Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying

74 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was excellent. There were some parallels to my own life, though far less extreme. It probably resonated with a lot of us Asian women and girls. There’s already so much pressure on us and the way we look, and is almost always wrapped up as a concern over our health, but the extra layer of Confucian guilt and filial piety takes to a whole other level. So I’m grateful this book was written, because as extreme as it was, I’m also sure there are actually families this intense or even more. Wish I’d had a book like this in middle school. It would’ve helped me get out of my head on what it means to be a good daughter and why an artificial definition of thin is meaningless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

turidt's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit

haleymonkey5000's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

nickwwelch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

emelynreads's review

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was my first read graphic novel and I loved the art style and color palette. 

The story is sad, and one that resonates growing up in an Asian household. It feels weird that the event in the middle of the story is not dealt with or really addressed. 

Overall I enjoyed it, and it made me tear up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

Moderate: Death of parent

ida's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

koreanlinda's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was such a fortunate find in the library. Victoria Ying tells her own story of an eating disorder through a teenage protagonist Val. She is a Vietnamese American with a mother who micromanages her daughter's eating. I have a mother who obsesses over other's judgment of appearance and eating, so I related to Val's struggle. It took me a long time to love my body, stop dieting, and focus on more important parts of my life. 

I hope this book and similar stories are read widely among young people. I think the pressure to look good on social media is ever so high. It takes a lot of self-care and community support to fight off that pressure.

Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in March 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Fatphobia

Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent

kaywhiteley's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautiful art and something I wish I had when I was younger. I wish some scenes were longer though and I wish there was a stronger message about how the mom/daughter relationship was toxic and inexcusable. I understand that the mom is just passing on what her mom taught her, but that’s not an excuse and I wish an adult had told Val that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Fatphobia

taylorthebookwitch's review

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Listen okay i really wanted to like this one. The art was lovely but the message was frankly terrible. Im sick of books about abusive parents who “did the best they could.” Hard pass from me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Vomit and Death of parent