Hungry Hearts

by Julie Hoag

Overview

Ethel Klyczek's development stalled in middle school, making her self-conscious and insecure. Aiming for prom perfection, Ethel plans to go from As to Cs, and she doesn’t mean her grades. Ethel's parents are dead-set against her self-improvement plan. Without their sanction, Ethel will have to do a lot more than sling fried chicken if she’s to get a new set of twins in time for prom. Extreme fundraising of car washing, cupcake baking, and t-shirt selling start out strong. But as the money rolls in, Ethel’s support system rolls out. Her best friend is sick of her too-busy schedule and preoccupation with her boobs, and her boyfriend is tired of fighting other guys for her attention. With her grades dropping and her family at the breaking point, Ethel plans an epic rager to push past the finish line. The party is a massive success, but the invite to view her A cups draws a crowd Ethel can’t control. Now, the question isn’t if she can earn the money for the surgery; it’s whether or not she can live with herself when it’s done. THE SALINE SOLUTION is a quirky and fun story about female empowerment and self love. It includes themes of modern feminism, female body image, and agency.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951710996
Publisher:	Swoon Romance
Publication date:	01/21/2020
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	285
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Julie Hoag is a lifestyle blogger, social media influencer, and freelance writer. She writes about topics pertaining to family life including family travel, motherhood, anything, and everything kids, DIY projects, and pets, as well as recipe creation. Her work history includes working as a pediatric RN and as a Scientist. She is a wife to an awesome husband and a mother to three amazing boys, plus a fur-mama to two dogs and two guinea pigs. She thinks coffee, red wine, dark chocolate, and digital cameras are the best inventions ever. Yoga is ner new best friend.

Editorial Reviews

2019-12-08
A high school sophomore struggles with disordered eating and the attention of two different boys.

Landra knows she has a problem with food but can't bring herself to change her behavior or get help. She subsists on dry cereal and salad, frantically exercises after the occasional indulgence, and considers herself fat despite evidence to the contrary. Landra's father is constantly on the road for his job, her football-playing brother doesn't understand why she won't eat, and her beloved mother is conspicuously absent. When Landra's longtime crush, Hunter, finally takes notice and asks her on a date, Landra is thrilled but worries about the feelings of classmate Brian, who expresses his crush on her by following her around despite her asking him to stop, addressing her as "my queen," and frequently cooking and baking for her. Landra's anorexia and disordered eating persist throughout the book, but nowhere does Landra seek professional treatment or take active steps to solve it. Instead, family and friends urge or force her to eat, and Brian fetishizes feeding her when he's not exhibiting emotionally abusive behavior like consistently disregarding personal boundaries and throwing a pie he made for her into a garbage can where she can see it. Most characters are white; Landra has one friend who is described as dark skinned.

A disturbingly problematic take on eating disorders and young love. (Fiction. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews