In Thalia's world, there is no more food and no need for food, as everyone takes medication to ward off hunger. Her parents both work for the company that developed the drugs society consumes to quell any food cravings, and they live a life of privilege as a result. When Thalia meets a boy who is part of an underground movement to bring food back, she realizes that there is an entire world outside her own. She also starts to feel hunger, and so does the boy. Are the meds no longer working? Together, they set out to find the only thing that will quell their hunger: real food. It's a journey that will change everything Thalia thought she knew. But can a "privy" like her ever truly be part of a revolution? ~ Excerpt taken from amazon.ca
My Review for mypita newsletter: One of the most consistent and dominating problems in our world today is hunger. Thousands of people are dying due to malnutrition, while billions of pounds of food are wasted by some nations each year. Imagine a world where the world’s hunger problems have been solved, will it really be easy to do? H.A. Swain has done just that in her novel Hungry.
Thalia Apple has lived in the Inner Loop her whole life and as a result of a war, food no longer exists in the Loops. Her parents both work for a company that developed a drug that suppresses hunger and has eliminated the need for humans to eat food. Each person’s medication is carefully adjusted to their metabolism to ensure that they do not experience hunger. However, Thalia begins to feel hungry, and even as she takes more medication her urge to eat continues to grow. One day she meets a boy, Basil, from the poorer, less advantaged Outer Loop who is part of an underground movement to bring food back. She soon learns that there are many people outside of her privileged Inner Loop that are also hungry. One reason being that that people in the Inner Loop, also known as ‘privies’, have unlimited access to the medication, but some in the Outer Loop do not. After learning the truth, Thalia and Basil soon find themselves the most wanted people in the Loops, and they eventually end up in a place where food is still growing. While living among this whole different society, Thalia quickly learns that different is not the same as better.
This book is a face paced easy read. Swain’s word choice makes it easy for the reader to imagine living there. This book leads well into great conversations about world hunger and the food we currently waste. It’s a great book to recommend to students who are looking for something in the dystopian genre.
This book is recommended for Grade 6 and up.
Need - Joelle Charbonneau
Teenagers at Wisconsin’s Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature. ~ Excerpt taken from amazon.ca