me off, but, this year I decided to read more books that weren’t necessarily in my normal comfort zone of reading.

The main characters in this book are June, Toby and June’s sister Mae. June considers herself to be overweight, everyone thinks June is on some fad style diet, only she isn’t. June has an eating disorder where she will eat nothing at all, then perhaps see a tray of buns her older sister Mae has baked and she will sneak around and when no one is watching June will eat them all. After eating so much in such a short time June will then run to the bathroom or outside behind a certain hedge to be sick, therefore ridding herself of what she has just binged on. There is no in between with June, she is either eating nothing at all, or really bingeing until the point at which she is sick and ridding herself of what she has just eaten. It is during one of her trips down the garden to her favourite bush to be sick behind that she meets Toby. June is mortified this boy she doesn’t recognise has seen her being sick, he knows her secret. June settles her worrying by thinking she hasn’t seen this boy before so maybe he was just a visitor, what is the likelihood of her seeing hm again. Unfortunately for June, this boy, Toby has just moved in with his grandmother, Junes next door neighbour and will be attending the same school. June is really scared she’s convinced that Toby will say something so when he doesn’t, she is shocked.

I loved the characters of June and Mae, that they have each other’s back no matter what, even though they may not put it into words every day. The book unfolds a little bit like a diary or as if June is actually talking to the reader. June describes herself as a liar, but she only ever tells one lie and that’s when she says “I’m not hungry”. It’s sad that June feels like she has no one to confide in, or rather she feels like she hasn’t got anyone. When all the time her sister Mae is insecure about her weight and curves too. Though as the older sister has a tad more confidence and dresses very well for her individual body shape. When the two girls finally trust each other to open up to one another , they discover they are a formidable team.

I aren’t totally sure what I think of the character called Toby. Sure, he hasn’t had the easiest childhood but now he is living with his grandmother things are better. Though he knows about June’s issue with food and doesn’t call her out on it or ridicule her at school, I feel, in my opinion that he plays with her emotions and the fact she isn’t very confident.
Toby has two separate identities, the one he is when he is at home with his grandmother and wants to go on walks and hold June’s hand. Then there’s the Toby at school who is part of the popular gang, that girls crush over and he doesn’t even acknowledge June’s existence.

I was really annoyed with June & Mae’s mother when June admits to not eating her mother’s reaction is not to encourage her to eat but to almost pat her on the back and say she wished she had June’s will power to not eat anything!

The character I loved to hate was Erick. By the way, I seriously laughed out loud at the parts where he is referred to as Er..”ick” it really suited him! I despised the way he treats both his girlfriend Mae and her younger sister June. The cheek of him getting angry when Mae makes different cookies to the usual chocolate ones that he has been selling to his friends!! I found the homecoming dance scene amusing when for a change he is on the receiving end of the sarcasm rather than being the one dishing it out.

I won’t go into detail but there is a scene where June has to make a choice and I have to say I am so happy with the choice she made. A few days or weeks earlier she wouldn’t have been confident enough in herself to make the choice she did.

So, to sum up I found the way June’s eating disorder was described and talked about to be in a simple, realistic but very honest way. I think this book would make a great conversation starter within the right setting, giving a safe environment for females or males to start a discussion on their own eating habits.

I don't love books written in verse, and didn't realize that's what this was when I requested it. The story was good, it just felt like a missed opportunity to really explore it fully.

This book tells the story of what it is like to be overweight/obese. Yes, the story itself is fictional, but it's how thousands of people feel every day.
It is very easy to slip into an eating disorder; it takes hold of you before you even know what's going on, and when you finally realise, it's too late.
If you're anorexic, it's usually portrayed as glamorous and something to aspire to be; if you're bulimic or binge eat, you're gross, so you have to hide it. This book tells the story of just that.

The book is written in free verse. I would have liked it more had it been written as a novel, as the verse doesn't really flow. It is also difficult to get the writing right on kindle as I was never sure if my font was the wrong size or the paragraph/passage was supposed to end where it did.
It's a quick read, and as such it's an okay one. I would recommend this book to very young teens who are not familiar with the topics yet.

NetGalley and publishers have kindly provided me with an ARC. My views and opinions are my own.

