"Hunger" (Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Rider's Quartet #1) by Jackie Kessler

177 pages

Seventeen-year-old Lisa has anorexia, and it's slowly beginning to take over her life. Although she can't admit to herself that she has a problem, most of her time and energy is spent planning her meals, exercising, and trying to keep her family and friends from catching on. When it becomes too much, she tries to kill herself but the attempt is botched. Death, who had arrived for her suicide, tells her that she's been given a new job: Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. At first, she thinks that she's imagined it all, but soon it becomes clear that it's all too real. As she rides around the world, she encounters both unbelievable gluttony and miserable starvation and discovers that she has the power to balance the two. It also makes her realize that she has a big food problem, but she doesn't know if she can fix it.

This is a really interesting take on eating disorders. The anorexic-as-Famine idea brings attention to both the seriousness of anorexia and the tragedy of worldwide hunger. I like that it has elements of fantasy because that will make it more enjoyable for people who don't usually enjoy books about "issues," so they will learn about eating disorders but not be bored. Kessler is right-on with her portrayal of the anorexic mind and body: the Thin voice criticizing nonstop; the constant mental calorie calculations; feeling scatterbrained; constantly being cold. I wish that this book contained more explanation about the Horsemen--their background and what their long-time plans and objectives are--but this is the first in a series, so perhaps we learn more about that later.