Review: Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Goodreads | Amazon

Publisher: Graphia (March 15, 2011)
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages (Paperback): 213
Series: Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 2)
Read Next: Loss
Source: Library
ISBN-13: 9780547445281
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Author: Website | Twitter
Series Reviews: Hunger (2.5★)

Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different. That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control. A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world. 
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Overview:

The accuracy that I can see in this series now is absolutely astonishing. I found this book to be emotionally devastating and heart wrenching for Missy. These book reach out to teenagers going through something like this and show them they're not alone and that is absolutely power in words.

Review:

This book takes realism and accuracy in fiction to a new level. It highlights all the things that give Young Adult fiction the name of being "too dark" but it does that because its real; these are things that teens face in the deep recesses of themselves and hide from the world. I was unsure of how deep and true Hunger could have been but this book clarified that Jackie Morse Kessler is gifted and dedicated to true storytelling.

As part of the series, this book can still function as a stand alone for someone who wanted to reach out for something their experiencing. In this book, we have our Kurt Cobain rocker, Death who is the one resounding connection through the books. It is his task to replace the Horsemen of the Apocalypse as the rider position opens. Missy's adventure is unrelated and irrelevant to the story in Hunger though it is lightly referenced and gives background to why War is vacant.

When Death enters the scene, we find Missy holding her family's dead cat in her hands, "You have blood on your hands". The mood is instantaneously set to be dark, brooding, and quite appropriately raged. Missy's life is a disaster in her eyes. Love gone wrong, family gone wrong, life is wrong and the only way to fix it is to bleed the bad out. Driven by such intense emotion, Missy wars within herself at the things she has been forced to face. Humiliated by her ex, estranged from her sister, and now empowered by the sword, she really is just trying to sort out the straight path for herself but it is messy and heartbreaking.

These books are incredibly short reads that pack an incredible punch and I would recommend them for anyone who needs to know they are not alone. As a previous self-injurer, all I wanted to do was tell Missy she wasn't alone and I want you to know it, too.

Rating out of 5:

New Release Spotlight: Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler

Jackie Morse Kessler has released the third book in her Riders of the Apocalypse series! This series is a powerful series that takes real and extreme problems that teens are facing and uses them for a unique urban fantasy about turning that trouble into power by making them one of the four horsemen. This is extremely unqiue and powerful. In her first books she covered anorexia (Hunger) and self mutilation (Rage), in her new release that hit shelves March 20, 2012 from Graphia, it is the real and ever present idea of bullies.

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors...and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories.

In his search, Billy travels through White Rider’s life: from ancient Phrygia, where the man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown, to Sherwood Forest, where Pestilence figures out how to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where cartons of infested grain are being packed onto a ship that will carry the plague, to the Children’s Crusade in France—all the way to what may be the end of the world. When Billy finally finds the White Rider, the teen convinces the man to return to the real world.

But now the insane White Rider plans to unleash something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Death look like a summer cold. Billy has a choice: he can live his life and pretend he doesn’t know what’s coming, or he can challenge the White Rider for his Crown. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

In honor of this book releasing, I am giving away the first book in the series, Hunger. Reading Rage at the moment, I can see the are consecutive if only mildly connected. Each book is individually powerful and I hope Hunger will make you as excited to read the rest as it did me!

•     Contest Ends April 20, 2012 at 12:01AM EST
•     US Only (Sorry)
•     Must be 13 or older
•     Extra Entries are available
•     Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!
•     Comments are love but not entries
•     Winner will have 48 Hours to respond or another will be chosen

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Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Goodreads | Amazon

Publisher: Harcourt Graphia (October 18, 2010)

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages (Paperback): 177

Series: Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 1)

Source: Purchased

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-34124-8

Genre: Urban Fantasy

“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?

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This book tackled the serious topic of anorexia, the invisible disease. It pulled out a strong and intriguing message about the life, the true life, of an anorexic. The life they live of denial, of pain, of constant hate, and the constant counting...the thin voice.

As a short read, it did very well at depicting the reality of the life that Kessler was trying to convey; however, her character development lacked the same strength. We saw the full and complex version of Lisa, but the other characters that were her source of interaction were two-dimensional. Even in her own thoughts, she hints at what might possibly be a great relationship between herself and Death but yet the character, Death, remains shadowed and inconsistent.

I thought the idea of the newly appointed Horseman of the Apocalypse was a very inventive and genius idea. I love the story of the Four Horsemen and their tie to the apocalypse; her take on this story has set up some questions that I feel were answered, but answered in that "Let the character unravel what the riddle means" kind of way, without the opportunity for her to fully do so. Even if she got her answers, we as readers, did not get ours.

In the end, I don't feel like Lisa fully accomplished anything regarding her disorder or her office; this left me feeling unsettled with many questions by the end of the book.

Having more of an understanding of the protagonist in Rage (Book Two), I will continue to read the series hoping to see more of a three-dimensional Death and a stronger character base for the next girl.

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren; here we share with you, the lovely readers, what books came to us this week whether it be in the mail, from the library, purchased or borrowed.

This week is excellent; in addition to a few books, I GOT A NEW BOOKSHELF! It isn't anything fancy but is double the size of the tiny one I have now and I am very excited about the presence it will add to my living room! But the bookshelf is only as awesome as the book that goes on them!

This week in books...

I bought...

• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - Goodreads
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - Goodreads

Both of these are the first in their series and I have heard great things about them; was very happy to find them at Half Priced Books and use my coupon!

I borrowed...

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - Goodreads

My seventeen year old sister has not shut up about the impact this book has had on her; its her favorite book and I bummed it from her shelves.

I was gifted...

• Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler - Goodreads
  

Happy Easter to my from my Grandmother! It was a tough selection between this, Wither, and The Hunger Games but I went with the one I hadn't checked the library for; I have also heard good things about the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series. I was glad to have her gift me my first brand new book to christen my new bookshelf she also gifted.

That's all I've got for this week! What have you gotten in your mailbox!?