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Aug 12, 2025
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nguyen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere.
It's the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.
Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family's meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.
But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.
What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage. Ronny's Vietnamese lineage and her mother's emotional memory play a crucial role in this tender ode to generational trauma and mother-daughter bonding.
It's the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.
Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family's meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.
But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.
What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage. Ronny's Vietnamese lineage and her mother's emotional memory play a crucial role in this tender ode to generational trauma and mother-daughter bonding.
Product Details
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publish Date | August 12, 2025 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781668065570 |
| Dimensions | 212.7 X 139.7 X 18.9 mm | 409.6 g |
About the Author
Catherine Dang is the author of the novels Nice Girls and What Hunger. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she currently resides in Brooklyn.
Reviews
"Brutal and poignant; Dang writes beautifully about the complexity of adolescence and generational trauma."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Dang keenly captures her narrator’s alienation and anger, and the intergenerational tale concludes with a powerful revelation about the parents’ unspoken trauma from the Vietnam War. This one hits hard."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Intense, visceral, and not to be missed."
—Booklist, Starred Review
“Raw, violent, tender, beautiful: Catherine Dang’s coming-of-age horror encapsulates both the savagery and fragility of teenage girlhood, like if Jennifer’s Body was elevated by a rich exploration of grief and a Vietnamese refugee family’s experiences in America after fleeing war. Dang’s darkly playful portrayal of cannibalism is vivid, funny, real—and a perfectly gruesome metaphor for female rage. It builds and boils, and the final twist had me cheering.”
—Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
"What Hunger is a beautifully woven coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and intergenerational trauma. Dang's writing pulses with a simmering rage, and the novel's bloodcurdling conclusion will leave readers with a lasting sense of satisfaction."
—Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part
"What Hunger is a raw portrayal of the violence that bubbles up inside us in the uncertainty of grief and adolescence. This book is as fierce, unpredictable, and tender as the teenage girl at its center."
—Puloma Ghosh, author of Mouth
"Tender, bold and brutally honest, What Hunger follows a Vietnamese refugee family struggling with questions of identity and grief. Dang deftly balances a poignant coming of age story and a gripping portrayal of feminine power. A brilliant novel filled with heartbreak and suspense."
—K.T. Nguyen, author of You Know What You Did
“Gut-wrenching and raw (in more ways than one), What Hunger lays bare the devastating impact of grief, and how traumas, both past and present, can collide, redefining one’s understanding of family, heritage, and identity. This utterly engrossing tale of female rage had me at page one, going from slow simmer to full boil in the most brutal and delicious of ways.”
—Robin Wasley, William C. Morris Award finalist for Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear
“A hypnotic blend between a touching coming of age story and visceral exploration of adolescent rage, What Hunger made me laugh, flinch, and cry. I couldn’t put it down.”
—E.K. Sathue, author of youthjuice
—Kirkus Reviews
"Dang keenly captures her narrator’s alienation and anger, and the intergenerational tale concludes with a powerful revelation about the parents’ unspoken trauma from the Vietnam War. This one hits hard."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Intense, visceral, and not to be missed."
—Booklist, Starred Review
“Raw, violent, tender, beautiful: Catherine Dang’s coming-of-age horror encapsulates both the savagery and fragility of teenage girlhood, like if Jennifer’s Body was elevated by a rich exploration of grief and a Vietnamese refugee family’s experiences in America after fleeing war. Dang’s darkly playful portrayal of cannibalism is vivid, funny, real—and a perfectly gruesome metaphor for female rage. It builds and boils, and the final twist had me cheering.”
—Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
"What Hunger is a beautifully woven coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and intergenerational trauma. Dang's writing pulses with a simmering rage, and the novel's bloodcurdling conclusion will leave readers with a lasting sense of satisfaction."
—Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part
"What Hunger is a raw portrayal of the violence that bubbles up inside us in the uncertainty of grief and adolescence. This book is as fierce, unpredictable, and tender as the teenage girl at its center."
—Puloma Ghosh, author of Mouth
"Tender, bold and brutally honest, What Hunger follows a Vietnamese refugee family struggling with questions of identity and grief. Dang deftly balances a poignant coming of age story and a gripping portrayal of feminine power. A brilliant novel filled with heartbreak and suspense."
—K.T. Nguyen, author of You Know What You Did
“Gut-wrenching and raw (in more ways than one), What Hunger lays bare the devastating impact of grief, and how traumas, both past and present, can collide, redefining one’s understanding of family, heritage, and identity. This utterly engrossing tale of female rage had me at page one, going from slow simmer to full boil in the most brutal and delicious of ways.”
—Robin Wasley, William C. Morris Award finalist for Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear
“A hypnotic blend between a touching coming of age story and visceral exploration of adolescent rage, What Hunger made me laugh, flinch, and cry. I couldn’t put it down.”
—E.K. Sathue, author of youthjuice
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