From the dust jacket: “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 fight her own inner demons?”

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I’ve been reading this series backwards, seeing as I read Rage first.  I really enjoyed that novel, though it is the second installment in the “Horsemen of the Apocalypse” series.  Hunger is the first installment, and I’m sorry to say I was not enamored by it like I was with Rage.  I can’t put my finger on the reason behind this, but I just wasn’t very interested in the novel.  Kessler is a great writer, using wonderful imagery to capture the story, and I think she takes on a very difficult topic (eating disorders) and does it justice through the character of Famine.  I love the tie in with the Apocalypse riders and a real social issue, but this book just wasn’t as enthralling a read for me.  That doesn’t mean, in any way, that you won’t enjoy it.  I do recommend reading it, and regardless of my personal response to the novel, I believe that Kessler writes a great book for young adults, and the message of self-image is loud and clear.  I will be putting this on my outside reading list for my students because I believe the overall message of the novel is phenomenal, and I think it may hit home with my students more so than it did with me.  Let me give you fair warning: some of the descriptions of regurgitating food are extremely graphic, and they may gross you out (but I think that is the point!).  Three stars.