“The Art of Starving” by Sam J. Miller is about a young teenager named Matt. Matt goes through trial after trial to find peace with himself and find out who he truly is. Matt’s whole purpose throughout the book is to find his sister, Maya, but it leads him down a completely different path.
The book “The Art of Starving” discusses many things teenagers go through that are not talked about enough. Millions of teenagers suffer from mental illness. Things such as depression, eating disorders, bullying, and insecurities are common in teenagers. “The Art of Starving” delves deeply into all of these topics.
The reason I liked this book so much was because of how much perspective it gave me on mental illness, and how it can affect others differently. This book brings so much light to how serious mental illness can be, while bringing a humorous accent to it as well with Matt’s ‘superpowers.’ It is the type of book you feel you have to sit and think about for a while after you’ve read it. It does not downplay any of the mental illnesses it talks about. It sincerely shows the truth of what it is like to deal with mental illness as a teenager.
“The Art of Starving” also talks about the struggle with being bullied in high school for being LGBTQ. Matt is a gay teenager who is relentlessly bullied in school. The book shows the tribulations he goes through to fully accept that he is gay. It also shows another point of view from another teenager who is LGBTQ in the book, Tariq, who struggles with acceptance from his dad. It represents so many people in the community, especially teenagers who may not have the most support with their journey.
“The Art of Starving” should be read by any teenager who feels alone, who is struggling with a big change in their life, or is struggling with mental illness. I would say this book is a 10/10; it is a big eye opener to so many things people don’t normally think about until they are the ones struggling with it.
I believe reading this book is a great way to learn about mental illness, and maybe somebody in your life who’s struggling with one of the discussed topics. An impactful quote Miller writes is, “Your differences may make you miserable, but they might also make you better.”