3.75 stars.

"my dream isn't to be
anorexic.
but for people
like Lacey
to think i could be"

as someone who had an eating disorder in high school, i really appreciate this. through verse, June's story feels even more raw and painful to me. it's not a pretty read, but i think it's worth it.

It's very rare to read a book about eating disorders in fat girls and I totally dig it. I wish I could have read this book when I was a teen, fat, low self-esteem and struggling with an eating disorder that even know as an adult isn't taken seriously. It's so important to see yourself represented in a book.

I love how we see Junes progression from self-hatred for herself but love for her sister, and seeing June begin to accept her problems and understand that she doesn't need to be ashamed of who she is!

And written in verse?! even better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this title. It was a quick read, and I thought Quinn did an excellent job tackling the difficult topic of eating disorders, body image/perception, and abusive relationships.

Although some people may complain about this aspect, I really enjoyed the fact that there's a character who you completely loathe and then get to enjoy when they get what's coming to them. The ending is quite satisfying, and it leaves you with hope for the main character.

Some of the verse sections where June discusses her eating disorder are beautifully written and a great example of verse fiction. I'd definitely recommend this title to our teen patrons!

2.5 stars - As someone who has been ridiculed for their weight and suffered from a binge-eating disorder, I can attest to how real this story feels. It can be especially difficult to work through these disorders when the adults in your life are celebrating your unhealthy habits while telling you that your accomplishments aren't good enough. With that being said, I think that having this story written in verse really helps to showcase the uncontrollable and sporadic thoughts that come along with any mental illness.

Its always nice to see a part of yourself represented within a story. However the bullying that took place towards the end seemed a bit unrealistic and the same conclusion could've been achieved through confrontations with other prominent characters.

What really brought down my rating though was the lack of any resolution. If you're going to offer a story to young adults about eating disorders, you also need to include how to get help and demonstrate the recovery process. Sorry but dancing and saying you'll get help just doesn't cut it.

A pretty standard story about a girl who thinks she's fat and harbors a secret eating disorder from friends and family. There's a boy, who's a douchebag, and a sister, who's the only person our protagonist is close to, and more shitty people who act like total tools. I really love when stories are told in verse, so I appreciated that aspect - I read the book in less than a day. It didn't really delve into the depths of eating disorders or anything; this was a very surface look into young girls and eating disorders. Nothing particularly noteworthy, and not nearly long enough to develop sub-plots. I wish our protagonist had been less of a pushover because I really can't stand pushovers in my books, but overall the story was okay.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of “Not Hungry” by Kate Karyus Quinn.

Not Hungry is a book about a girl named June who struggles with an eating disorder. It’s not a happy book. There are multiple us and downs. It shows a love interest, but at the same time shows how the only thing June is worried about is eating. She is constantly worrying about how much she eats. Her life is over taken by this disorder in a way. Nobody really sees how much she’s struggling until a boy named Toby sees it. They become close friends and he’s the only one who truly knows. I enjoyed reading about June’s character growth and seeing how confident her and her sister, Mae, grew throughout the book. The only thing I didn’t like is how we didn’t get much of a backstory on June’s best friend Lacey or really much about Toby. There were details that made up the story but not as much as I liked. In all, it was a really good book and it showed that everyone has struggles and how June over came it!

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Not Hungry is a book written in verse about a girl called June who has an eating disorder. However, people haven’t realised this because June is considered to be ‘overweight’. This book is hard hitting, emotional and was not what I expected at all. This book tells a story, it shows how eating disorders can control your life and it is never too late to get help.

I think I would have much preferred to read this story as a novel rather then in verse as it was such a quick read. Mental illnesses are complex, and I honestly feel that writing about in verse doesn’t give you the whole picture of living with them, it feels rushed and not as informative as it needs to be.

I would be hesitant recommending this book because I feel like there is no information on how to get help, instead its main focus was the fat-shaming June suffered. However I am glad that more authors are broaching these subjects which at one time were considered considerably taboo.

