Hungry
by H.A. Swain
Swain’s near-futuristic
dystopia Hungry explodes onto this
well-trod genre with a fresh idea, tense plotting, and relatable
characterization. Fans of Margaret
Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Lois
Lowry’s The Giver will flock to
Swain’s story about a future in which Earth’s resources, ostensibly decimated
by wars and superstorms, have vanished, along with any flora and fauna. Mega-corporation One World swoops in to
salvage the remaining humans from starvation by altering their DNA so that they
no longer experience any pesky hunger pangs; One World also supplies all
nutrition through a formula-like substance called Synthamil.
In a world in which any type of food is
illegal, young Thalia, daughter to One World scientists, begins to suffer
inexplicable spasms in her abdomen.
Instead of being shipped off to a “specialist” to eradicate her natural
hunger pangs, as was wont to happen, Thalia is determined to seek the truth
behind the hunger and One World’s monopoly on food. She teams up with a non-“privy,” Basil, who
leads her further into the resistance movement than she would have thought
possible. Thalia is faced with a
decision – do the easy thing or do the right thing, all while battling her
genetic “mutation” that makes her mouth water and her stomach growl.
From the Inner Loops to the Outer, to the Hinterlands and
beyond, Thalia’s journey is fast-paced, scientifically-plausible, and scarily
possible. Swain completes a unique tour de force with Hungry, one that requires us to examine our current society, our
place within invisible and sometimes all-too-visible hierarchies, and the
moralities of genetic engineering.
* Read this review and more in the May 7, 2014 edition of School Library Journal!
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