clarissaruthless's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Well written and emotionally raw. The author swit he's between the voices of the three sisters with ease, making each one distinct. The characters feel real, and that can make them hard to root for at times, with their flaws on full display. A great story that explores generational trauma and familial relationships.
mariagarnett's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is truly as beautiful and interesting as the cover suggests.
annelisegordon's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
bags_and_bookz's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is about family, mother-daughter relationship, sisterhood, and identity. The Butler family has had their share of hardships but nothing prepared them for the coming disaster. Althea, the eldest sister, and her husband Proctor are arrested on the charge of fiddling with charity money they were collecting for the community. Althea’s sisters, Viola and Lillian, must come together in the house they grew up in to take care of her teenage daughters. However, both Viola and Lillian are still fighting their own ghosts in family house.
The story is told by three sisters with occasional letters from Proctor to his wife, Althea. At first I was confused as I didn’t quite understand what was going on. However, as soon as I realized that it is a character driven story rather than a plot driven, I started enjoying it.
Anissa Gray does wonderful job in constructing layer upon layer on her main characters telling their stories. She made reader to sympathize with every one of them no matter what the first impression was. Personally, I disliked Althea the most, as I blamed her for everything that went wrong with the family. She was the eldest, she replaced her mother to her siblings after her death, and she was the one behind charity schemes. When I finished though, I have realized that no 12 year old girl or boy, for that matter, should go through what Althea had experienced. She was still a child when the responsibility fell onto her shoulders with no support from her father. The experience molded her personality, but she came to recognize her mistakes and found the strength to apologize. The story with Mercedes was a great example of how a person can change.
The novel raises issues of favoritism in parenthood. Althea was raising her sisters and preferred Viola. She even named one of her daughters same name. However, it didn’t seem as Viola benefited from it. She grew up a successful therapist but had struggled with her own issues. Lillian as a preferred daughter of their father had suffered from it as well. It made me think of how parents should approach this if it happens. What do parents resist in some of their children but accept in other?
Althea had troubled relationship with her daughter Kim as she saw too much of herself. Was it the only problem? Was Althea predetermining to favoritisms as she experienced it first hand?
I can’t wait to discuss this book with #fiercefemalesbookclub
I would recommend this book!
The story is told by three sisters with occasional letters from Proctor to his wife, Althea. At first I was confused as I didn’t quite understand what was going on. However, as soon as I realized that it is a character driven story rather than a plot driven, I started enjoying it.
Anissa Gray does wonderful job in constructing layer upon layer on her main characters telling their stories. She made reader to sympathize with every one of them no matter what the first impression was. Personally, I disliked Althea the most, as I blamed her for everything that went wrong with the family. She was the eldest, she replaced her mother to her siblings after her death, and she was the one behind charity schemes. When I finished though, I have realized that no 12 year old girl or boy, for that matter, should go through what Althea had experienced. She was still a child when the responsibility fell onto her shoulders with no support from her father. The experience molded her personality, but she came to recognize her mistakes and found the strength to apologize. The story with Mercedes was a great example of how a person can change.
The novel raises issues of favoritism in parenthood. Althea was raising her sisters and preferred Viola. She even named one of her daughters same name. However, it didn’t seem as Viola benefited from it. She grew up a successful therapist but had struggled with her own issues. Lillian as a preferred daughter of their father had suffered from it as well. It made me think of how parents should approach this if it happens. What do parents resist in some of their children but accept in other?
Althea had troubled relationship with her daughter Kim as she saw too much of herself. Was it the only problem? Was Althea predetermining to favoritisms as she experienced it first hand?
I can’t wait to discuss this book with #fiercefemalesbookclub
I would recommend this book!
kbranfield's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray is a poignant novel of healing and ultimately, new beginnings.