This is one of a wave of several books coming out throughout this and next year told in verse.
The entire book is really short and can be read in under an hour but I would have read a full-fledged novel and been just as happy because this story was an absolute pleasure.
What stroke me the most while reading it was how honest each poem felt because June is not dealing with anything supernatural or amazing. She is fat and that is something that influences her every day of her life, just as it does for most of the readers.
The book deals with a lot of heavy themes such as eating disorder, body image, toxic masculinity, broken families, high school hierarchy, abusive relationships but my favorite concerned the female relationships.
Although June sees herself as undesirable because of her weight she considers her sister one of the best, most beautiful people in the world. It is through that and the support of her best friend that June is able to recognize that she needs to get better. It is through the women in her life and the support they lend her and she lends them that June is able not only to make a difference in their lives but be happier as well.
Netflix? I want an adaptation of this right now!
Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books for this ARC.

This was a very interesting read about a girl coping with anorexia. It was a comfortable paced read though the writing style was a little too simplistic for my tastes.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me a copy in exchange of an honest review.

Not Hungry isn’t a pretty book. It isn’t a happy book. It’s a book filled with pain and struggles, about eating disorders and judgy people.

This novel is entirely written in verse, something I enjoyed a lot. It was very easy to read and I liked the authors choice of wording.

Trigger warning for eating disorders,as it gets pretty graphic.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of NOT HUNGRY by Kate Karyus Quinn in exchange for my honest review.***

1.5 STARS

Nobody realizes June has an eating disorder because she’s overweight.

Told in verse, June describes her experiences as a fat girl dieting and purging. NOT HUNGRY focused nearly entirely on the eating and body aspects of eating disorders and while some bullying and other underlying issues are shown, no connection is made to the disorder. I’m not sure if Quinn did research on eating disorders or if a complex story about mental illness doesn’t work well in verse, but either way I can’t see a reason to recommend to young readers.

I liked Quinn’s word building and would be interested in checking her out again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well-written and insightful look into what it’s like living with an eating disorder. I really felt for the main character and was satisfied watching her develop throughout the story. If anything, I wish the story would have been a little bit longer to give some more dimension to the side characters.

This was interesting and I loved it. It’s a poetry book, but with a story. It’s a quick read with a sad story. June feels fat and has a eating disorder and it’s about her feelings and trying to find herself and what she will and won’t tolerate.

4.5 stars.

This gorgeous little book is unlike anything I have ever read. I was very surprised when I realised it was poetry, though. It was so different from what I was expecting, but at the same time, I was pleasantly surprised. "Not Hungry" by Kate Kayrus Quinn holds so much impact; I felt like I had been punched in the gut with each verse. This book sheds light on the tragedy of June's eating disorder, but also so much more than that, too. Trigger warnings for eating disorders, fat shaming, manipulation and emotional abuse.

In a very short amount of words and pages, I was able to feel every single emotion I would have felt if this book weren't poetry, and perhaps a classic Y/A contemporary novel. It's powerful, brutal, brief, and gets to the point faster than you expect. I loved the characters that I was meant to love and despised the others.

Thank you to West 44 Books for providing an ARC via NetGallery, in exchange for an honest review.

Lie #1 - “I’m not hungry.”

June is hungry. All the time. When she’s not starving herself she’s bingeing and purging, but because she’s overweight no one realises she has an eating disorder. All they see is a fat girl on a diet.

“”The purging place,”
I call it.

Where I bury my shame.”

Lie #2 - “I’m fine.”

June isn’t fine. Neither is her sister, Mae, whose boyfriend treats her like garbage. Neither is Toby, who lives next door and has secrets of his own.

“Everyone has secrets.”

Lie #3 - “It’ll be okay.”

“Like most
lies,
it’s the
thing
we most wish
was true.”

This is a short book written in verse that introduces a variety of issues that many teens deal with, including eating disorders and fat shaming. The story flows well and it was easy to follow along with who everyone was and their relationships to one another.

The ending felt a bit rushed and too neat for me, but I still managed to get all of the answers I wanted. I didn’t become emotionally involved with any of the characters, but I thought the author did well to include all of the details they did with a limited word count. Even though I didn’t get attached to any specific character I could have quite happily strangled Mae’s boyfriend for her and I was certainly not a fan of Toby.

