Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves

"Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves" is a captivating memoir that takes readers on a thought-provoking journey through the life of a young model navigating the pressures of the fashion industry and society's standards of beauty. Written by Crystal Renn, this book delves into her personal experiences, struggles, and ultimate triumph in embracing her natural curves and advocating for body positivity.One of the strengths of "Hungry" is Renn's raw and honest storytelling. She shares her vulnerabilities, insecurities, and the challenges she faced while trying to conform to the industry's rigid beauty ideals. Her willingness to expose the darker side of the modeling world creates a compelling narrative that sheds light on the detrimental effects of body shaming and the unrealistic expectations placed on young models.Renn's transformation from a young girl obsessed with fitting into the mold of traditional beauty standards to a confident advocate for body diversity is inspiring. Her journey towards self-acceptance serves as a powerful message for readers struggling with their own body image issues. Renn's story encourages individuals to embrace their unique beauty and challenge society's narrow definition of attractiveness.The book also provides valuable insights into the fashion industry, highlighting its flaws and the need for more inclusive representation. Renn's experiences shed light on the pressure models face to conform to a specific size and shape, as well as the detrimental impact it can have on their physical and mental well-being. By sharing her story, Renn raises awareness and encourages dialogue about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the fashion world.While "Hungry" offers an engaging and compelling narrative, some readers may find the pacing uneven at times. The book delves into various aspects of Renn's life, including her personal relationships and struggles with eating disorders, which occasionally divert from the central theme of body positivity. However, these diversions also provide a deeper understanding of Renn's journey and the complexities she faced.In conclusion, "Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves" is a thought-provoking memoir that explores the journey of self-acceptance and body positivity. Crystal Renn's personal experiences and candid storytelling provide valuable insights into the fashion industry and the challenges faced by young models. While the pacing may falter at times, the overall message of embracing one's unique beauty and challenging societal beauty standards shines through, making this book a worthwhile read for anyone seeking inspiration and empowerment.

I don't think that I will ever be able to do this book enough justice, but I will try.To be honest, I haven't followed the modeling world for some time. I used to read all of the magazines and watched Style with Elsa Klensch religiously.But years have passed since that time, and I had never heard of model Crystal Renn. I was unaware of her story.Crystal was raised by her grandmother when her own mother abandoned her. Being abandoned or rejected by a parent often leads to feelings of inadequacy, as no matter how much reassurance from others you receive that you are worthy of love, it is still a blow to your psyche. Crystal was no different, and she developed a need to dominate whatever activity she chose, whether it be student council president or cheerleading or modeling.Crystal didn't want to just be a model in a catalog. She wanted the runways and the Vogue covers. In order to do this, she was told that her hips would have to get down to 34". This meant that she, at 5'9" would need to drop down to 110 lbs. She had to lose 60 lbs.Of course, given her overachiever demeanor, she went beyond this. She exercised for 8 hours a day on the weekends. She ate lettuce, chewed gum, and smoked. And she eventually found herself at 95lbs.You don't have to be a budding model to feel that you don't have the right to take up space. ~ Crystal Renn.I wanted to be less, always less. I wanted to be as barely there as possible. ~ Crystal RennI wonder whether today's mania for super-thin, wide-eyed, less powerful-looking girls is tied to fear of female strength. Today's girls take up less space, literally and metaphorically. ~Crystal RennAnd yet, she wasn't successful at that weight. She was a shell of a person at that point and no one wanted to hire her because of her lack of spark and energy.You can be as beautiful as anything, but if you can't show people a little of your soul, you'll never make it. It wasn't until I became the weight I was meant to be that I figured that out. ~ Crystal RennThe stereotype of models is that we're brain-dead, but some of us are just starving. ~ Crystal RennEventually, Crystal's body fought back and started gaining weight on its own, no matter how hard she tried to keep her weight down.Crystal began to learn about how our bodies are designed and why some people are destined to be size 0 naturally and others are not. I have to agree with her assertions, as I think it's easy to tell when someone is naturally thin. I know people who are very thin and petite, but not skin and bones. I know some folks who are larger, yet have a nice defined figure.When we diet to lose weight, we have to steamroll over the weight our genes want us to be, disregard the hunger pangs that won't go away as we dip below the size that's normal for us, ignore the marketing of junk food and the prevalence of giant slabs of meat and glugs of high-fructose corn syrup and the hugeness of most portion sizes. We may have to struggle to find fresh, affordable food, which isn't accessible in many neighborhoods. We have to find the time to cook and walk more. We blame ourselves for failing to lose weight and we never think, Gee, if almost everyone who loses weight gains it back, maybe the problem is with the concept of dieting, not with individuals. ~ Crystal RennCrystal talks about studies that have shown people who are not overweight have a difficult time gaining weight, even when they are told to do so. They have to eat around 10,000 calories per day to put on weight and maintain it.Yet some people can't lose weight until they cut their calories drastically. And so, the conclusion is, that there is a genetic difference between people who are thin and people who are overweight.She also discusses the bashing that overweight people are taking in our society now. This part of the book is rather involved, but very informative. I'll just give you with a taste of it:No one has established a causal relationship between weight and ill health. Are people fat because they're unhealthy or unhealthy because they're fat? Bacon (a researcher) shows the difference between the two with an example: Bald men have a higher incidence of heart disease than men with a full head of hair. However, this doesn't mean that baldness causes heart disease or that hair protects against heart disease. (And no one would suggest that bald men dig deep, show some damn discipline, and grow some hair.) ~ Crystal RennEventually, Crystal's body weight settled in at what was healthy for her, which was about what she weighed before she started starving herself to fit in to the "straight" modeling world. Yes, she is a size 10/12 now and that is considered Plus sized in the modeling world. But she has broken through many of the barriers and appeared on Vogue covers around the world.If you couldn't tell, I absolutely adore this book and its author. I think that it's one of the most important books I've ever read. Crystal Renn is only 24, but she has already learned a great deal about body acceptance and what works for her. That she can share this very personal journey in such an accessible way is truly amazing. This should be required reading for everyone, as it will change the way people think about our genetic appearances.

