Louder Than Hunger -- John Schu, Hardcover

"Louder Than Hunger is a book that roars. It could save lives." - The New York Times

Revered teacher, librarian, and story ambassador John Schu explores anorexia--and self-expression as an act of survival--in a wrenching and transformative novel-in-verse.

But another voice inside me says,
We need help.
We're going to die.

Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age . . . and the cruelty of mirrors . . . and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books--the weird one, the outsider--and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing. But the less he eats, the bigger he feels. How long can Jake punish himself before he truly disappears? A fictionalized account of the author's experiences and emotions living in residential treatment facilities as a young teen with an eating disorder, Louder than Hunger is a triumph of raw honesty. With a deeply personal afterword for context, this much-anticipated verse novel is a powerful model for muffling the destructive voices inside, managing and articulating pain, and embracing self-acceptance, support, and love.

Author: John Schu
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 03/19/2024
Pages: 528
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.55lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.70d
ISBN: 9781536229097
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 12/04/2023
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2024
Booklist 01/01/2024 pg. 61
School Library Journal 02/01/2024 pg. 96

About the Author
John Schu is the author of the acclaimed picture books This Is a School, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, and This Is a Story, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Lauren Castillo. He also wrote the adult study The Gift of Story: Exploring the Affective Side of the Reading Life and was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker for his dynamic interactions with students and his passionate adoption of new technologies as a means of connecting authors, illustrators, books, and readers. Children's librarian for Bookelicious, part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and former Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs, Mr. Schu--as he is affectionately known--continues to travel the world to share his love of books. He lives in Naperville, Illinois. You can find him at www.JohnSchu.com and on social media @MrSchuReads.