Customer Reviews

Hungry

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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.

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.

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.

Halloween this year is looking pretty bleak to 11-year-old Deborah (or Dbkrrrsh, which is her real name). Her best friend, Willy, has managed to clash with their teacher over his constitutional right to dress as a vampire all October long. He can't get the hang of algebra, no matter how much Deborah tries to help him. All the while, she thinks she may be falling for him, and, to top it all off, her parents insist that she will have to eat him and his parents to prove her loyalty to the Home Planet.

The long-awaited invasion is finally upon them, but although Deborah's stomachs continue to rumble, she's not sure if she can live up to her species and betray her best friend. As her family grows more involved in the plans to ransack Earth and turn every human into a slave, she wonders if she's been misguided all along. Is human food really poisonous? Could it provide another way to survive? Or should she give in to the memories flowing through her blood that insist upon her own superiority to her would-be meals?

One alien's struggle to discover her place between the life she knows and encroaching familial history can provide a humorous perspective to anyone else who is trying to find their way. Luckily, one doesn't need tentacles to feel a connection with the main character.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

Although written with a middle-school aged audience in mind, the sly and dry wit is a delight for adult readers, too. The younger readers may miss some of the references, but there is plenty humor there for them. Also, the book presents issues facing young readers, such as crushes and cliques, in a fresh and orignial way. All in all, a fun book for readers of all ages.

This was a fun book to read. The title may suggest human eating aliens, but there is a lot of humor in the book and no graphic scenes at all. The main character is torn between doing what her family wants and what she really wants to do, so there is a moral dilema for her. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick fun read.

HUNGRY, like Deborah (the main character) is a different sort of read, and refreshingly so. Bring it along on your next airplane journey for a 1-2 sitting read-through. Your day will go quickly and you'll have a great time! And if you are an adult reader, you'll have new insights into the mind of the middle-school kid...you only think they are aliens!

I think "Hungry" is amazing. I see it as a parable that both adults and children will enjoy and learn from in varying levels. There are so many cross-over elements in "Hungry." I think about "Lord of the Flies" for instance in the challenge about whether to eat, or not eat, your best friend.

Ms. Eason told me: "The book seems to be evoking a lot of this. I think it will help teachers talk issues with kids. I'm hoping [my next book] STARVED will continue with this."

Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

The assignment of eating one's best friend causes a difficult dilemma, even for an alien. Humorous, intriguing, and fun, this book keeps you turning pages, wondering what decision Deborah will make in the end. Kids love humor, just as they love suspense. This book gives them both.

Ms. Eason wrote an enjoyable book. As a teacher I know that my students will find it highly entertaining, as well! Very creative and I am looking forward to future books by Eason.