Who: Jackie Morse KesslerWhat: Hunger
When: October 18, 2010
Why: Awesome summary
How: Gift from Kelsey.
“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?
I seriously just finished this and I really, really liked it. Hunger is the story of a girl fighting against her anorexia while also coping with the fact that because she tried to overdose on some pills, Death saw her and made her Famine, one of the four horseman (or horsewomen) of the Apocalypse.
Though it is in third person, we are mostly in Lisabeth's head. She was a beautifully complex character to read about, especially with the eating disorder war raging in her head, which she calls "The Thin Voice." The Thin Voice was mean and evil and put her down a lot, but even if it's not about eating, don't we all have that little cynical voice in our head? No matter how optimistic we are, it sits in that corner of our mind, when we're most vulnerable. This made Lisa a very relatable character to me, someone who was warring with herself to be a better person, though she wasn't sure what that really met.
The plot was insanely cool, and the reason I wanted to pick this up. I mean, there are four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Famine, War, Disease, and Death. Imagine having to be one of those horrible things, things that take lives everyday? And being thrust into it at what--16? Lisa handled it pretty well after she got the gist of it. And though unintentionally she hurt people, I admired her for being famine and still trying to do the right thing, though it hurt her.
The rest of the horsemen (and horsewomen) were each fully unique people. War was an evil, arrogant women who needed a swift kick in the ass for how power-drunk she seemed to be, which matches with what war is perfectly. Disease was actually kinda funny but serious as well, letting her know that she could do good as well as bad. And then Death was just...pretty epic. He's described as sexy and cold--but warm at the same time. And I think death is a lot like that, scary and peaceful, and entice-ful at times. So they all matched with that they were pretty well.
All in all, it was a short and strong read about anorexia and how it can affect a person, and how you can't overcome it in a few short steps, but a little at a time.
Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.
