Book Nerds Across America

The Book Nerds were lucky enough to be asked to host a stop on the blog tour for Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler. For those of you not familiar, Jackie's series is a unique take on the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I just love this idea -- so creative! -- and was beyond thrilled when I received a copy of Rage from Jackie's publisher. I went back to read the first book -- Hunger -- which I reviewed here. Then I came back around to Rage, the second book. (Here's my review.) Needless to say, I was super excited when the idea of hosting a stop on the blog tour for the third book, Loss, came up. My review will be coming shortly, but for now -- here's a guest post from Jackie herself! (Hint: There's a giveaway at the end.)  ~Flo~



Names are a big deal. Just ask the kid who hates her given name. J
Authors usually get to name their books. (I say “usually” because there’s always a chance that the publisher will change the book title.) This can be migraine-inducing at times—we all want the perfect names for our novels—but other times, names can come easily. When I wrote Hunger, which looked at eating disorders and Famine, well, the name was pretty much a given from the start. Ditto for Rage, which focused on self-injury and War.

LOSS, though, isn’t as straightforward. Its focus is on bullying and Pestilence, with a subfocus on Alzheimer’s. So why did I choose to name the book “Loss”?

The book looks at different types of loss. There’s loss of memory—the protagonist’s grandfather is suffering from Alzheimer’s. There’s loss of sanity—the primary antagonist is flat-out crazy, partially due to dementia.  There’s loss of self-esteem—the protagonist is horribly bullied and doesn’t have the strength at first to stand his ground. “Loss” means the act of losing, and that best describes Billy, the protagonist: he’s constantly losing himself every time he gets beaten down. There’s his loss of control when he finally has the power to strike back against his tormentors. (Not a major spoiler; it’s on the back cover copy. **whistles innocently**)

And loss happens when we say good-bye for a final time, whether we’re walking away from part of ourselves, from people in our lives, or from a situation. From loss comes grief…and, eventually, healing and moving on.

Ultimately, Billy, the protagonist, experiences loss in many forms before he comes of age. And so, LOSS was the perfect name for the book.

And happily, my editor didn’t change it. J
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

LOSS by Jackie Morse Kessler comes out March 20, 2012! 
GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter below will win a small cover poster of LOSS—and will be entered in the grand prize drawing! The grand prize winner will receive signed copies of HUNGER, RAGE and LOSS—and will get to name a character in BREATH, the fourth book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. The grand prize winner will be picked on Sunday, April 1, 2012. No foolin’. 

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~