About this episode

The episode discusses John Schu's 'Louder Than Hunger' and its themes of mental health and hope, along with other book recommendations.

What happens when a book captures both the hardest parts of life and the possibility of hope? In episode 309, we’re discussing John Schu’s Louder Than Hunger ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), our March 2026 Book Club pick. Before we dive into this powerful middle-grade novel in verse, we share our Bookish Check-in: Ashley talks about Annie Hartnett’s The Road to Tender Hearts ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ), and Jen shares her thoughts on Maggie Su’s Blob: A Love Story ( Bookshop . org | Libro . fm ). In our discussion of Louder Than Hunger , we talk about the emotional power of Schu’s storytelling, the way the verse form brings readers into Jake’s experience, and how the novel offers such an important portrayal of eating disorders, mental health, and healing. We also recommend our pairings, including Yara Zgheib’s The Girls at 17 Swann Street ( Bookshop . org ) and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper (Vol 3 Bookshop . org | Vol 4 Bookshop . org ). We wrap up with a couple of our latest Unabridged favorites. We’d love to hear what you thought of Louder Than Hunger and hope you’ll join us for the conversation. Visit the Unabridged website for our full show notes and links to the books…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ashley Dickson-Ellison, Jen Moyers

Topics covered

• middle-grade novels
• mental health
• eating disorders
• poetry
• book recommendations
• hope and healing

Keywords

• Louder Than Hunger
• John Schu
• mental health
• eating disorders
• middle-grade novel
• book recommendations
• poetry

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bookshop.org, Libro.fm

Books & works: Louder Than Hunger, The Road to Tender Hearts, Blob: A Love Story, The Girls at 17 Swann Street, Heartstopper

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