Jake is bullied throughout middle school and responds by wanting to disappear. He develops anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that effects more girls than
boys, but an affliction from which more boys than girls die.
This novel in verse, “Louder Than Hunger” (Candlewick 2024), is based on the life of its author, teacher and book ambassador, John Schu, and his middle school experience. There is a lot of bullying at this age and lots of kids suffer as victims. This book might help some kids.
Jake shares a love of books and musicals with his grandmother. He’s an outsider, kids laugh at him and whisper about him. These are the same kids that liked him earlier in his school career. It’s so painful, that Jake tries to shrink himself down to nothing, by not eating.
Jake says: “The/ negative/ Voice/ inside/ my/ head/ talks/ nonstop. / It/ has/ since/ the/ middle/ of/ seventh/ grade./ It’s/ louder/ than/ the/ hunger/ in/ my/ stomach. / I/ weigh/ myself/ 10/ times/ per/ day./ Then/ 15/ times/ per/ day./ Then/ 20/ times/ per/ day./ The/ lower/ the/ number/ on/ the/ scale/ goes, / the/ bigger/ I/ feel. / The/ bigger/ I/ feel, / the/ less/ I/ eat. / The/ less/ I/ eat, / the/ less/ I/ feel.”
He goes in and out of residential treatment facilities to battle his demons. But he resists help from the nurses, his therapist, and other residents. He refuses to eat, nor will he participate in group therapy. But he does write in his journal.
The Voice tells him he’s not enough. He listens to music, but it won’t drown out the Voice. And then his beloved grandmother dies, making everything so much worse.
But he makes a friend in the facility. He starts to eat, participates in group and listens to his therapist. He begins to improve. He’s doing so well that he gets a day pass. His mother takes him to a musical. He’s so happy at the performance that in his head, he screams back at the Voice, louder than the Voice, telling it to leave him alone. But at a restaurant afterwards, he won’t eat and suffers a setback. Back in the facility he’s fitted with the dreaded feeding tube.
Jake has relapses but also moves forward. Writing in his journal helps. He must give himself permission to take up space. But as we near the end of this brave and heartfelt novel, we know that Jake is a survivor—just as Mr. Schu surely is.
Get this book into the hands of young readers. It could save a life.
Patricia Hruby Powell is the author of the award-winning books: Josephine; Lift As You Climb; Loving vs Virginia; and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue all signed and for sale at Jane Addams bookstore. Her forthcoming books are about women’s suffrage, Martha Graham, and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as waterfowl. talesforallages.com