Loss review

Description: 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?

My thoughts: 

I figured that if Famine was about an anorexic girl, and Rage was about a girl filled with rage who cuts herself, then something similar would happen with Loss. For me, being bullied wasn't the obvious choice, but the correlation ended up working based on how Billy ended up becoming Pestilence.

A main reason I enjoy this series is because it involves an awesome fantasy story revolving around the Horseman of the Apocalypse. But it also addresses some serious issues. And now that I think about it, bullying was a perfect issue to use, especially with the amount of suicides that have been happening.

One thing that got me really excited about this third book in the series is that the main character is a male this time. Sometimes I feel like guys are forgotten about in certain situations, so I was happy for the change (although I liked both girls in Famine and Rage).

This time around, there was a lot more fantasy, which I was initially happy about. At the present, I'm torn between whether I liked the extra fantasy or not. A majority of the story were flashbacks, and those flashbacks were from the previous pestilence instead of Billy.

While some of it was definitely interesting (and surprising), I was somewhat disappointed because I felt like Billy went through a change in the midst of those flashbacks that I barely got to see. Even so, what I did get to know about Billy was pretty awesome. Mainly because the author has the ability to make you (better) understand getting bullied, or being anorexic, or wanting to cut yourself, whether or not you’ve ever gone through those things.

The next book is titled Breath, but I have no idea what it’s going to be about since all the “positions” have been filled. Hopefully the next book will have a better balance between getting to know the main character and moving forward with the plot. Either way, Loss was still a good addition to the riders series.

Hunger Review

Description: “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?

My Thoughts: First off, the cover lured me in, then the words “Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world” caught me. I thought, could this be, a book about the horsemen of the apocalypse? Thanks to reading the The Gardener by S. A. Bodeen this summer, I’d been reintroduced to the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which led to me doing a little “Wikipedia research”. Therefore, I was excited about Lisa becoming a horse..woman? (scratch that)...men. The idea of having a book about Famine (and the other three) caused me to drool over this book (not literally), but the story didn’t go the way I thought, or even hoped it would initially. Once I started reading, I was happy it didn’t go the way I assumed it would, because it took a more positive turn, by discussing a more important topic.

I don’t personally know anything about what it’s feels like to be anorexic, or the thought process that goes with it, but Kessler seems to portray Lisa as a legitimate example of a real life situation. She also wrote Hunger in such a way that any girl with any type of body issue can relate in some way to Lisa.

This book had for one, an important message, and one that at certain points in the story made it hard for me to continue on reading how the characters dealt with their eating disorders. It had quick-witted one liners that came mostly from Death, who apparently looks like Kurt Cobain and is considered to be sexy. It also had bad-a(**) steeds and great quotes that most would find useful (“You are full of fear, when instead you should be comfortable with your own strength”).

Hunger is so entertaining yet driven by an important message that when it comes out, I plan to give away a copy of her book, because 1) I think other girls (and guys) should read this book, and 2) a portion of the proceeds from Hunger is supposed to go to the National Eating Disorders Association.