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What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape book cover
WE
Fiction Classics Fiction Young Adult

by Peter Hedges

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4.10 (11.4K ratings)
calendar_today 1991
description 319 pages

What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges holds a highly rated rating of 4.10 out of 5, based on 11.4K reader ratings. First published in 1991. The book spans 319 pages.

About What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Just about everything in Endora, Iowa (pop. 1,091 and dwindling) is eating Gilbert Grape, a twenty-four-year-old grocery clerk who dreams only of leaving. His enormous mother, once the town sweetheart, has been eating nonstop ever since her husband's suicide, and the floor beneath her TV chair is threatening to cave in. Gilbert's long-suffering older sister, Amy, still mourns the death of Elvis, and his knockout younger sister has become hooked on makeup, boys, and Jesus--in that order, but the biggest event on the horizon for all the Grapes is the eighteenth birthday of Gilbert's younger brother, Arnie, who is a living miracle just for having survived so long. As the Grapes gather in Endora, a mysterious beauty glides through town on a bicycle and rides circles around Gilbert, until he begins to see a new vision of his family and himself.

Detail Value
Author Peter Hedges
Published 1991
Pages 319
Genres Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Young Adult
Average Rating 4.10 / 5.00
Total Ratings 11,352

Reader Ratings & Analysis

Rating Overview

4.1
starstarstarstarstar
11.4K ratings
With a rating of 4.10, What's Eating Gilbert Grape is rated near the global average of 4.17. Compared to its genre average of 3.99, it performs above expectations.

How It Compares

4.10
This Book
3.99
Classics Average
4.17
Global Average

Frequently Asked Questions

What genre is What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is categorized as Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Young Adult. Its primary genre classification is Classics.

Is What's Eating Gilbert Grape worth reading?

Based on 11.4K reader ratings, What's Eating Gilbert Grape has an average score of 4.10 out of 5.00, which is considered "Highly Rated."

How many pages is What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape has 319 pages.

Who wrote What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

What's Eating Gilbert Grape was written by Peter Hedges. It was first published in 1991.

What is the ISBN for What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

The ISBN-13 for What's Eating Gilbert Grape is 9780671038540.0.

Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 24, 2026