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A review by petrichor_pages
Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love by Elsie Chapman
3.0
It's not a BAD book, but it is an anthology so there are some caveats you should be aware of.
1. The quality of the writing varies a LOT between the authors. Some stories are definitely better than others. I really loved Rin Chupeco's story, but most of the others were just alright.
2. The writing reads pretty young in a lot of the stories. Some were a lot more middle grade than YA in my personal opinion.
3. Don't expect all the stories to be light and heart-warming. There are plenty that are not super happy stories.
4. It's an anthology, so the stories are SHORT, I've never been a huge fan of short stories since I'm here for the characters.
5. The depictions of food are probably the best part of the book, but the Hungry Hearts row seemed pretty unnaturally inserted into some of the stories.
6. The book definitely needed a much stronger editor. It doesn't come together very well, and the stories themselves are, at times, awkward.
All that being said, it was nice to see an anthology focused on diversity (and included food!). I didn't hate reading it, but I doubt I would want to read it again, other than a story or two. Your mileage may vary though.
1. The quality of the writing varies a LOT between the authors. Some stories are definitely better than others. I really loved Rin Chupeco's story, but most of the others were just alright.
2. The writing reads pretty young in a lot of the stories. Some were a lot more middle grade than YA in my personal opinion.
3. Don't expect all the stories to be light and heart-warming. There are plenty that are not super happy stories.
4. It's an anthology, so the stories are SHORT, I've never been a huge fan of short stories since I'm here for the characters.
5. The depictions of food are probably the best part of the book, but the Hungry Hearts row seemed pretty unnaturally inserted into some of the stories.
6. The book definitely needed a much stronger editor. It doesn't come together very well, and the stories themselves are, at times, awkward.
All that being said, it was nice to see an anthology focused on diversity (and included food!). I didn't hate reading it, but I doubt I would want to read it again, other than a story or two. Your mileage may vary though.