Hungry Ghost - by Victoria Ying

About the Book

"Valerie Chu is quiet, studious, and above all, thin. No one, not even her best friend Jordan, knows that she has been binging and purging for years. But when tragedy strikes, Val finds herself taking a good, hard look at her priorities, her choices, and her own body. The path to happiness may lead her away from her hometown and her mother's toxic projections--but first she will have to find the strength to seek help."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A beautiful and heart-wrenching young adult graphic novel takes a look at eating disorders, family dynamics, and ultimately, a journey to self-love.

Valerie Chu is quiet, studious, and above all, thin. No one, not even her best friend Jordan, knows that she has been binging and purging for years. But when tragedy strikes, Val finds herself taking a good, hard look at her priorities, her choices, and her own body. The path to happiness may lead her away from her hometown and her mother's toxic projections--but first she will have to find the strength to seek help.

Review Quotes

Winner of 2023 Harvey Award for Best Children's or Young Adult Book

"A gorgeously wrought, therapeutic story filled with tenderness and honesty."--Kirkus, starred review

"Ying gives readers an authentic, layered portrayal of disordered eating in both Val and her mother, sympathetic to each woman but also not letting them off the hook for their own contributions to a fatphobic society obsessed with making body size a moral measuring stick."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Ying's soft artwork, colored in pastel pinks and blues, nicely evokes Val's emotional journey through facial expressions and body language."--Booklist

"Hungry Ghost is heartbreaking, hopeful, and frank about figuring out how to love yourself and even the people in your life who might stand in the way of that self-love. It's a beautiful, compelling book." --Trung Le Nguyen, creator of The Magic Fish

"Victoria Ying gives us an unflinching look at eating disorders and loss in this heartbreaking story about learning to love yourself." --Lily Williams, creator of Go With The Flow

"Such a beautiful, tragic, uplifting story about friendship and love. I wish I could have read this when I was a kid, but I'm also grateful that I've read it now. I'll be thinking about its message for a long time." --MariNaomi, creator of Distant Stars

About the Author

Victoria Ying is an author and artist living in Los Angeles. She started her career in the arts by falling in love with comic books, which eventually turned into a career working in animation and graphic novels. She loves Japanese curry, putting things in her shopping cart online and taking them out again, and hanging out with her dopey dog. Her film credits include Frozen, Moana, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, and Paperman. She the illustrator of the DC Comics graphic novel Diana: Princess of the Amazons and the author and illustrator of her original graphic novels City of Secrets, and Hungry Ghost.