HUNGRY HEARTS
Editors: Caroline Tung Richmond and Elsie Chapman
Stand-alone or Series: anthology
Image from Goodreads
Rain by Sangu Mandanna
This was a cute story about Anna, a girl who lost her mother and is afraid that because of their differences, she won’t have a connection with her anymore. By cooking her mom’s favourite dish though, she manages to hold onto a pieces of her mother.
Rating: 4/5
Kings and Queens by Elsie Chapman
This story was defiantly not what I expected but so good! I’ll defiantly be checking out Chapman’s other books. This story is about Ming, whose family owns a Chinese restaurant (mentioned in the previous story) that must host the engagement party of the guy responsible for her older sister’s injury. She faces a tough decision and learns more about her family in the process.
Rating: 5/5
The Grand Ishq Adventure by Sandhya Menon
Neha is Dr. Ishq, who gives love advice to readers of the library’s blog. She decides to take her own advice of eating alone at four restaurants to build up her confidence. I loved all the different restaurants mentioned and the ending!
Rating: 3.5/5
Sugar and Spite by Rin Chupeco
I didn’t really like the second person point of view in this. I enjoyed the way it showed taking traditional dishes and modernizing it. I also appreciated it showing the bullying faced because certain foods. But it overall wasn’t that entertaining for me.
Rating: 2/5
Moments to Return by Adi Alsaid
A nice story about Joko who travels to Hungry Hearts Row to taste the magical food it has. He hopes that this magic will help me with his thoughts about death and the panic attacks they cause. I liked it, even though it was a bit wordy for me.
Rating: 3/5
The Slender One by Caroline Tung Richmond
I loved this one! Charlie’s character development in such a short story is amazing and felt realistic—not rushed at all.
Rating: 5/5
Gimme Some Sugar by Jay Coles
I loved this! I was so nervous for Leo and felt like I was the one competing.
Rating: 5/5
The Missing Ingredient by Rebecca Roanhorse
OMG WHAT WAS THAT. I can’t believe it ended in a cliffhanger! This was an emotional rollercoaster and I really hope we get to know what happened next.
Rating: 5/5
Hearts à la Carte by Karuna Riazi
I loved this cute story about superheros, muslims falling in love and figuring out what they want in life, and of course, food. It made me hungry for kushuri, though 😦
Rating: 4/5
Bloom by Phoebe North
I felt cocooned by a lot of feelings while reading this story and I really enjoyed it! I’m amazed at how well developed characters can be in such a short story and the emotional journeys they can go on in such a short time.
Rating: 4/5
A Bountiful Film by S. K. Ali
This story had a bit of a mystery that I really enjoyed! I also loved that the main character was solving this mystery while making a video for a competition.
Rating: 4/5
Side Work by Sara Farizan
Not my favourite one overall, but still a solid story! There wasn’t much of a development between Laleh and her parents/dad, and I felt like the reconciliation came from nowhere. The “big” reveal of what made Laleh end up in her current situation wasn’t that shocking or well done, unfortunately. The food mentioned sounds great though!
Rating: 2/5
Panadería ~ Pastelería by Anne-Marie McLemore
I loved getting to see Lila’s story after seeing her pop up and help characters throughout the different stories! It was a bit short and without a clear point like the others, which was a bit disappointing and kinda felt like a weak ending to this anthology.
Rating: 2.5/5
Overall I loved how the stories are all set in Hungry Heart Row and with overlaps between characters, places, and events. I think this is my first time reading (and finishing) an anthology and it was really fun!
Average rating: when the math is done it’s 3.8 stars that I’ll bump to 4!
Thank you for reading and see you next time ❤
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