"Hunger & Thirst" by Claire Fuller

WOW. I mean, just            . . . WOW. 

This book GRABBED me and would not let me go. I just HAD to know what happened. It was like critical mass on steroids. Last night, I was about fifty pages from the end and very tempted to stay up late and finish it, but I decided 1) I should get a good night's sleep instead, and 2) I would appreciate having some left to read today. But then this morning I woke up far earlier than I wanted to. On any other weekend morning, I would have drifted back to sleep for another hour or two. But not this morning. This morning, all I could do was lie there and ask myself questions. What about the Underwood had scared John, and made Joy vomit? Where was the baby? What had actually happened?? Sleep was not an option. It wasn't long before I crept out of bed to finish the book.

Now, here I am, book finished, and I only know the answer to one of those questions . . .

Sam had asked me yesterday to give him an idea of what the book was about, but I didn't get very far before he shouted, "WAIT! Don't give me spoilers!!" So I don't know how much I can tell you. But I'll give it a shot. The bulk of the story takes place in England in 1987, although it's being relayed in retrospect from the current day. The main character, Ursula, had spent most of her childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home, but by the age of sixteen she had gained some independence: a room in a halfway house and a job delivering mail at an art school. And maybe she was finally forging the connections she had always hungered for. She had met a friend named Sue, who was charismatic and unpredictable; Sue had a big, messy, chaotic family who welcomed Ursula as if she finally belonged somewhere; and a coworker, Vince, invited Ursula to live in a squat on Barrow Road. So what if the house was a bit creepy? It was rent-free!

I wish I could tell you more, but I don't see how I can--other than saying that the story was compelling and suspenseful and, really, basically a horror book (but also really well written). I think it would be a great book club book--I wish I could discuss it with people who have already read it!