Review: Kids of Appetite

Author: David Arnold

Started reading: January 28th 2021

Finished the book: February 24th 2021

Pages: 352

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Published: September 20th 2016

Source: Bookbox

Goodreads score: 4.01

My score:

Synopsis

Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell. It begins with the death of Vic’s father. It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle. The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it. But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.

This is a story about:

1. A coded mission to scatter ashes across New Jersey. 2. The momentous nature of the Palisades in winter. 3. One dormant submarine. 4. Two songs about flowers. 5. Being cool in the traditional sense. 6. Sunsets & ice cream & orchards & graveyards. 7. Simultaneous extreme opposites. 8. A narrow escape from a war-torn country. 9. A story collector. 10. How to listen to someone who does not talk. 11. Falling in love with a painting. 12. Falling in love with a song. 13. Falling in love.

My thoughts

Thanks to Marlieke for doing this Buddyread with me. I've had Kids of Appetite on my shelves for a very long time, when it came with a Bookbox. I was excited to start reading it. Even though I saw a lot of mixed reviews among my Goodreads friends, I went in neutral and actually liked it from the very start!

Pros

• Love the little things: This book makes you really love the little things in life. You're following Vic who has Moebius Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. I think that this book will definitely make people aware, because I had never heard of this. But it also made me much more aware of my self. It made me love the little things that I was doing without thinking before; Closing your eyes or even blinking. Just the fact that David Arnold made me notice these things is a huge pro for this book.
• Poetic: This book is so poetic in it's choice of words. The way it's written is just beautiful and it makes you feel like you're a part of some sort of secret club, because there is a huge amount of lingo you need to understand. I also loved the song in this book. I've said it before on my blog: I always feel like songs and poems and stuff like that shows how creative an author is. The song in this book was awesome. I did need a little time to get into the book and the writing style, but after a while it just felt like I was a part of KOA.
• It's all in there: This book has ALL you need. Friends. Family. Loss. Love. Happiness. Sadness. Loneliness. Mystery. And the one that needs a lot of bravery: Letting go.

Cons

• More?!: At the end of this book I just wanted a little more Vic and Mad. I felt like I needed more answers to their story together.

Overall

I can't say I recommend this book to everyone, because I've seen so many mixed reviews of people who thought they would love it and ended up giving the book 2 stars. I just know I loved it and I'm very happy and proud to have this book on my shelves. It's, in my opinion, a beautiful and important book and I would love for all of you, to just try it!

Other opinions on this book

"Kids of Appetite is one of the most honest, emotional, human books I have ever read. You will feel it. This one's a life-changer."

- Becky Albertalli

"Arnold offers a heartfelt tale that entwines ferocity with quirk, loss with first love and beauty with asymmetry."

- Booklist

Memorable quotes from this book

"We are all part of the same story, each of us different chapters. We may nog have the power to choose setting or plot, but we can choose what kind of character we want to be."

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to talk books; please let me know what you think about this book review.