Content warnings include eating disorders, body shaming, dating violence and mentions of family violence and drug addiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books, an imprint of Enslow Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I love hi-lo books! Hi-Lo are high-interest, low-readability books and I love that I live in a world where these books exist. On their website, West 44 Books advises their young adult books are Reading Level: 3-4, Interest Level: 9-12.

4.5 stars
I was unsure how to rate this. On the one hand, I didn’t know that this was a poetry book before reading it, and I’m not a huge fan of that genre. But on the other hand, I think it was incredibly...good? Painful, but real. I also haven’t seen many books about eating disorders out there and it’s so important to talk about that topic.
Overall, I think people should read this book.

- ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review. -

Wow! I flew through this book. I connected so much with June, even though I've never had an eating disorder. The way this is written, the realistic, beautiful poetry...it's all outstanding. I adored this book so much.

This is a very short book written in verse. I did not really like this book as to my opinion it wasn’t showing off enough of the mental illness and the real struggle of an eating disorder. Writing in verse for this subject was probably not easy, but I think more was needed.

I appreciate this read so much!

I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read a story about eating disorders and letting go of people who don't appreciate you, but instead focusing on just being you.

I am so happy for both June and her sister, Mae for standing up for themselves in the end and choosing to enjoy being them instead of being conscious about what people will think of them.

This story was easy to read, understand and relate to the feelings and frustrations of the characters. Although it was short, I felt like Kate Karyus Quinn got the main points of the story out there, somehow.

I wanted to keep reading!

Thank you so much, Netgalley and West 44 Books for the opportunity to review the book. It was great!

"I'm a liar. A liar who tells only one lie. The same one again and again."

This book was an ARC given to me from the publisher and author through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity, and know that all thoughts are my own and do not reflect the author or publisher in any way.

Not Hungry is a short story, written by Kate Karyus Quinn, about a high school-aged girl who secretly struggles with an eating disorder. This book was a quick, easy read. I thought the writing style was interesting, and I appreciated how well the book flowed from one idea to the next. The chapters were well connected, but the book somehow still felt disjointed. I think I would have appreciated a little bit more formatting in the writing style, but it may appear differently on paper as opposed to the Kindle copy that I received. Overall, this was a good book that acknowledged a serious issue. I believe this would be a good book for mature teens and young adults to read, although there is discussion about eating disorders, body shaming, drug addiction, and dating violence.

A repeated theme in this book was secrets. The book is structured around the idea that everyone has secrets, and it is people’s job to decide who to share their secrets with. The main character struggles with her weight, so she would starve herself for days until binge-eating and throwing up all her consumed food. During this book, she must learn how to deal with this problem and attempt to find a solution. How long can she keep her secret a secret?

This story was not my favorite book because I did not think the characters were developed well-enough for my liking, although that is partly because this was not a very long book. In addition, the end felt a little rushed. However, I did enjoy that the book contained the themes of friendship, admitting truths, being yourself, and accepting help when you need it.

I think our world has a horrible stigma about mental illnesses and health problems that can be detrimental to an individual's mental and physical health. I believe that many problems could be aided if people felt accepted for who they are and felt safe about asking for help without being ashamed. I appreciate that this book tried to help normalize eating disorders, and I hope that this story can help people see that they do not have to go through things alone and there is no shame in asking for help. Love yourself and live your best life.

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!
This was an interesting read- loved the use of formatting to add emphasis to certain sentences or scenes. I think this book is a little limited in it's information. It ended with me wanting health for the main character and not seeing that happen.

I was also very displeased that I did not see any information about what to do if you are struggling with an eating disorder. There should be a disclaimer with a hotline or website or something for those that are struggling.

This book was emotionally charged and written in beautiful prose that was easy to read.

Due to its prose style form, it was incredibly fast to read, making the pages turn faster as the emotion surged thorugh the pages.

a great way to create awareness around anorexia, around the pressures of teenage girls and just how powerful peer groups and peer pressure can be at that age.

this portrays perfectly well how it feels to have a mental illness BUT not showing any evidence on the outside. I overall enjoyed it but keep in mind it can be triggering for people experiencing similar problems.

Often we read books about eating disorders where the main character is underweight. This book was different, as it featured a character who was classed as overweight. This is important - to show people that eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes, and that you can have an one at any weight.

