NEW YORK (AP) — A debut novel about a 12-year-old girl’s struggles to find herself amid poverty and family strife is Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick.
On Tuesday, Winfrey announced that she had chosen Amanda Rizkalla’s “Hungered,” which came out in May. Winfrey said in a statement that the 28-year-old Rizkalla had written a “riveting novel” about “families who live outside the margins, living unhoused” and “their hopes, dreams, and the perseverance it takes to face another day.”
Rizkalla, a Los Angeles native who now lives in the Bay Area, was an undergraduate student at Stanford University and received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Like so many authors since Winfrey launched her club 30 years ago, she learned she had been selected after receiving a surprise call from Winfrey herself.
“I was so stunned I could hardly believe it was real, and there are still moments where it all feels like one big daydream,” Rizkalla said in a statement.
The Oprah Podcast conversation with Rizkalla can be seen on Winfrey’s YouTube channel and through other outlets.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press