Publishers Weekly Review
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. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. |
School Library Journal Review
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. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |