Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler - ADVISABLE


Kessler, Jackie Morse Hunger, 177 p. Houghton Mifflin, 2010.  Language: PG (12+ swears, 0 “F”).  

Lisabeth thought she was taking the easy way out – a handful of pills and drift off to sleep forever.  Instead, at seventeen, she finds herself holding a set of scales and one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Famine, to be exact.  The Thin voice inside her head, the voice of anorexia, has been ruling her life for years, now however, there are other voices vying for her attention, including her former best friend and her boyfriend – both of whom confront her with the fact that they believe she has an eating disorder.  And there is no way she can ignore the other Horsemen, especially War, another woman, who would be more than happy to kill Lisabeth immediately and Death, whose good looks are eerily similar to a former rock musician. Lisabeth’s new job will take her to parts of the world where she will see people who are in the throes of real hunger, not self-imposed hunger.  She can either choose to lay down and die or she can pick up her burdens and fight.   

I think there is always room for another book confronting the power of eating disorders.  My personal two favorites are Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and Purge by Sarah Littman.  This new book may appeal to girls more versed in mythology – the other two are more practical.  

MS, HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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