As older sister Althea and her husband Proctor Cochran await their prison transfers following their conviction and sentencing, sisters Viola and Lillian Butler come together to support their 15 year old nieces, Kim and Baby Vi. In the aftermath of their sister's and brother-in-law's fall from grace, they are unexpectedly confronted with the demons from their dysfunctional childhood. Lillian is living in the family's newly renovated home with her former grandmother in law and her nieces. She has good reason for her distress when older brother Joe suggests taking his nieces into his care since he abused her during their childhood. Viola left Michigan for Chicago where she lives with her wife, Eva. She has yet to tell her sisters she is suffering a relapse with her bulimia or that she and Eva have separated. Everything comes to a head as Kim and Baby Vi take the brunt of their parents' crimes from their close-knit community.
The three sisters' and their brother Joe's childhood fractured following their mother's unexpected death. Althea was left to raise her younger siblings who also move in with her and Proctor married when their abusive father became a traveling preacher. Viola, Lillian and Joe eventually move back in with their father but when Viola leaves for college, Joe begins abusing Lillian while he cares for her during their father's absences. In the present, they are attempting to keep their keep their splintered family together as Althea and Proctor begin their sentences for their crimes.
Lillian tries to keep her anxiety under control through her OCD-like routines. She cares for her ex-husband's grandmother while also raising her nieces. Lillian is completely out of her depth taking care of Kim and Baby Vi. Kim is acting out in school and has become a disciplinary problem as she lashes out at teachers and classmates. Baby Vi is quiet and appears to be taking her new situation in stride but Lillian fails to notice that all is not right with her niece.
Viola has always been there for her sisters, but due to her overwhelming stress, she is lying to her loved ones as she tries to get her bulimia under control. She is also hoping to repair her troubled marriage, but Eva has not been receptive to her overtures. Despite her training as a therapist, Viola is ill-equipped to care for Baby Vi and Kim full-time. As her well-intentioned suggestions backfire, her confidence nose-dives as her nieces' struggles intensify. Viola is also reluctant to agree to Althea's and Lillian's requests to make sure Joe does not gain custody of the girls.
As she awaits her transfer to federal prison, Althea struggles to accept responsibility for her role in her and Proctor's downfall. She is also dealing with her anger toward Kim and her refusal to see her daughters is having an adverse effect on them. It is not until Proctor is honest with her about her behavior that she begins to realize how her choices and actions have harmed their girls and ultimately, their family.
Alternating between the sisters' points of view, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls is an emotionally compelling portrait of a family in crisis. Viola, Lillian, Kim and Baby Vi are extremely sympathetic characters whose struggles will resonate with readers. Althea is hard to like or empathize with due to her inability to see or accept her faults. As the story reaches a crisis point, Anissa Gray brings the novel to a deeply affecting and uplifting conclusion. A heartfelt debut that I found impossible to put down and highly recommend.
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray is a poignant novel of healing and ultimately, new beginnings.
As older sister Althea and her husband Proctor Cochran await their prison transfers following their conviction and sentencing, sisters Viola and Lillian Butler come together to support their 15 year old nieces, Kim and Baby Vi. In the aftermath of their sister's and brother-in-law's fall from grace, they are unexpectedly confronted with the demons from their dysfunctional childhood. Lillian is living in the family's newly renovated home with her former grandmother in law and her nieces. She has good reason for her distress when older brother Joe suggests taking his nieces into his care since he abused her during their childhood. Viola left Michigan for Chicago where she lives with her wife, Eva. She has yet to tell her sisters she is suffering a relapse with her bulimia or that she and Eva have separated. Everything comes to a head as Kim and Baby Vi take the brunt of their parents' crimes from their close-knit community.
The three sisters' and their brother Joe's childhood fractured following their mother's unexpected death. Althea was left to raise her younger siblings who also move in with her and Proctor married when their abusive father became a traveling preacher. Viola, Lillian and Joe eventually move back in with their father but when Viola leaves for college, Joe begins abusing Lillian while he cares for her during their father's absences. In the present, they are attempting to keep their keep their splintered family together as Althea and Proctor begin their sentences for their crimes.
