Book Nerds Across America

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are back again! This time the story focuses around Missy Miller, a teen cutter who takes up the steed of War. I was lucky enough to win Rage from the publisher awhile back, but I wanted to read Hunger, the first book in the series, before I took this one on. For those who are not familiar with these books, Jackie Morse Kessler has created modern teen characters who become the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It's pretty much awesome.  I really enjoyed Hunger, the story of how Lisabeth Lewis becomes Famine.

Rage, on the other hand, did not fully do it for me. Though it is a small book, I struggled to finish it. The analogy of Missy locking her emotions in a glass jar in her heart was effective....the first few times. By the end of the book, the glass jar had been alluded to about a million times, and if I had to read some variation of the sentence, "She pushed her emotions in a glass jar and closed the lid..." one more time, then I would show Missy what rage was all about! I also felt there was way more internal turmoil than action in the book. My eyes kind of got glazed and I just skimmed over several paragraphs of Missy's internal war with herself.

That being said, this book definitely had its good points. Above all, I just love the idea for this series. So unique. Ares, Missy's warhorse, was one of my favorite characters. I loved his reactions and the way he and Missy had conversations without him actually talking at all. I also did enjoy the interactions between Missy and the other horsemen. I was familiar with Famine, of course, but it was interesting to see Pestilence have a part in the story. Finally, this book gave me some insight into the problem of teen self-injury. I could never understand how someone could cut him or hserself, but Kessler writes it in a way that makes you understand and feel sympathy for its victims.

And now for the exciting news...

Loss, the story of how Billy Ballard becomes Pestilence, comes out in March and guess who is part of the blog tour?!?! That's right -- us! The summary for this book sounds fantastic! I have a copy of the book that I am reading now, and I can't wait to review it for you guys and participate in this tour! Keep en eye out for it on Book Nerds Across America.

~Flo~