Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
Five out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Oh man, I am back to the books in verse. Jake is an eighth grader who has an eating disorder. I am already interested in this one because I like seeing boys as the main characters in books like this. There are a ton of books out there that deal with young girls who are dealing with body issues, but I can’t remember too many with boys dealing with this struggle.
Jake is pretty quickly sent to an in-house treatment to work on his eating disorder. I was shocked to see how structured everything had to be while in treatment. He is weighed and then given a particular diet, he has multiple therapy sessions, and he is constantly monitored. It makes sense, but I never really thought about it either. Jake is struggling, and he misses his grandmother.
I knew nothing about eating disorders besides the fact that they usually involved food. I learned a ton while reading this book. I feel terrible for saying this, but I would be like his mom in this book. I know she was doing her best to help, but she would say things like “You have to eat!” Or “Yes, you can!” when Jake would talk about how he couldn’t do something. I feel like I would say the same thing. Like “just eat!” I would not be great at trying to help people in these situations. I get why they need to sometimes go to places like Jake did.
Throughout the book, Jake deals with a voice in his head that keeps telling him to stop eating, telling him how unloved and undeserving he is. It’s so hard to read those sections. I felt so bad for him. I have doubts or negative thoughts at times, but nothing like what Jake is dealing with. It’s like a constant companion.
This book doesn’t sugarcoat much of what Jake is going through. I feel like this would be a great book for someone going through something similar but also a helpful book for someone who knows someone who is going through something similar. Those going through this will get some hope that there is a possibility to heal. Those who know someone who is going through this will have a better understanding of how hard this really is.
Literary Coffee 