Lillian tries to keep her anxiety under control through her OCD-like routines. She cares for her ex-husband's grandmother while also raising her nieces. Lillian is completely out of her depth taking care of Kim and Baby Vi. Kim is acting out in school and has become a disciplinary problem as she lashes out at teachers and classmates. Baby Vi is quiet and appears to be taking her new situation in stride but Lillian fails to notice that all is not right with her niece.
Viola has always been there for her sisters, but due to her overwhelming stress, she is lying to her loved ones as she tries to get her bulimia under control. She is also hoping to repair her troubled marriage, but Eva has not been receptive to her overtures. Despite her training as a therapist, Viola is ill-equipped to care for Baby Vi and Kim full-time. As her well-intentioned suggestions backfire, her confidence nose-dives as her nieces' struggles intensify. Viola is also reluctant to agree to Althea's and Lillian's requests to make sure Joe does not gain custody of the girls.
As she awaits her transfer to federal prison, Althea struggles to accept responsibility for her role in her and Proctor's downfall. She is also dealing with her anger toward Kim and her refusal to see her daughters is having an adverse effect on them. It is not until Proctor is honest with her about her behavior that she begins to realize how her choices and actions have harmed their girls and ultimately, their family.
Alternating between the sisters' points of view, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls is an emotionally compelling portrait of a family in crisis. Viola, Lillian, Kim and Baby Vi are extremely sympathetic characters whose struggles will resonate with readers. Althea is hard to like or empathize with due to her inability to see or accept her faults. As the story reaches a crisis point, Anissa Gray brings the novel to a deeply affecting and uplifting conclusion. A heartfelt debut that I found impossible to put down and highly recommend.
lrgluck's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Eating disorder
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful and haunting debut. Despite being severely dysfunctional, this family rallies around each other, with so many layers of complications between them. I kept thinking about what each member of a family owes one another, and who decides. Why do some family members feel responsible for carrying the burdens while others can walk away? The author also shows us how trauma can be passed down between generations, how resentments can fester and destroy a family from the inside. She also shows how love, however imperfect, can help heal.
I don't know how to talk about this book without giving away too much. I think you will see this one on a lot of lists this year; it's worthy of both the buzz and your time.
I don't know how to talk about this book without giving away too much. I think you will see this one on a lot of lists this year; it's worthy of both the buzz and your time.
leanne726's review against another edition
emotional
medium-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
4.25
sjj169's review against another edition
2.0
Let's get it out there. I didn't like this book. What does that mean? Not a thing. It is getting all the stars from everyone else and will probably be a best seller and make fifty eleven million dollars.
AND I could totally see this happening.
But without Medea in it. I love Medea. She knows my heart.
The story is a family drama. One of the sisters is in jail, one is losing her marriage, one has a eating disorder..the kids are messed up. It's a hot mess of a life. You know like everyone's real life is..
Well...not that bad. Medea showed up in my review since she can't be in this book/movie.
I can see why people are loving this book. I was bored. I kept thinking it would get better and I'd see the light. I didn't connect with any characters. I didn't care what happened to any of them the entire book. I had to make myself finish the book.
I'm a total wrong reader.
Booksource: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Please don't hate me Mr/Mrs Publisher...I'll read the next one better.
AND I could totally see this happening.
But without Medea in it. I love Medea. She knows my heart.
The story is a family drama. One of the sisters is in jail, one is losing her marriage, one has a eating disorder..the kids are messed up. It's a hot mess of a life. You know like everyone's real life is..
Well...not that bad. Medea showed up in my review since she can't be in this book/movie.
I can see why people are loving this book. I was bored. I kept thinking it would get better and I'd see the light. I didn't connect with any characters. I didn't care what happened to any of them the entire book. I had to make myself finish the book.
I'm a total wrong reader.
Booksource: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Please don't hate me Mr/Mrs Publisher...I'll read the next one better.
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Child abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Grief