Hungry Ghost

February 1, 2023

Gr 10-12-The personal nature of Ying's graphic novel adds a deeply emotional layer to a book about disordered eating. Valerie Chu's mother constantly reminds her to watch what she eats to remain thin, while Valerie strives to be a good daughter. The external dialogue of this mother-daughter dynamic is internalized and carries over to how Valerie views herself and others, painfully equating thinness with likability and love. Then tragedy befalls the family, and Valerie snaps at her best friend, Jordan, leading to a climactic understanding of her need for outside help. This is a heartrending read, with visual depictions of the harrowing extent of Valerie's disorder; the ultimately hopeful ending underscores the need for counseling. Ying shows that while Valerie is able to grow as a character, making amends with Jordan and beginning her path toward healing with some distance from her mother, the journey will be an ongoing one. Emotions are gleaned from facial expressions and situational awareness rather than an overwritten plot. The story is enriched by the talented colors done by Lynette Wong. Using a muted, soft palette reminiscent of Brenna Thummler's Sheets and Delicates, the art sets a mood that complements Ying's story. Deceptively simple in presentation, with sparing dialogue, the graphic format shines here. An afterword describes the author's personal connection to the story, and additional resources are included in the back matter. VERDICT The book's path toward healing is an example of bibliotherapy for teens. An excellent choice for YA collections.-Alicia Abdul

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2023
Grades 9-12 For all of Valerie's life, food has been a source of stress and difficulty. Valerie internalized her mother's gaze and stays thin through an eating disorder. She scrolls through the internet and compares her body to other women's, telling herself that she must remain thin and that no one who is fat could be happy (including her friend Jordan). On a school trip to Paris, Val can barely handle the idea of eating heavy food. However, after her father's death, Val realizes how stuck she is in her own body. Though her grief allows her to start eating without as much shame, Val is still cruel to Jordan about her appearance. When she realizes how awful she's been acting toward herself and her loved ones, she learns to open up about her eating disorder and ask for help. Ying's soft artwork, colored in pastel pinks and blues, nicely evokes Val's emotional journey through facial expressions and body language. A thoughtful author's note offers additional resources for readers struggling with internalized fatphobia or disordered eating.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 13, 2023
Ying (City of Secrets) offers up a clear-eyed graphic novel about Chinese American Valerie Chu’s challenges managing an eating disorder, inspired by the author’s own experiences, as outlined in an afterword. All Val wants is to be gwai—meaning good or obedient—for her mother. That means getting excellent grades, helping around the house, and above all, staying thin. Val’s mother frequently reminds her “don’t eat, just taste,” and often makes disparaging comments about Val’s best friend Jordan’s weight (“When you get that fat, it’s really hard to lose it,” she says). Her mother’s preoccupation with Val’s eating habits results in Val developing an unhealthy rapport with food, including purging after every meal. During a class trip to Paris, Val feels free from her mother’s watchful eye, but a family tragedy and a shocking confession from Jordan sends Val spiraling, forcing her to confront her destructive relationship with her body and her mother. Soft, pastel-toned illustrations and inimitably designed, emotive characters ferry a formidable story with a tidy ending that offers optimistic catharsis and healing for those contending with issues of anti-fat bias, body image, and disordered eating. Resources conclude. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary.

July 1, 2023
"Remember, don't eat, just taste." Be gwai (good or obedient). California teen Valerie Chu learns these lessons from her controlling Taiwanese American mother, who monitors her daughter's meals. Valerie, hearing these harmful messages, engages in disordered eating and in purging. In this emotionally challenging yet redemptive tale, readers follow Valerie's efforts to be the "perfect daughter" -- excelling at high school while maintaining a stick-thin figure. A tragedy that strikes her family adds further complications. Refreshingly, this graphic novel holds a mirror up to the harsh double pressure some Asian American girls face when they are forced to follow both Eastern and Western beauty and conformity standards. Ying's tranquil, pastel-toned digital illustrations of Valerie's outward life provide a stark contrast to her insidious mental-health difficulties, which are implied to be multigenerational. The story shows how Valerie's condition prevents her from enjoying such activities as a Lunar New Year feast or a Paris class trip, while her curvy best friend helps model healthier body image. Valerie herself eventually provides a positive example by sharing her struggle with trusted loved ones. Ying's afterword and resource list offer additional support. Michelle Lee

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from March 1, 2023
Valerie Chu's secret is eating her alive. Val has been pressured to stay thin for as long as she can remember, her mother's own disordered eating habits bleeding over and taking control of hers. Though her mom cooks delicious Chinese dishes, she's always quick to remind Val to watch what she eats, often body-shaming Val's curvy White best friend, Jordan. Her friends gently tease Val for being so tiny, but none of them know about her disordered eating or her bulimic compulsions. While she's kept both hidden all these years, her struggles come to a head while on a class trip to Paris. Unable to keep to her purging schedule and enjoy the sights, Val begins to reevaluate the importance of being thin. Just as she's settling into this new mindset, a family tragedy throws her whole life into upheaval. Ying's artwork is appropriately nuanced and expressive, approaching the topics of grief, eating disorders, and mental health conditions sensitively and complemented by Wong's subdued palette of mint green, soft peach, slate gray, and light brown. Classic bordered panels fill the front half of the book with a sense of strict control that begins to unravel later in the story. The impact of social media on teen girls' body image is also addressed: Val scrolls through Instagram several times, making the correlation between her unhappiness and the platform's impact clear. A gorgeously wrought, therapeutic story filled with tenderness and honesty. (content note, afterword, resources) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2023
Color by Lynette Wong. "Remember, don't eat, just taste." Be gwai (good or obedient). California teen Valerie Chu learns these lessons from her controlling Taiwanese American mother, who monitors her daughter's meals. Valerie, hearing these harmful messages, engages in disordered eating and in purging. In this emotionally challenging yet redemptive tale, readers follow Valerie's efforts to be the "perfect daughter" -- excelling at high school while maintaining a stick-thin figure. A tragedy that strikes her family adds further complications. Refreshingly, this graphic novel holds a mirror up to the harsh double pressure some Asian American girls face when they are forced to follow both Eastern and Western beauty and conformity standards. Ying's tranquil, pastel-toned digital illustrations of Valerie's outward life provide a stark contrast to her insidious mental-health difficulties, which are implied to be multigenerational. The story shows how Valerie's condition prevents her from enjoying such activities as a Lunar New Year feast or a Paris class trip, while her curvy best friend helps model healthier body image. Valerie herself eventually provides a positive example by sharing her struggle with trusted loved ones. Ying's afterword and resource list offer additional support.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)