Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Lisabeth Lewis is absolutely positive she is hallucinating & that there is no way that Death seriously just showed up & gave her the job of Famine. Too bad this isn't a nightmare, it's her real life. The seemingly normal seventeen-year-old wouldn't find this job nearly so weird if it didn't contradict everything she believed about hunger. As an anorexic, Lisabeth believes that her ability to control her food intake is what gives her power.

As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Famine is learning to deal with her powers while trying to stay out of the way of the ever-itching-for-a-fight War. Where ever Lisabeth goes, she brings pain & misery. Suffering has become who she is. Or was it part of her all along? Needless to say, Lisabeth is struggling to control her personal demons & understand her role as Famine. Can she balance her life & her job? Or will she lose it all to hunger?

This was a phenomenal book! I cannot even begin to speak highly enough of it. Jackie Morse Kessler has brought a form of Christian mythology to the forefront of the YA genre. Lisabeth is one of the more compelling & discerning characters that I have read of late. How appropriate is it that a girl who chooses to starve herself must dole out the pain & suffering of famine to those who would never wish it upon anyone? It's very cathartic & emotionally draining.

What I really enjoyed about this book are the interactions between the characters. Death is one funny guy! Such a smart ass, he reminds me a lot of Tod from the Soul Screamers series. Watching Lisabeth struggle with her anorexia, trying to hide her condition from her friends & family, & then see her take such control of her powers is very stirring. I think Kessler handled this subject with the same care as the likes of Ellen Hopkins.

I must say, I can't imagine having missed out on this book & I truly hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. Let me know what you think & be sure to keep an eye out for the April 18th release of Rage, the second book in the series.

Waiting on Wednesday: Hunger

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm looking forward to the October 18th release of the debut novel in a new series. Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler is book one in the "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" series. The premise seems to be the replacement of the classic Horsemen with modern day teen representations.

“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?

From Goodreads

Words can't describe how amazing this sounds!! What better way to understand the reality of your actions than to have to inflict them on others? This is an incredible concept that I am looking forward to exploring. Hopefully I get to buy a copy!! So, what are you impatiently awaiting this week?

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie are the best of friends. Having met as young children, they grew up together. Through thick and thin they were always inseparable. That is until being thin became the most important thing to them.

Cassie is bulimic: binging and then purging all that she consumes. Lia has more restraint than that, she is anorexic. Both of the girls help each other stay strong and keep their weight down. After a car wreck caused by the havoc Lia caused to her body, she is sent to a treatment facility and Cassie stops talking to her. Over six months Lia fights to stay in control of her weight, despite everyone else's best efforts to the contrary and she longs for Cassie to come back into her life.

Until Cassie shows up dead in a motel room, where she died alone. Confronted with the terrifying reality that her up-until-recently best friend is now dead, Lia struggles to define herself and what she really wants. Does she want to kill herself or is there something else creeping inside her that she wants to kill?

An open-eyed, very true account of what many teenagers all over the country face, Laurie Halse Anderson has again taken a very prevalent issue in contemporary society and turned into an opportunity to learn. Without glorifying the characters' actions, the author follows the train of thought of an eating disorder victim and explores some of the lesser known evils that can accompany them. Riveting and chilling, Wintergirls is a book well worth reading and passing it along.