Emotional Growth and Self-Image in Louder Than Hunger Review

It’s been awhile since today’s guest student reviewer Brooke White has shared a review on my blog. That’s because she has moved on to reviewing books for The Center for Children’s Literature at the Bank Street College of Education. Yay Brooke! From time to time, I will republish her reviews here.

INTRODUCTION

The biographical fiction novel, Louder Than Hunger, by John Schu, resonates with readers by stimulating various emotions like grief, sorrow, and commitment. Imagine being trapped in a world where you’re shamed for even thinking about food. That’s Jake Stacey, a 13-year-old boy who loves poetry, roller skating, watching movies, and spending time with his grandma. Jake has a pretty good relationship with most things, but a terrible one with food. He sadly suffers from OCD and an eating disorder, and in this story, he’s just trying to figure it all out.

REVIEW

Most of Jake’s struggles involve “the voice”; this voice is a constant, infamous role model in his perception of body image. Whenever his stomach grumbles or he feels peckish, the voice shames him. The “voice” verbally harasses Jake by making him do treacherous workouts and convinces him to avoid support no matter what. Sadly, Jake experiences severe exploitation from himself. 

The poetic novel starts off with Jake reminiscing on a time of peace, little fear of judgment, eating with no regrets, and feeling comfortable in his own body. Then, the “voice” triggers tenuous thoughts about his self-image. It’s evident that a good chunk of the book consists of Jake reminiscing on his family, friends, and bittersweet moments. 

This story emphasizes mental health, self-perception, and friendship. Surely, Jake’s emotional well-being is quite delicate with a gullible thought process. He constantly feels the “voice” and its negative commentary infecting him (metaphorically), his mindset, and his ability to make decisions. One snippet of the story shows how he tries not to “feel” and that whenever he feels big, he eats less, and whenever he eats less, he “feels” less. As Jake narrates this repetitive domino effect, it demonstrates his eating disorder wasn’t a subconscious “bad habit”, but a decision he was fully aware of, just not in the moment.

Self-image is the most dominant message in this novel, shown through Jake’s 313 diary-like entries. Throughout these pages, Jake powers through shame to get to self-acceptance, though this process disappointed me in the beginning; by the end, I was applauding Jake’s victory.

Even with the “voice” controlling the majority of Jake’s thoughts, support from others seeps its way into Jake’s day-to-day life. Due to his anorexic habits, Jake is admitted into the hospital, where he is swamped with unwavering support. While reading this book, I sensed that Jake wanted the support, but the “voice” didn’t, which is why he seemed to loathe the attention and genuine concern from the doctors and other patients.

When Jake is in the hospital, his main supporters are his psychiatrist, Dr. Parker, and his friend, Kella. The “voice” hates both of them because they are kind and care about Jake’s happiness, two things the voice appreciates destroying.  It’s clear that Jake was very uneasy talking to Dr. Parker, initially. But, he grew to appreciate her as he realized she was helping him recover from anorexia. He then befriends Kella, a girl who also suffers from anorexia nervosa. I feel that these two characters connected through relatable traumatic experiences.

Overall, this poetic story is a great book for mature readers, displaying the struggles and benefits of mental health, friendship, and self-image. Through Jake’s persistence in escaping the voice’s power, he experienced a shift in his self-confidence, and his relationship with food was renewed. This book evoked a wave of emotions, from sorrow to intense enthusiasm. The story had a great variety of metaphors and similes, helping me connect Jake’s feelings to some of my past personal experiences. Readers interested in mental health, poetry, middle school stories, and individuals facing challenges with self-love would benefit most from reading Louder Than Hunger. This story is one of my favorite reads, with the encouragement, relatability, and overall poignant traits it provides.

GUEST BLOGGER

Brooke Leela-Ann White is a published author and book reviewer based in Charlotte. She enjoys reading, baking, sewing, writing, walking outside, and playing sports.

Please check out Greg Pattridge’s MMGM blog for other excellent middle grade recommendations.