What Hunger: A Novel
One of Goodreads, Book Riot, and AV Club’s Most Anticipated Horror Novels of the Year
“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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the ARC! Release date: August 12, 2025.
Ronny is one of those characters that solidifies for me that: Yes, I support women's wrongs!
The summer before Ronny's freshman year, her family goes through a traumatic event. When the school year begins and she goes through another traumatic event This event leaves her with a hunger. Filled with rage due to these two back to back traumatic events, she tries ways to sate this hunger and each time she tries, she finds herself with momentary satisfaction.
I read this book in one sitting which that action alone should explain how good it was. Such a good coming of age story that goes over loss, grief, violence, and the navigation of a teenager girl's first year of high school.
I definitely want to read more of Dang's work!
Ronny is one of those characters that solidifies for me that: Yes, I support women's wrongs!
The summer before Ronny's freshman year, her family goes through a traumatic event. When the school year begins and she goes through another traumatic event This event leaves her with a hunger. Filled with rage due to these two back to back traumatic events, she tries ways to sate this hunger and each time she tries, she finds herself with momentary satisfaction.
I read this book in one sitting which that action alone should explain how good it was. Such a good coming of age story that goes over loss, grief, violence, and the navigation of a teenager girl's first year of high school.
I definitely want to read more of Dang's work!
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.