Hungry [Hardcover]

Alethea Eason (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Deborah is starting to notice things about her best friend, Willy—like how cute he looks in his Halloween costume and the adorable way his red hair curls just above his collar. He's the coolest boy in sixth grade, and the closest friend she's got . . . that is, until her alien parents tell her she has to eat him for dinner. After all, she's an alien, too—even if she and her family do live in disguise.

Should she keep Willy alive and survive on forbidden hamburgers and chocolate . . . or point her tentacles at her best friend and gain approval from alien kind?

There are times when everyone feels like they're from outer space. A zany adventure and a close and sympathetic look at middle-school friendships and rivalries, Alethea Eason's wonderfully unique first novel satisfies that craving to fit in.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a great tongue-in-cheek book with lots of humor. (SFRevu )

“The junior high “freak” story falls on the funny side of gross.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )

About the Author

Alethea Eason lives in Cobb, California, and has taught in elementary schools for more than twenty years, as a third-grade teacher and reading specialist. hungry is her first novel and grew out of the short story "Deborah's Choice," published in Bruce Coville's Alien Visitors, and from a birthday request from her husband, Bill, to write more about "those flesh-eating aliens." Like Deborah, she has a good appetite, but her favorite course is dessert, not meat.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060825545
• ISBN-13: 978-0060825546
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HUNGRY makes me hungry for more!, October 14, 2007

By 

Lesley Downie - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hungry (Hardcover)

What's wonderful about HUNGRY is the believability of a family of aliens living on earth in ordinary suburbia as ordinary people. As they await their own-kind's invasion of the planet due to a diminished food supply on their own, Deborah and her alien family try to fit in by selling Avon, going to school, and, of course, hiding their tentacles. Lied to by her parents, Deborah is told she must only eat humans, which causes a moral dilemma as she befriends other kids and grows a crush on her best friend Willy. When she eats her first piece of junk food and doesn't die, she realizes the lie she has been told. With humor and a completely unique way of telling Deborah's story, the author manages to weave in important issues kids face today--including bullying and greed, honor and trust, and war and environmental concerns. Never heavy handed in its message, always delightful to read--like a good piece of chocolate--Eason takes us on a literary ride of the best kind; one is lost in a read that you wish wouldn't end.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hungry left me hungry for more, October 22, 2007

By 

Mary Benson (Lower Lake, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hungry (Hardcover)

Alethea Eason's Hungry features Deborah, or Dbkrrrsh as she is known on her home planet, as she discovers that her Home World intends to invade the Earth and consume the humans as their newest food source. Deborah learns that her race has historically used up a planet's resources until there is nothing left, and then they locate another food source on another planet. Deborah has something she'd like to teach her race about eating, and about managing the resources. Her parents want her to prove her loyalty to the native race by consuming her best friend, Willie.

The story is told with Deborah's 6th-grade voice, which is strong and funny. Clearly the issues of eating aren't meant to be taken literally or seriously, but more as a parody of our consumption-based society. Hungry never gets preachy, though. The reader is free to draw their own conclusions.

Deborah has a humorous voice, and her dilemma as she wrestles with the conflicting loyalties to her best friend and to her family is handled sensitively and realistically. I found myself on both sides of the fence more than once, and felt the characters and their behavior rang very true. When Deborah is "tested" in a purgation ceremony ritual from the Home World, the extraordinary and vivid world is hypnotic in its scenery and action.

Hungry is an excellent book for parents and teachers to talk about values and right choices. It is also very entertaining, and a page-turner. Hungry is altogether a superb read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfy your Hunger, October 18, 2007

By 

Susan Glenn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hungry (Hardcover)

Hungry is a delightful and humorous look at an alien almost-12-year-old girl settled in a California suburb with her parents who are here from Home World on a vital mission. Eason interweaves several themes through out her novel: the challenges and dilemmas of every pre-teen, the preparation for the invasion of fellow aliens from Home World, and most important Deborah's conflict. We meet Deborah as a smart likeable kid who develops a crush on her classmate Willy. She has learned to hide her alien traits and is comfortable living among the Earthlings. As the novel progresses Deborah interacts with others of her own species; deep instinctual behaviors stir within her and she feels a new connection and loyalty to her own kind. The ultimate conflict Deborah faces is whether to or when to eat her best friend Willy because her species must eat humans to survive. I won't spoil the book by revealing how this problem is handled. Just know there is a "satisfying" ending. Without a doubt 9-12 year olds will recognize and identify with the issues Deborah and her adolescent friends face in school and in society. I highly recommend this book about the adventures of an alien among us and I eagerly await Alethea Eason's second book.