WHAT HUNGER

An act of violence leaves a teenage girl hungry for more than revenge.

Veronica “Ronny” Nguyen and her brother, Tommy—the family’s golden child—are embarking on what Tommy calls “The Big Summer” as they get ready to enter high school and college, respectively. Americanized children of Vietnamese refugees, the siblings are pushing boundaries with their parents, Mẹ and Ba. When Tommy is killed in a car accident, the family is devastated and the gulfs among them—already filled with secrets and silences—begin to widen. When Ba’s brash and distant sister, Cô Mỹ, comes to stay, she brings with her stories from Mẹ and Ba’s past, as well as urban legends from Vietnam. While navigating unimaginable loss, Ronny tries her best to be a normal teenager by excitedly and nervously attending her first high school party. Unfortunately, this rite of passage turns into a nightmare when a classmate sexually assaults her—and something that had been dormant inside her awakens. As rumors swirl at school about Ronny, she finds it harder and harder to tamp down her rage and insatiable hunger for vengeance…and the sharp, salty, metallic taste of raw meat. As secrets about her parents and Tommy come to the surface, Ronny has to grapple with the realization that she has never seen the fullness of their lives: “I could only see them as what they showed me.” When Ronny embarks on her final act of revenge, she unexpectedly sets off a chain of events that brings her closer to her mother than she ever imagined. To move forward, they must do something they’ve never done before: unbury the past. Bound together with new understanding and tenderness, their relationship is forever changed. Balancing vulnerability, rage, horror, and compassion, the novel explores identity as both a blessing and curse.

Brutal and poignant; Dang writes beautifully about the complexity of adolescence and generational trauma.