Schu, John. Louder Than Hunger. Candlewick, 03/2024. 506 [+22]pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-5362-2909-7. GRADES 5–9. OUTSTANDING.
This fictionalized memoir in verse follows eighth-grader Jake as he obsessively exercises, limits his eating, and begins to waste away, while facing feelings of disconnection from his parents and grieving the loss of his grandmother. Schu is very careful to not write an anorexia how-to manual or a book that glorifies eating disorders in any way. At more than 500 pages, the size of the book may intimidate some readers, but the sparse text with lots of white space allows the reader to move through it quickly, and lets the reader pause and take the story in. Louder Than Hunger joins Lerner’s A Work in Progress (Aladdin, 2023) as one of the few middle grade books to address the topic of disordered eating. Jake reads as white.
Rachael Reiley—Hillcrest Elementary K–8 / Oakland Unified School District