Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Not Hungry

I don’t tend to gravitate toward poetry, it’s not really my jam but I’m glad I read this and damn, it hurt. I never had an eating disorder but I have always been fat and my heart absolutely broke for June (and her sister) because I know those feelings.

If anyone reading this needs a reminder: You are worthy. Your value is not determined by your size. Food is not the enemy and your size is not right or wrong- no matter how much you weigh.

There were some formatting issues with the version I read on Libby but it was only minorly distracting for someone like me who already isn’t used to reading stories told through poetry.

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crazunicorn1's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this and definitely related to some of these things. It’s a very fast read because it’s written numbers which I didn’t know going in. I do wish it was a little more fleshed out but it was still really good.

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spcandybars's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a story that may have been done before but will never be irrelevant - Eating disorders occur within and are represented by fat girls too. What I wish the most from this book - and what could have possibly driven it up from a 3 on its own - was if the story was told in prose rather than verse. The characters and frustrations were impressively displayed but the daily struggles, the development of the disorder, and even the lead up to the climax could have been more impactful give. Time to develop appropriate tension. I felt like I couldn’t see enough of the main characters thoughts pertaining to her life or why she became so fixated.

Another contributor to the points against this were the character’s fear of the fear of the words “eating disorder”, dancing around the words and not even allowing the people who wanted to help to be more direct than “You have a problem”. In a book meant to feel relatable, I think it’s important to use terms plainly. There also this attempt to avoid portraying anorexia and bulimia through one voice of experience - not wanting to define these eating disorders through this eating disordered girl even though she is meant to be a portrayal of them - and this attempt at broad neutrality creates a main character who is weaker/less defined as a consequence.

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char14tte's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book left me deeply moved whilst I read it all in one sitting. I felt it was such a fantastic story on such a challenging subject for young adults my age. I’m so thankful to have found this story.

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alisazhup's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This felt more like a short story than a novel. It's only about 150 pages and written in verse, so you can read the whole thing in less than 30 minutes. The formatting was a little weird too, with random words being italicized and random indents in most of the stanzas, but I don't know if that's just a problem with the ebook version.. Nevertheless, I liked it. I've read a lot of books about eating disorders but never one with a fat protagonist. I liked the sister/girl power

and them standing up for themselves at the end

. I don't regret reading it.

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