A review by wutskaylareadin
The Hunger by Alma Katsu

3.0

The Hunger by Alma Katsu retells a story many may be familiar with. The Donner Party experienced a real life horror and survival story. Stuck so close to their goal of reaching California, the real Donner Party must make horrifying and stomach churning decisions to try to survive the brutal winter. In the end, many died.

In The Hunger, the horror doesn't come from the characters making the decision to eat human flesh. Instead, a supernatural force seems to be hunting them on their journey. Is it a creature? A curse? A disease? By the time they find out, it may be too late.

I had very high expectations for this book, but only really felt the horror at the end. The first half of the story felt uneventful, when what I wanted was some slow-mounting terror. Chapters alternated viewpoints, which was a nice way to exhibit the drama in the party. At the end though I felt most of those storylines didn't matter. I heard some great reviews for this, so I would still recommend this book. The writing was solid and the action/gore was very visceral.