REVIEW: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
Paperback: 180 pages 
Publisher: Graphia Books (18 Oct 2010) 
ISBN-10: 0547341245 
ISBN-13: 978-0547341248 
Reviewer: Cara 
Copy: Bought online

From the back of the book:
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?

Travelling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home – her constant battle with hunger and the 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 awesome power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power – and the courage to fight her own inner demons? 

Hunger opens with Lisa’s attempt at overdose being interrupted by a pale delivery man announcing “Thou art the Black Rider; go thee out unto the world” and handing her a parcel containing an old-fashioned set of scales. At first she thinks this is a dream, a side effect of the few anti-depressant tablets she has already swallowed. But the scales are real, as is her new role as Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and there is a large midnight black horse in the garden, patiently waiting his new rider. 

This is a book aimed squarely at teens and has at it’s core a realistic depiction of anorexia. Lisa is in denial of her condition, obsessively counting calories, prone to bouts of excessive exercise, and her life is falling apart around her.

“And you’re fat, lamented the negative voice, the Thin voice, Lisa’s best friend and worst critic, the one that whispered to her in her sleep and haunted her when she was awake.”

She has fallen out with her best friend, her relationship with her boyfriend is fragile, and her parents live largely separate lives, with her mother being absent for much of the time, and her hard-working father treating her as his ‘little princess’. The only person who seems to understand her is Tammy, who is bulimic, yet Lisa admires her control and discipline. It is into this scenario that Death awards her the job of Famine, something Lisa is not sure she wants (or is good enough) to accept. 

My favourite character in Hunger is Death. He looks like a dead rock star, is fond of playing his guitar and has a rather dry sense of humour. He encourages Lisa to take up the mantle of Famine and find her balance, though the choice he offers her is stark – death or fulfil the role assigned to her. Throughout the book he guides and enables her to accept the power she has been given. As Lisa travels the world on her steed, she learns more about herself than she wishes. Her food issues are put into perspective and she finds she can use her powers for good. Her self-belief is strengthened and her confidence grows to the point that she is able to face War in a confrontational showdown. 

Hunger is a clever book in that it uses the fantastical elements to address real issues. Her companion horsemen, Pestilence, War and Death represent aspects of Lisa’s troubled life. In her role as Famine, she is forced to address the effects of her behaviour on the people she cares about and through this she accepts her anorexia and gains the strength to acknowledge she needs help. This is a book aimed directly at the Twilight generation, who are comfortable with supernatural and mythical beings in their fiction. The portrayal of a troubled, anorexic teenager is realistic yet non-judgemental. Lisa makes her own choices and, by the end of the book, has gained sufficient confidence to make healthy decisions about how she wants her life to proceed.

Hunger is not a book for everyone. I enjoyed it but was aware throughout that it is not really a fantasy novel, despite the fantastical elements. Written in a light and humorous style, with plenty of teen-culture references, it will appeal to younger readers (13+), even those who are not fans of fantasy. A must-have for any school library, in my view.

Plot: 6
Characters: 6
Style: 7 

Rating: 6/10