Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sarah_thebooknerd 's review for:
Hungry Ghost
by Victoria Ying
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a heavier graphic novel that is aimed for Young Adults and I do not 100% agree with some of the take-aways but I also recognize that part of it could also be cultural.
The FMC deals with an eating disorder and we see active engagement in her eating disorders, there is a brief CW very small at the front of the book and the blurb shares so that at least will clue people into reading it.
I liked the graphics, they are very beautiful and well done. The conversation itself is an important one and I think that if it was handled a little better it would have been an incredible read. Where I think it went flat.
1. The getting help part seemed very rushed for how much we got with the disordered part and I wish it was balanced a bit and we got to see more of the growth of the FMC.
2. The internal fatphobia and fatphobic comments were never challenged by the FMC to her best friend and she really did not have any growth that we got to see. It was subtle but I think that it needed to be stronger with the pain and hurt that the FMC caused to her friend. Being hurt yourself does not excuse you from hurting others and needed to be handled better.
3. The mother in this book is very toxic with her fatphobia and the way in which she talks to her daughter about food, eating and even when the daughter discloses her eating disorder the mother makes light of it. The toxicity was just accepted and the FMC was told by even other families that is the way that the mother loves and the FMC just needs to change her expectations and accept it? I really REALLY hated how this part was portrayed. I do not want the message to readers to be to just accept this toxic form of love because that is how they show it. No, you are actively hurting your daughter and your daughter has disclosed that she is in pain and the main concern is still her making sure to not gain weight. No, no no.
4. The grief aspect of the book just felt so rushed and is a component of the book but I feel like it is lost within the eating disorder part and therefore almost came across as dismissive of the grief and loss.
I think my big issue is that the book tried to accomplish a lot within a short amount of time and it came across as dismissive or lacking respect for some very big topics that needed to be flushed out given the audience of the book and take away they can have.
CW: death of a parent, toxic relationships, eating disorders- in detail, fatphobia, fat shaming
The FMC deals with an eating disorder and we see active engagement in her eating disorders, there is a brief CW very small at the front of the book and the blurb shares so that at least will clue people into reading it.
I liked the graphics, they are very beautiful and well done. The conversation itself is an important one and I think that if it was handled a little better it would have been an incredible read. Where I think it went flat.
1. The getting help part seemed very rushed for how much we got with the disordered part and I wish it was balanced a bit and we got to see more of the growth of the FMC.
2. The internal fatphobia and fatphobic comments were never challenged by the FMC to her best friend and she really did not have any growth that we got to see. It was subtle but I think that it needed to be stronger with the pain and hurt that the FMC caused to her friend. Being hurt yourself does not excuse you from hurting others and needed to be handled better.
3. The mother in this book is very toxic with her fatphobia and the way in which she talks to her daughter about food, eating and even when the daughter discloses her eating disorder the mother makes light of it. The toxicity was just accepted and the FMC was told by even other families that is the way that the mother loves and the FMC just needs to change her expectations and accept it? I really REALLY hated how this part was portrayed. I do not want the message to readers to be to just accept this toxic form of love because that is how they show it. No, you are actively hurting your daughter and your daughter has disclosed that she is in pain and the main concern is still her making sure to not gain weight. No, no no.
4. The grief aspect of the book just felt so rushed and is a component of the book but I feel like it is lost within the eating disorder part and therefore almost came across as dismissive of the grief and loss.
I think my big issue is that the book tried to accomplish a lot within a short amount of time and it came across as dismissive or lacking respect for some very big topics that needed to be flushed out given the audience of the book and take away they can have.
CW: death of a parent, toxic relationships, eating disorders- in detail, fatphobia, fat shaming