Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Book one in The Horseman of the Apocalypse: The Rider's Quartet

About Hunger

“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

Source: Goodreads

Review

This is a chilling look into the life of a girl with an eating disorder.

We follow Lisa who is anorectic and we watch her struggle with life, her problems and how she has to learn the balance of knowing herself.

The way the eating disorder is described is very realistic and her "friend" Tammie who is bulimic and who helps Lisa to stay in her downward spiral did that you as a reader really felt with her and some places in the book I would have to stop and take a deep breath before I continued reading.

I like how the book managed to blend so serious a tropic with fantasy it really worked and the way she became Famine and learned how much the world needed her was great. She really got a new perspective on food and that insight she had to use in her own life in her battle, with her food issues.

In all the seriousness there was still time for humour in the book, that made the story a little lighter some places and I think that it made the book more balanced.

Hunger was really well written it had an original plot and it was a very interesting book.

I give Hunger 4 out of 5.

Next books in the series:
2# Rage (April 8th 2011)
3# Loss (2012)
4# Breath (2013)