Review: The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anissa Gray's debut novel offers a fine look at family dysfunction, loyalty, love and sisterhood. Three sisters, Althea, Viola and Lillian must navigate disaster when Althea and her husband Proctor are charged with fraudulently stealing money from a charity created to help people after a flood. Althea is crushed and seems as if she cannot believe it is all real- that her life has gone so far off the rails. Viola, a therapist in a deteriorating marriage to Eva, seems barely able to deal with the situation and all sorts of unhealthy, self-destructive emotions rear their ugly heads. Lillian, who has taken in Althea's daughters Little Vi and Kim, is feeling overwhelmed, particularly because the girls are so affected by the scandal of their parents' actions. When we meet the Butler family they are fractured and it seems that everything Althea strived for, in acting as the matriarch of her family, has been lost. The question as to what happened and why (because you're definitely going to be asking how this all happened after meeting Althea) can't be discussed without major spoilers.

This is an impressive debut in that the characters are distinctive and quite well drawn. Each of the sisters has deep emotional scars that are slowly revealed over the course of a very emotional book. Who are they as individuals? As sisters? As a family? This is a poignant portrait of family dysfunction, disconnect, and reconnection. And yet it is still a love letter to sisterhood, to family, and how love can make you resilient enough to survive disgrace and disappointment.

I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy of this book from Berkley Press in exchange for an honest review. 

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