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A review by becandbooks
The Hunger Between Us by Marina Scott
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
3.25
This is a book about poverty, desperation and an undying focus on possibility and survival. Transported to another time, readers will find a story that while gut-wrenching and engaging in its content, is frustrating with a sad but repetitive narrative.
Liza has unbelievable hope about the dire nature of her circumstances. It demonstrates the stark nature of desperation for hope, but it also leads to incredible foolishness and unnatural blindness to her circumstances. While a time of poverty and extreme classism would no doubt cloud judgement and skew trust, it often feels disjointed and forced for the sake of the narrative. As well, the overarching mystery element of the story that threads throughout feels drawn out and slow, with the character repeatedly having the same conversation and thought process with the same repeated result for the majority of the story.
Scott has done an incredible job with the story's world-building, but the plot and characters leave something to be desired.
Liza has unbelievable hope about the dire nature of her circumstances. It demonstrates the stark nature of desperation for hope, but it also leads to incredible foolishness and unnatural blindness to her circumstances. While a time of poverty and extreme classism would no doubt cloud judgement and skew trust, it often feels disjointed and forced for the sake of the narrative. As well, the overarching mystery element of the story that threads throughout feels drawn out and slow, with the character repeatedly having the same conversation and thought process with the same repeated result for the majority of the story.
Scott has done an incredible job with the story's world-building, but the plot and characters leave something to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and War
Minor: Alcohol
→ trigger warnings: starvation (specifically famine), poverty themes, death of mother, friend and child, physical abuse, sexual abuse, forced prostitution, cannibalism, classism, war themes, alcohol abuse