(Sorry for the latter half of last week having no reviews or posts—I got sick from the thing going around )-: )
Rage (Horsemen of the Apocalypse #2)
Graphia
April 4, 2011
228 pages
Goodreads/Amazon
The second in Jackie Morse Kessler’s Horsemen of the Apocalypse series. The first book Hunger was about an anorexic girl and her ‘audition’ or job interview as Famine, one of the other Horsemen while Rage introduces Missy, a teenage cutter who just might be the next War.
Death, in his Kurt Cobain mask, is back as the ringleader again, the one who introduces Missy to the existence of the Horsemen and the possibility of her joining them.
A strong soccer player who hopes to be her teams starting goalie next year, Missy doesn’t have much else going for her. Wearing black to school everyday she’s tired her best to cut herself off from the biting comments from the other students.
The one thing that Missy has found helps is cutting. A secret she keeps from everyone—her teammates, her family, and the friends she no longer really has, it’s the thing she thinks she can control.
Until Death shows up and gives her another opportunity.
Rage had a lot, a lot of parallels to Hunger: (the obvious being a teenage girl who has a problem but doesn’t quite acknowledge that she has a problem), both girls give the horses names and thank them (which surprises the horses) and take note of the fact the horses don’t need to be brushed, etc like regular horses; etc
Some parallels (including Famine’s contempt from War and vice versa) makes sense given the Horsemen’s character and their personality but some of it makes a reader feel like they’re reading the first book again, only slightly varied.
Missy is a harder character to connect with, however, than Lisabeth was. It’s almost as if there is a brick wall between Missy and the reader. Several times there’s a crack in the wall or a hole, but it never quite comes down.
The other, secondary characters, seem to be written entirely as Missy perceives them (negatively, that is) so they have very little to no redeeming qualities.
I love the intention of this series. More books need to address the topics of self injury (cutting), bullying, and eating disorders. This second book just never quite connected, though. The first book was much stronger and felt very real (and personal).
I know I’m going to read the third book, though, because the series and its concept shows too much promise not to.
5/10
Read thanks to NetGalley and the publisher
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