The Art of Starving audiobook

This is a really interesting novel about a teenage boy with an eating disorder only he thinks that by starving he has super powers and he needs super powers so he can solve the mystery of his sister leaving town and otherwise hold his world together. The writing is great and the protagonist is really compelling. There is also a warm, complicated love story at the heart of this. I would have loved seeing more of that. I mostly wondered about the narrative frame which is the narrator creating a manual on the art of starving. I’m not sure that frame was necessary and at times it got in the way. Nonetheless this is a really necessary, beautifully rendered story. Highly recommend.

There were days when I was depressed when I would lay in bed for 20 hours with my eyes closed, and I began to believe I could see through my eyelids. I didn't know if it was echolocation or X-ray vision, but I believed. There were other days when I could cut myself, and the pain made me feel powerful. It didn't feel like I was bleeding out, but that I was bleeding in. I know that none of those things were true. I know that I couldn't see through my eyelids and that cutting didn't make me powerful, but I felt it at the time.Maybe Matt's struggle with his eating disorder and body dysmorphia and their connection to his superpowers doesn't make sense to you. But it makes perfect sense to me. I think Sam J. Miller walks a very fine line in The Art of Starving. How to accurately portray the feelings of a boy who is justifying his decision to starve himself and how it makes him feel with the reality of eating disorders and without glorifying them. And I think Miller does it really well. I never had an eating disorder, but along with depression, I've suffered from body dysmorphia my entire life. I know what it's like to look in the mirror and hate what you see staring back. Miller's description of Matt's struggles rang so true to me that they were often too painful to read and I needed to take a break. But the book isn't just breaking down dealing with an ED, it's exploring the connection gay men have with idealized bodies, toxic masculinity, the ways in which we hide addictions in plain sight. One scene in particular really hit me hard. It was when Tariq had (view spoiler)[ confronted Matt about his eating disorder and Matt tried to use sex to deflect. Been there, done that, got my card punched. (hide spoiler)] It hurt so much to watch Matt go through that, but I'm glad Tariq turned out to be an actual good guy. The biggest criticism I see here is from people who think leaving the "superpowers" ambiguous could lead susceptible teens to see this as a manual rather than a warning, but I disagree. I think that while Miller did leave it open as to whether or not the powers existed, he is very clear that they are not connected to Matt starving himself. If Matt is an unreliable narrator and doesn't have powers, then his "powers" are mental manifestations of his problems. If the powers ARE real (and I like to believe they are) then they came from within Matt and he never needed to starve himself to access them, just as is shown in the end when he calls the wind. So I think the criticisms that it's too ambiguous miss the mark. I think Sam J. Miller makes the point about the harms of eating disorders VERY clearly without being didactic or Very Special Lesson about it. Of course, I would have liked to have gotten to know Tariq a little more, and I would have liked seeing a little more into Matt's treatment, but I get why Miller didn't go there. The treatment wasn't the point, it was the admission that he needed it. That was the point. All in all, this is a great addition to the growing world of gay YA lit, and I can't wait to see what Sam J. Miller writes next.

Right. Up. My. Alley.Painfully relatable. Pretty realistic portrayal of a person with an eating disorder. Not so sure about telepathic superpowers tho. Also, Matt is a total badass.

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...Matt's life has been getting increasingly harder. His older sister Maya has run away from home, his mother might lose her job, he's constantly being bullied for being gay and has a crush on Tariq, the boy who might be responsible for Maya's disappearance. To top it all off, Matt is quickly developing an eating disorder. As Matt continues to stop eating, he awakens supernatural abilities in himself that he uses to get revenge on the boys responsible for hurting Maya.This book is an own voices m/m book focusing around a teenage boys eating disorder. It's a complicated story about Matt and his relationship with food and his own body image and self-worth. I loved the love interest, who I won't name due to spoilers. But I was rooting for them from the very beginning and was so happy when I turned out to be correct. I really liked the love interest for the most part, except when they would become angry when Matt wasn't sure he wanted to have sex with them which caused them to become angry with Matt. The writing of this book is so well done. It gives MAJOR 'We are the ants' by Shaun David Hutchinson vibes, which I absolutely loved as well. The writing is so raw and filled with emotions from this author. One thing I do wish there was more of would be Matt's recovery journey, I felt that it was glossed over a bit too much and I would have loved to know more about. One thing that should be mentioned is that the book implies that an eating disorder can cause supernatural abilities in an individual, almost glorifying the concept. Although I realise this is a work of fiction, it should be noted that this could be harmful for some individuals and if this is the case for you, go into the book with caution.

This is one of my favourites of this year. It’s such a powerful, moving story, one that is beautifully written and is incredibly engrossing. This book was all I could think about when I was reading it, and I still think about the characters often. I really think this is a must read for fans of gay YA.

