Hunger by Jackie Kessler--REVIEW

Title: Hunger
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Published: October 18, 2010
Special Note: ARC Review

"Come on, Lisabeth," Death said, not unkindly. "It’s time to do your job."




The words didn’t make any sense. "My job?" Lisa said as Death helped her to her feet. She was a seventeen-year-old high school junior in the suburbs; she didn’t have a job.



"Thou art Famine, yo," Death said. "Time to make with the starvation."



Lisabeth Lewis is no stranger to starvation. Her life revolves around counting calories, constant exercise, denying herself even the strongest cravings. Lisa is in a constant battle with hunger for control over her body. When, in a moment of desperation, she almost gives up that control completely, she is visited by a wisecracking messenger who turns out to be Death. He offers Lisa a rare opportunity: to become one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse—Famine. As Famine, Lisa travels the world on her black steed, visiting parts of the world where hunger is a painful part of everyday life. She’s horrified to see her own power destroy crops and turn food to dust. But when she finds a way to harness her power as Famine and use it for nourishment rather than deprivation, Lisa finally gains the courage to face her own problem.



A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, HUNGER is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

My Thoughts:

This novel was not what I expected, at all. I was thinking this was going to be another exciting paranormal/urban fantasy story with tons of adventure, with a twist of one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, but I was wrong. The main focus of this story is a teenage girl with an eating disorder and less on the fantasy aspect. This novel is also written in 3rd person, which at times, I find hard to connect with the main character in young adult stories (totally just personal preference), and this was one of those times. It may have been because I'm not really into contemporary novels focused on this issue as well. The writing is lovely in this novel and there are some beautiful prose throughout, but it just wasn't my type of read. I have the feeling though fans of novels like WINTER GIRLS will really like this one.