Hungry Hearts

April 15, 2019
A collection of 13 #ownvoices stories that amplify the central role food plays in families and cultures. The web of stories in this anthology unfolds in Hungry Heart Row, a neighborhood where myriad cafes, bakeries, and restaurants abound, renowned for their great food, unsurpassed hospitality, and--in some cases--magical meals to cure every malady. In Sandhya Menon's (There's Something About Sweetie, 2019, etc.) "Grand Ishq Adventure," Neha writes a blog and has no problem advising her readers what to do, but her own love life is going nowhere--until she takes some of her own advice. The heroine in "Panadería-Pastelería" by Anna-Marie McLemore (Blanca & Roja, 2018, etc.) expresses herself through the language of baking rather than words, showing her caring through carefully chosen, lovingly made baked goods. The cast of unconventional, diverse characters--who run into one another in different stories--includes a Muslim superhero, a teen of Native (nation unspecified) and white ancestry, and a Jewish girl struggling after trauma. The stories use food and restaurant settings to frame engaging narratives connecting to themes of first love, belonging and isolation, family conflict, and loyalty, spiced up with elements of the supernatural, fantasy, and magical realism. A brilliant multicultural collection that reminds readers that stories about food are rarely just about the food alone. (map, about the authors) (Anthology. 13-adult)

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Starred review from April 22, 2019
Contributed by a multicultural group of authors, including Jay Coles, Sara Farzian, and Sandhya Menon, and representing a blending of genres and cultures, this #OwnVoices anthology considers the ways that food can feed both body and soul. Interconnected stories follow different inhabitants of Hungry Heart Row, where the residents are close and the myriad restaurants and bakeries feed more than just a hungry stomach. In Rebecca Roanhorse’s startling “The Missing Ingredient,” a biracial daughter just wants her mother to move on from her late Native American father’s failing restaurant. In Rin Chupeco’s vividly imagined “Sugar and Spite,” the magic whispered into Old Manila’s Soup No. 5 comes with a careful interview to make sure it’s used correctly. And Elsie Chapman’s “Kings and Queens” explores the burdens of serving dishes that can send a message of forgiveness or certain death. Emphasizing the importance of love, family, and culture, and written with delectable descriptions, each story is best savored like a favorite dish: slowly and with great relish. Ages 12–up.

May 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-Hungry Hearts Row is every foodie's dream presented on a young adult platter. Each of the 13 notable authors in this anthology, including Sandhya Menon, Sara Farizan, and Anna-Marie McLemore, spins a tale that takes place or relates back to Hungry Hearts Row, a geographically ambiguous neighborhood hosting mostly independently owned restaurants, cafés, convenience stores, and pastelerías, each of which serves its unique flavors from all over the world. Each story explores the overall theme of food: how it connects us across generations and borders, how expertise in its creation can be mostly inherited and possibly learned, how recipes can consist of more than just food, and how each course can satiate more than hunger. While dishes are described in mouth-watering detail, contributors don't shy away from secondary themes of family, faith, first love, xenophobia, mental and physical health, and gentrification. Not confined by any one genre, these authors serve up a sampler platter comprised of realistic meet-cute romance, anxiety-ridden self-discovery, vengeful magical realism, superhero fantasy, and tests of grief-stricken family foundations, all seamlessly blended together within the Hungry Hearts world. If home is where the heart is, this gourmet story collection is a place many readers will ache to call home. VERDICT A well-rounded, delicious addition to most middle school and YA collections, especially where anthologies, fiction about food, or these authors' works are popular.-Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove Public Library, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2019
Grades 8-11 Somewhere in America is Hungry Hearts Row, where families of all cultures make and sell food. It's not just any food, either?this is soul food, sometimes-magical meals that can grant wishes or revenge. In 13 interconnected stories, all set on Hungry Hearts Row, food is an essential thing. In some stories, such as Sandhya Menon's The Grand Ishq Adventure, it's the pathway to love, as one girl is emboldened to approach her crush after embarking on a series of solo dining adventures. In others, it's the glue that holds a family together: Elsie Chapman's Kings and Queens sees one family's loyalties tested by the gang that uses their restaurant as a front. Others are infused with magic: in Rin Chupeco's Sugar and Spite, an apprentice witch learns to cook with a literal vengeance, and in Caroline Tung Richmond's The Slender One, a boy faces a tormented ghost during a food festival. Some stories are more memorable than others, but as a whole, this collection is dynamic, varied, and filled with flavor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)