When you’re named after a 250-year-old tortoise, you grow up believing life is full of possibilities and wonder. But ever since Addie’s family got turned upside down, those things have been harder for her to see.
Kindra Neely never expected it to happen to her. No one does. Sure, she’d sometimes been close to gun violence, like when the house down the street from her childhood home in Texas was targeted in a drive-by shooting. But now she lived in Oregon, where she spent her time swimming in rivers with friends or attending classes at the bucolic Umpqua Community College.
A boy fading away, one skipped meal at a time. Louder Than Hunger is raw, real, and unforgettable—a verse novel that will grip your heart and not let go.
How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? One girl takes on seventh grade while facing mental health challenges, and must find her voice to advocate for the help and understanding she deserves.
Moving between the “clean streets” of privilege and the dark secrets of the Jaeger family, the story explores the messy intersections of grief, attachment, and blurred boundaries. A heavy-hitting read for adults, it offers a raw look at how loss shapes our decisions and the complicated search for a place to truly belong.