I still refuse to accept this kid actually had real powers but I accept it as a metaphor. lol

This book is really well written, unusual, and kept me fascinated. The narrator is probably unreliable, which some readers may not like, but I thought added an intriguing element. This is a book about a gay teen with an eating disorder (by an author with similar experiences) but not a pure contemporary. It veers sideways into fantasy, as Matt's belief that starvation sharpens his senses to the point of superpowers seems to be borne out by events that happen. How much of what Matt believes he can do is the truth? If the described plot suggests his fantastic skills actually occur, can we believe it? As the story opens, Matt's one year older sister has run away from home. She won't say why, and communicates only rarely. Matt is convinced that something bad happened to her, and since he knows she was picked up that last night by Tariq, a boy they both had a crush on, he thinks Tariq had to be involved. He's determined to get the truth out of Tariq, and in a world where he can't control much about his life, controlling what he eats lets him tap into a scheme to sharpen his senses and see truths otherwise hidden from him.His mother works long hours and while she worries about him, she doesn't really see what's happening. Matt works up a scheme to get closer to Traiq, planning to force the truth from him when the time is right. But Tariq isn't who Matt imagines, and Matt's anorexia leads him into a maze of superpowers that open up a whole different understanding of his world. He recognizes the signs of his eating disorder, and the damage it can do, and rejects them for the idea that it is a discipline he can transform himself with. There is a romance of sorts here, but this book is not a romance. It's a foray into a growing weirdness and darkness that Matt creates for himself, even as his ability to get by in his school and acquaintance circle seems to improve with the powers he gains. This is mostly about the downward spiral that Matt experiences, with moments of revelation mixed in. Fascinating and a bit like watching a train wreck. The ending is positive, in a more realistic way than I expected. None of the characters are anything but deeply flawed, and the positive ending says that hope can be built even on a shaky framework of doubt and inadequacy. This is definitely not a book about dealing with or recovering from an eating disorder - the early recovery part gets very short shrift. It's more about recognizing the way that pressures warp our perceptions of our lives, and about self-determination. This book is unusual, sometimes insightful, never fully explaining the conflicts between reality and fantasy. Well worth the read, if you don't need your story in a neat package, and can stand to be disappointed by secondary characters who turn out to have very human flaws.content warning for (view spoiler)[powerful descriptions of an eating disorder with a possibly triggering description of feeling powerful when self-denying, body dysphoria, off-page child/spouse abuse history, bullying (hide spoiler)] I was sometimes a bit uncomfortable with the portrayal of the eating disorder's power for Matt, but a story that acknowledges the issue among teen boys is noteworthy.

UPDATE 11/9/20: This review, years later, is still wholly relevant and true. I. Worship. This. Book..Upon some reflection lately, I've realized that I will honor a book with 5 stars for at least one of three reasons: 1) it's masterfully written; 2) it breaks new ground; and/or 3) it's personally impactful and resonant. All of my five star reviews touch upon at least one or two of these categories. But then there is an elite fleet of books—these are the ones that make me keep coming back for more, despite all the other things I could be doing with my time—that tick all three boxes with aplomb. The Art of Starving is a perfect example of such a book.First off, Sam J Miller is a crazy talented writer. You can find his Hugo- and Nebula-Award nominated stories (and there are a few winners in there; I hope we see a compilation of his stories someday) online, so to see him bringing his skills to the YA genre is an exciting prospect. The writing here just feels like a cut above what I typically read in YA. Miller's a master of science fiction, so there are some expert surprises of fantasy to keep the reader on their toes.Miller's book is something quite new in content. Of course there are books about eating disorders out there, but The Art of Starving is unique for a number of reasons. It's a book about a young man with body image issues—something rarely discussed—and the eating disorder issue is only one of his concerns. Matt also struggles with self-confidence, familial guilt, and lack of love. It looks at Matt's trauma in a distinctly complex way that avoids simplified cliches. Miller is also subversive and progressive in his thinking. There's a freshness, boldness, and wilderness to his ideas that would delight those readers looking for something unique and experimental.But most of all, The Art of Starving was a powerful read for me because it felt ripped from my own adolescence. Not only were there eerie parallels to my own past half-life—Matt's obsessive fingernail chewing, his fascination with Jack Kerouac novels, the bullying, and of course his self-abuse via distorted body image—but the loneliness and longing throughout was heartbreakingly rendered. I got a slow start with the book because each chapter was hitting me really hard. It was so real—my own experience proof of that—that reading it—first slow, then in a rush—was nothing short of transformative.I'm really glad I found this book and this author. The character Matt, I've realized, is one of my favourites; I've been thinking about him for days, and I like the thought of holding him close to the teenage Dominic I still hold in my heart. He's a whole lot less lonely with characters and books like this one. And since teenage Dominic is going to be with me for the rest of my life, I'm sure glad I can stop ignoring him and give him his proper due.The Art of Starving is a book that I partly want to hold close and keep to myself, hiding away my ancient ghost tears. But it's also a book I want to tell everyone about because Miller's is a voice that will change lives, especially of those who enjoy living in the margins but sometimes feel lonely there. So read it and be encouraged by it and share it away.

Sam's debut novel is absolutely haunting. Matt, an angry, sarcastic gay teen with an antagonistic relationship with his body, tries desperately to find out why his sister ran away from home. Filled with churning anxiety, hunger pains, angry love, and a newfound view of the space time continuum, this novel is a delight.

omg, this gave me mad we are the ants vibes. RTC. 4.5/5 stars

Interesting story about a gay teenager who thinks he develops superpowers through an eating disorder. I liked how progressive this book was in it's portrayal of a gay protagonist, with his sexuality not being the crux of the story. The self loathing started to wear on me towards the end. However, the ending completely redeemed it for me.

Realistic and emotional and funny, The Art of Starving is an essential read for everyone. I loved it, you might love it, I don't know. It'll open your mind up and make you a better person, at least. Please read it.

I had different reactions to this book depending on where I was in it. For a while, in the middle, I was frustrated at the main character. Not necessarily at the author, but the main character was being such a clueless judgemental asshole that I found it hard to spend time with him, fictionally. I always felt like the author knew that, and was trying to dig deep into something to portray it, but while it was effective, it was also unpleasant.Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook