ARC Tour & Review: Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse, #1) by Jackie Morse Kessler

“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?


The best way I can describe this book is by saying that this was a very difficult and tough read. I enjoyed the spin Jackie Morse Kessler used in Hunger, giving Lisa the job responsibilities of Famine, but underneath this, no reader will be able to forget that there is a very serious issue at stake. Kessler allowed readers to be passengers along for the ride during Lisa's struggle with her eating disorder and the consequences that have been the result of her actions.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this novel, but I enjoyed reading it (or at least as much as one can) with a topic as heartbreaking as this one. I found myself feeling extremely naive and ignorant when presented with some of the information presented to me in Hunger. I know this is a work of fiction, but Kessler does say in her acknowledgments at the end of the book that although this is a work of fiction, she makes it clear that this situation and many like it are not make believe. Many people out there suffer from these diseases and so many need help and assistance from people they can trust. I will say that as informative as this was for me, there was one point about half-way through that after reading I was not sure I'd be able to make it to the end. It was an incredibly vivid and emotional scene and it was devastating to witness/read. So I took a break but then decided that I couldn't let myself put this book aside forever, so I kept reading.

I think Kessler has a wonderful writing technique and is doing a great and very brave thing by not only writing this novel and putting it out there, but for trying to reach people through Hunger, in order to help educate everyone with this story. There is help out there for those individuals with eating disorders and hopefully they'll be able to see there is light at the end of the tunnel, and help for those who want and need it. For people like me, I was humbled after reading this book because of my ignorance on these issues and problems, and I'm thankful to have had the chance to read Kessler's work. I look forward to reading more of her work and can only hope that her voice reaches far and wide with Hunger.

I gave Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse, #1) 3 shamrocks!!!