Oprah Winfrey's newest book club selection is a first novel. On Tuesday morning, Winfrey revealed on CBS Mornings that she had chosen Hungered, by Amanda Rizkalla, a coming-of-age story narrated by a 12-year-old girl who lives with her mother and younger brother in their car. It is the 125th selection in the club's history and, as USA Today noted, the first since Winfrey began celebrating the club's 30th anniversary.
The book is not brand new. Henry Holt and Company published it in May, according to the Associated Press. What is unusual is the choice of a newcomer. "Many of Oprah Winfrey's recent book club choices have been from longtime favorite authors," USA Today's books reporter, Clare Mulroy, wrote, "but this month's pick is a debut author with a 'riveting' story."
What Winfrey Said
"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," Winfrey said in a statement. Oprah Daily added that Winfrey is often drawn to "stories of young girls coming of age."
The Book
CBS describes the narrator, Sofia, as "navigating a complicated world shaped by the people around her." She lives in the car while her mother searches for a safe place to park each night, and she dreams of a bedroom of her own, of going back to school with her friends and of eating the colorful cakes in a grocery store display case. USA Today wrote that her days are marked by "passing freeways and strip malls," and called the novel a coming-of-age story told "from the perspective of economic insecurity and displacement."
The opening pages, which Literary Hub excerpted in May, show how Rizkalla handles that material. Sofia sweeps crumbs off the car seats and remembers the four-bedroom house her father, whom she calls baba, was so proud of. Her little brother, Rafa, drives toy cars over the headrests. Their mother, still in her scrubs, walks the children to a library on her lunch break, and Sofia spends the afternoon there with a book. Inside the car, Sofia catalogs what surrounds her as if it were art. "If the car is a museum, I am looking at the other exhibits around me," she says. On that lunch break, her mother asks the question that Sofia calls "our ritual." "So, what do you say if someone wants to steal you?" Sofia's answer is "That my mom would pay them to."
"If the car is a museum, I am looking at the other exhibits around me."
The Author
Rizkalla is 28. The AP reported that she is a Los Angeles native who now lives in the Bay Area, studied as an undergraduate at Stanford University and earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. USA Today added that she is a Steinbeck Fellow and a Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellow.
The novel has roots in her student years. According to Oprah Daily, Rizkalla started what became Hungered when she was 19, as a short story drafted during her sophomore year at Stanford. After graduating in 2020, she developed Sofia's narrative into a full-length novel.
The Phone Call
Like many authors over the club's 30 years, the AP noted, Rizkalla learned of her selection from a surprise call from Winfrey herself. "I am honored beyond words that my debut novel Hungered has been selected for Oprah's Book Club. I never, ever imagined something like this could happen for my book – and then Oprah called!" Rizkalla said in a statement quoted by USA Today. "When she told me the news, I was so stunned I could hardly believe it was real, and there are still moments where it all feels like one big daydream."
She also thanked Winfrey for "the astounding care with which she uplifts authors, and for all that she does and has done to cultivate a nationwide love of reading." She added, "It is simply an honor to be the 125th selection and to join the 30-year collection of books she has championed."
Where to Hear More
Rizkalla and Winfrey discuss the inspiration behind the novel and answer readers' questions on the latest episode of The Oprah Podcast, which Oprah Daily said is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. CBS News has published a free excerpt of the novel and a reader's guide.
Sources: CBS News, USA Today, the Associated Press, Oprah Daily, Literary Hub. Book descriptions are drawn from those reports and from the excerpt published by Literary Hub.
Reported by the RedSquibble books desk from the publications and announcements linked in this story.