I loved the format and I read the book in one sitting. It was easy to follow and we moved fast through the storyline.

I found it difficult to connect with the characters, but I’m not sure if that was to do with the fast pace or the format. I loved how it shared the more raw and often embarrassing side of eating disorders - the lengths someone will go to to contain their secret and further their goal of not eating. I would have loved more story. Although I enjoyed the format, I also found myself wanting more development and details.

Overall, a great story but it had more potential and I would have loved to have seen more plot development. However, it wouldn’t put me off from checking out more of this authors work as I loved the writing and I think they have so much potential.

really enjoyed this! not really sure why a book dealing with disordered eating is being marketed toward children but regardless it was an interesting read.

the prose was kind of a weird formatting for this but i enjoyed the characters and plot well enough. i really liked the sister relationship seen toward the end!

I almost didn’t read <u>Not Hungry</u> after reading a review mentioning how it was written in more of a poetic/verse type of way. However, the same review said it was quick so I thought okay — let’s give it a try.

The writing really distracted me at first. I decided to stop trying to read it in a poetic way, and just read it as if they were complete sentences. That helped a lot. It definitely made the story fly by quickly.

As far as the plot line goes, I’m not completely sure how I feel. It had such sensitive subjects — anorexia, binge eating, fat shaming — that I did feel a little uncomfortable. There’s not a lot really going on, but you go through the motions with June.

I love that there’s a happy ending, that June realizes she needs help and that she’s okay with asking for help. Everything that happens around June and Mae is honestly just filler. I feel like the story revolves around June and Mae’s “secrets,” and just having them come together as sisters and help each other.

Honestly, I think this could be a good book if the content isn’t triggering and you could handle the sensitive nature. There’s the poetic element, too, which I wish I could appreciate more but I don’t know how to.

I just finished a book and was looking for something that was short and interesting so I picked up Not Hungry by Kate Kayrus Quinn which I received as an arc through Netgalley and I was not disappointed. Not Hungry is written in verse and tells the story of the main character Joan who is over weight but still hides the fact that she has a big secret that finally comes to light. I have never read a book like this but I think that Kate covered very important issues that affect young people today in such a way that they weren't in a triggering manner. For this reason I am giving Not Hungry 4 stars.

I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

4.5 stars

*Trigger warning for disordered eating, bulimia and emotional abuse*

Poetry/ verse is the perfect format for this story, short paragraphs pack a punch with the innermost negative thoughts of our main character June. We also see her sister who is also struggling with weight however she is very confident and does not appear to be bothered with her own size. Though she is in a toxic relationship with Erick (emphasis on the ICK, I love this creative line), June becomes friends a new boy while becoming distant from her best friend. This book reminds of what an early 2000's tv show or tv movie storyline would have been, though on the extreme side.

Being anorexic/bulimic while at the same time (still) being fat is a hugely overlooked topic, even within the eating disorder realm. People cannot imagine how much harm is done by people not recognising this eating disorder. I felt so seen reading this book.

"My dream isn't to be
a n o r e x i c
But for people
like Lacey
to think I could be."

Not hungry is written in verse, which at first I did not know, but was a pleasant surprise. It translates into an incredibly fast read, which I appreciated. The choice of style really represents what is going on in a persons mind struggling with this type of mental illness really well. It actually inspired me to write down my own thoughts and experiences.

"FAT
because you're
too dumb
to eat
less."

After reading the first page, I had to pause for a moment, because I felt seen, understood, but also a bit triggered. This also is why it took me longer than usual to get to this book.
I do think the topics represented in this book are really important to bring up, but I also felt like the whole relationship part of it felt a bit rushed and almost too polished into perfection. I would have enjoyed it to be a bit more raw and rough around the edges. I also would have enjoyed this book to be a bit longer and potentially structured. Right now it feels like a middle between random poems and trying to be a storyline, but the story is a bit lackluster. This book would have benefited from leaning towards either side a bit stronger.

Thank you to West 44 Books™ to bringing this underrepresented topic to young adult fiction with this quick read. Overall I immensely appreciated the really well done representation.

Thank you to netgalley to giving me access to a free review ebook in exchane for an honest review.
This book will be included in my wrap up video going live on my Youtube Channel on March 11, 2021.