Louder Than Hunger

A powerful, authentic verse novel exploring a teen boy’s experience with disordered eating, charting the successes and setbacks of his journey toward recovery.
Jake feels alone at school and alone at home. Some days it feels like the only people who understand him is the poet Emily Dickinson – and Jake's beloved grandma. But there is also the Voice inside him, louder than any other, who professes to know him best of all.

The one that says "You have me."

The Voice is loud enough to drown out everything else, even the hunger Jake feels, until his mom intervenes and sends him to Whispering Pines.

Here Jake will learn how to confront the loneliness inside him, and find out who he is and what he has to live for. That is, if he can quiet the Voice...

Told in succinct and powerful verse, this novel is a stunning and wholly authentic expression of a young man finding the will – and the power – to wrest control from the intrusive thoughts that crowd his mind.

About the Author

John Schu has made a career out of advocating for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, and the people that connect them. He is the children's librarian, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and shares his love of reading with countless educators and students around the world. He is the author of This Is a School illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison and This Is a Story illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo.