The more I think about it, the more I like this book. At first, I was thinking "really? a book about an anorexic teen who becomes one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Is this just going to be some lame morality play? Or just not make any sense at all?" But the premise was far to intriguing to pass up and I flew through this book. Relief flowed through me as I found the book to be not only a gut-wrenching depiction of eating disorders, but a sophisticated juxtaposition of the symbolic and the ironic. Kessler even has a sense of humor (i.e. Death likes to appear as Kurt Cobain).
Lisa has been hiding her anorexia fairly well up until recently, but as her body and mental state decline, she takes a bunch of Lexapro and then finds herself accidentally accepting the mantle of Famine, as in THE Famine of the Apocalypse. She obviously has some issues with this assignation, as well as her family and friend's attempts at getting through to her. Turns out, being Famine might actually be good for her and others. But War's none too happy about this. This would make a great discussion book as it deals with both a very personal (and distinctly American) problem and with global issues of hunger and its fallout.