Sioux City Reads 2027 Nominee: Hungered by Amanda Rizkalla

Now through November 30, cast your vote to help select the next Sioux City Reads title at SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads.  

The chosen book will serve as inspiration for events, discussions, and challenges throughout the upcoming 2027 Sioux City Reads initiative.  

2027 Sioux City Reads Nominee Hungered by Amanda Rizkalla is a striking debut brings to life an unforgettable young narrator and the complicated, loving, cruel, and generous figures that make up her universe.   

“A riveting new novel from first-time author Amanda Rizkalla compassionately tackles the difficult subject of families who live outside the margins, living unhoused, and makes us see not only their struggles, but their hopes, dreams, and the perseverance it takes to face another day.” —Oprah 

Sofia’s mother promises that soon she’ll have her own bedroom to decorate. Soon, too, she’ll be able to see her friends, go back to school, and eat the colorful, tempting cakes in the grocery store’s display case. For now, though, twelve-year-old Sofia lives with her mother and younger brother in their car. For now, Sofia’s days are a blur of freeways and strip malls as her mother searches for a safe place to park for the night. For now, Sofia tries to carve out a space and an identity for herself while grappling with her family’s disintegration. 

This haunting and lyrical novel captures the fault lines of an existence marked by economic insecurity, exploring what it means to come of age during a moment of displacement. Beautiful, evocative, and emotionally charged, Amanda Rizkalla’s Hungered is an indelible ode to survival, memory, and the search for home in its many forms.

“With spare, elegant prose, Rizkalla captures the world and its contradictions perfectly through Sofia’s eyes. . . .Thoughtful and wise, Hungered is a powerful and resonant read.” —Shelf Awareness 

The winner will be announced in December. Visit SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads, the Library’s Facebook page, or sign-up for the Library’s e-newsletter at SiouxCityLibrary.org/news to get all the latest updates.