NetGalley Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

[brigdh]

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler is a YA novel about Lisa, a teenage girl with anorexia. One day, a messenger shows up at her door, gives her a set of scales, and informs her that she is now Famine, a Horseman (horsewoman?) of the Apocalypse. So, that's pretty much the best premise ever and dictated that I would read this book. And a lot of the fun is just exploring the idea. I don't want to give away the best part, but I particularly LOVED it when Death showed up. Death is currently incarnated as a famous dead person, who I thought was a genius choice. War and Pestilence also show up, and a lot of the plot just centers on Lisa learning what it means to be Famine, how to control her powers, and the way this new development reflects back on her relationships with family and friends. The topic of food- the power of it, attraction to it, uses of it, etc- is really well-written.

Obviously the most important question is: how is the eating disorder issue handled? I've never dealt with anorexia, so I'm probably not the best person to evaluate this aspect of the book, but it seemed very realistic and respectful to me. Also, the author is donating a portion of the proceeds to the National Eating Disorders Association. Which is great, and hey, a good reason to justify buying the book.

Highly recommended, and I cannot wait for the sequel (about a self-injuring girl who becomes War!). Hunger came out in October of 2010.

Comments

[kessie.livejournal.com]

I have this and am planning on reading it next week! So glad that you enjoyed it because I'm really excited about it. :D The general premise of the series is genius. I wish I'd thought of it.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I KNOW IT IS SUCH A PERFECT CONCEPT. I'm just sad because I thought I had seen the sequel also offered on Net Galley, but it seems to be gone now. I should have downloaded it when I had the chance. Now I have to wait until next year when it's published to read it!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

The concept was originally from X-Factor, which briefly featured an anorexic teenage girl with the mutant power to make food turn to dust, who becomes Famine. To be fair, the author has acknowledged that this was an inspiration. The book sounds fun.

I'm not getting the connection between self-injury and War; shouldn't that be "angry and violent" and War?

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It depends on why she's self-injuring, I suppose! Since the title of the book is going to be "Rage", I suspect "angry and violent" actually does play a large part in it. :)

But yeah, it's not an intuitive connection (though anorexia and famine wasn't either, once I thought about it, since anorexia people generally have plenty of access to food), and part of the reason I was looking forward to it was to see how the author made it work.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've started it, but I've got so many other books on my plate that I haven't gotten farther than that. ISTR that the author has recovered from an eating disorder, but I can't remember where I picked that up, or if I made it up.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It's good! Though alas, I thought I had seen the sequel also offered on Net Galley, but it seems to be gone now. I should have downloaded it when I had the chance.

Yeah, in the author's notes at the end, she mentions that she dealt very briefly with anorexia, but had a friend who was severely affected by EDs and eventually died as a result. Which I assume means she knows what she's writing about!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I saw the sequel there, too, and if I liked this one was planning on requesting that. Guess not, now.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Well this sounds awesome! Meanwhile, I have just read two lovely YA fictions: one is Moonshine (http://www.amazon.com/Moonshine-Novel-Alaya-Johnson/dp/0312648065) by Alaya Johnson, and if you have not read it, I recommend it. Jazz age! Roaring twenties! Vampires! Djinn (Bathtub Djinn?)! It manages to cast the supernaturals as the other, while still including real immigrant and minority communities. There's a vampire gang called The Turn Boys! It's pretty good fun, and a good candidate for 50books_poc if you're still doing that.

I enjoyed even more Karen Healey's Guardian of the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Dead-Karen-Healey/dp/031604430X), which is an awesome New Zealand concoction about belief and story and magic, and is really great about all the populations that make up New Zealand and all kinds of minorities. To me, it's pretty much the anti-fail.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I have heard so many amazing things about Moonshine, and yet still have not gotten around to reading it. Because I suck, I guess? I'm really looking forward to it, though! It sounds so amazing, and I've read a different book by the author and really enjoyed her writing style.

Thanks for rec for Guardian of the Dead! I hadn't heard anything about that one, and it sounds great.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Jeez, I have to read this one. It sounds great.

[darkelf105.livejournal.com]

I must read this. I love the premise so much. It's even better that it deals with the painful issue of anorexia respectfully.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It is really good! You should definitely check it out.

[pierreuse.livejournal.com]

Another decent read on anorexia, though it's nonfiction, is Kim Chernin's The Obsession. And I think everyone's familiar with Marya Hornbacher's Wasted. I haven't read it, though I have heard marvelous praise of it from qualified sources, for what that's worth.

Hope you're enjoying England and your studies, and apologies for flat salutations. ;) It's way past my bedtime and my brain clocked out with the cheeseburger at dinner. It's my own fault for eating meat, I suppose.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Ooo, thank you! I haven't read either of those, so I will have to check them out.

And thanks for the well-wishes! I always appreciate them. :)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

That is a pretty awesome concept.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

RIGHT?