If you know me, you know I stray away from books featuring mental illness. I chose to dive straight into The Art of Starving and was NOT disappointed.

Matt is hungry. Hungry for power. Hungry for acceptance and love. Hungry for food because he is starving himself. And through this hunger, Matt feels that he has developed superpowers. The power to hear more clearly, the power to pick up on unnoticeable scents, the power to read minds. If you've read about eating disorders, you may have noticed that people with EDs claim to experience heightened senses. So there is an air of truth to Matt's experience. Sam Miller does an excellent job of pairing Matt's abilities alongside the experiences he is having. Readers are told from the beginning that Matt has a history of mental illness, and he's supposed to seek help (he doesn't). Readers also get closure and answers at the end of the book.

Matt is hurting. He's frequently unable to control his emotions. He's got some serious shit going on at home and school, within himself and within his social construct. Anorexia is Matt's way of giving himself power. Within The Art of Starving is also a tender love story between Matt and another character, which includes a sex scene that gives us a bit of reality. Friendship becomes a key takeaway.

On top of Sam's beautiful and engaging writing, we get diverse and rich characters that feel like you could reach through the pages and touch them.