My Thoughts: Hunger (Jackie Morse Kessler)

(The Horsemen of the Apocalypse #1)
Click here for the Goodreads Summary.

Cover: Fits the content, I like it.

My Thoughts:   "If you have ever looked in the mirror and hated what you saw, this book is for you."

First off, I think the idea of this series is awesome. Taking some hardcore, serious issues, like anorexia (book 1) and cutting (book 2) and connecting them to the horsemen of the apocalypse is genius. I've never encountered another book like this one. And it was well written. Score. I was completely surprised by the length of this book, for some reason I had in my mind that it was really long. It's totally not...just 177 pages. Though I kinda wish it had been longer.

This book was honest and emotional.  I've read a lot of books where the author sugar-coats the problems or tries to de-uglify the issue. This book gave what I felt to be an honest portrayal of a girl suffering with anorexia. I felt for the character of Lisabeth, which for me is what I look for most when I read a book; a connection to the characters.  Her struggle was heart-wrenching. I could connect with a lot of her thoughts and feelings. I think there's a lot of people out there who don't like what they see in the mirror. Sometimes these feelings turn to those of disgust and worthlessness and begin to control one's life. You don't have to have struggled with anorexia to be able to relate to what Lisabeth goes through.

I don't want to get into the details of Lisabeth becoming Famine, a horseman of the apocalypse, because I won't be able to do the writing justice. But the way the author manages to relate the horseman to anorexia and show the struggle Lisabeth has with taking over this job is very creative in my opinion.
I liked the idea of Death being a young, guitar-playing rock-star, and the way the other horsemen were introduced.

 The end of this book was actually done right.  I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say it was kept real and honest, which seems to be a fitting description for this series.

Favorite Quotes:
"Living means constantly growing closer to death. Find the balance and plant your feet."

"She screwed her eyes closed and hoped that dying wouldn't hurt too much. Death seemed like a nice guy, maybe dying would be soft like a kiss. Maybe he'd sing to her before sending her on to eternal sleep."

Bottom Line: A well-written, raw, emotion-filled read.  Def recommended. 4.5/5