Quite a quick read, I read it in a day although to be honest I did skim read a couple of parts of it, mainly the homely wisdom bits. The author seems quite detached whilst recounting her story, unproportionate amount of the book given to the mechanics of being anorexic compared to recovering and reaching a healthy weight. Would have liked to read much more on how she re-educated herself and found more employment and ultimately herself rather than endless quotes of various studys and articles about american obesity and how the government and mainstream media are deluding the world into thinking obesity is a bigger problem than it is. probably more relevant if you are american. Last third of book seems to be a forced justification on how she loves being a bigger size. Which pissed me off when googling her to see she has now shrunk to a size 6. Looking at pictures of her at a size 0 and then a 6, one can see same shruken face and sunken eyes. I dont understand how she can have written the book, have gone through it and now not see that she might be going through it again.... Anorexia is such a horrible illness if this is indeed the case.

Although I have a lot of admiration for how Crystal let go of her disease, I could not relate at all to the second half of the book (her recovery and emergence as a plus-size model). This was probably because; 1. I have never been a model, and 2. Because it was modeling that trapped her in anorexia, and modeling which steered her out. Her book indicates that her illness largely came about due to pressure from the outside, while mine resulted mainly from the inside.It has however made me look at models with more compassion than I did before; I was quite oblivious to the fashion-model industry. I guess I get angry at people blaming the media for eating disorders in young girls, and I forget that actually BEING a model is an entirely different thing. Many models starve because they have to look frail and that is part of their job.

As an anorexia sufferer, I have read many books about the illness and am always interested in finding ones that I identify with. Given Crystal is a well known model and is frequently in the news, I was vaguely familiar with her story and thought her book would be interesting. However, I was very disappointed.It is an easy read to say the least - I had finished it within a day. It is written in a very basic manner, I didn't feel any connection with her at all as she didn't go into the emotional turmoil anorexia causes. In the middle of an event she'd often go off on a tangent about statistics and facts without continuing her story where she left off, which made the structure very messy.The first half of the book is about her childhood, and there are only a couple of chapters in the middle about her restricted diet and exercise; in which she never really explored the emotional side effects of being such a low weight. Once she reached the point of realising she was unhealthy and wanting to change, it seemed that she simply just decided to start eating healthily again; which resulted in a weight gain into plus size territory and suddenly becoming an overnight success. Personally, I felt cheated, and as though this made a mockery of how difficult recovery and self acceptance for an anorexic truly is. She never mentions seeing a doctor once in this book, which seems very irresponsible.At times she came across as bitter after gaining weight, and referred to people who were at a fashion show as 'hungry bitches'. It appeared to me that she was not as happy about being a larger size as she tried to make out, and I'm sure if she had the option to maintain a low weight with ease, she would.She gave the book a fairytale ending about how we are all capable of love and self acceptance, which seems completely contrived given her recent divorce and huge drop in weight.I wouldn't recommend this book at all. There are far more engaging accounts of anorexia available, and I'm sure far more genuine tales of self acceptance.

I purchased this book as research for a university dissertation project on body image and the media and found this book to be utterly inspirational and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Crystal Renn documents progress from a very ill size 0 model at the age of 14, to a successful 21yr old plus size model. i feel this book should be read by all women who are curious about the pressure on young girls to adhere to the media's distorted perceptions, and for women who are struggling with their own image.

I never write reviews but feel I must for this book. Crystal is open and honest about her journey towards self acceptance. She writes so well and is clearly very intelligent. This book is not only a fascinating insight into the world of modelling but it has inspired me to stop dieting and just accept myself as I am.