Hungry

Gr 9 Up—Swain's near-futuristic dystopia explodes onto this well-trod genre with a fresh idea, tense plotting, and relatable characters. Earth's resources, ostensibly decimated by wars and superstorms, have vanished, along with any flora and fauna. Mega-corporation One World swoops in to salvage the remaining humans from starvation by altering their DNA so that they no longer experience any pesky hunger pangs. One World also supplies all nutrition through a formulalike substance called Synthamil. In this world in which any type of food is illegal, Thalia, 17, begins to suffer unexplainable spasms in her abdomen. Instead of being shipped off to a "specialist" to eradicate her natural hunger pangs, as was wont to happen, she seeks out the truth behind the hunger and One World's monopoly on food. She teams up with a non-"privy," Basil, who leads her further into the resistance movement than she would have thought possible. Thalia is faced with a decision—do the easy thing or do the right thing, all while battling her genetic "mutation" that makes her mouth water and her stomach growl. From the Inner Loops to the Outer, to the Hinterlands and beyond, Thalia's journey is fast-paced, scientifically plausible, and scarily possible. The mood is tense, curious—but never relaxed. Swain completes a unique tour de force with Hungry, one that requires readers to examine current society, their place within invisible and sometimes all-too-visible hierarchies, and the consequences of genetic engineering. Fans of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (McClelland and Stewart, 1985) and Lois Lowry's The Giver (Houghton Harcourt, 1993) will flock to this story—Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX