Review: Rage

Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Pages: 228, paperback

ISBN: 9780547445281

Publisher: Harcourt Graphia

Date Released: April 8th, 2011

Genre/theme: YA / fantasy / self-mutilation

Source: Galley from the publisher

Premise:

Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different.

That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control.

A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world. (Taken from Goodreads)

As expected, this book was very similar to the first, Hunger, in the way that it tugged on one’s heartstrings. Another masterpiece that shows just how badly some people can be hurting on the inside, while trying to pretend that everything is just fine.

In this instalment, we’re introduced to Missy, a loner girl who gets picked on at school, and cuts her feelings out. Now, I can really relate to that, and all the emotions she felt, I too felt them in the last few years. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

One night, Missy makes a mistake and cuts too deep, thus severing an artery. Now, like a lot of cutters, she didn’t want to die, she just wanted to release her emotions. But Death makes her choose between dying or becoming War. He tells her that she needs control, that she needs to stop reacting to her emotions and think first, which is something that a lot of people who depend on cutting need to learn, and would most likely learn from this book.

The writing is so concise, descriptive, and fairly emotional. Just like in the first book, the reader is drawn into the life and mind of the main character, and is able to understand them. And just like in the first book, the writing is fairly disgusting in terms of graphic use. This book should be avoided if one has a weak stomach and can’t handle hearing of severed arteries and blood spray.

The one thing that bothered me about this book was the very slight romance between War and Death. They seem like an alright couple, I guess, but there’s no chemistry in their kiss. I think the reason for that is caused by the lack of interaction between the two of them. Also, just because Missy thinks he’s hot because he looks like Kurt Cobain, and just because it’s just always been that War and Death have been together, it does not mean that they should so easily get together without some sort of romantic bond or tension. It just felt unbelievable and fake, and ruined the otherwise nice relationship between the two characters.

All in all, this book was a motivational read. It scared me and inspired me, and is one I will likely not forget for a long time.

Cover Art: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing: 4
Level of Interest: 5

Total: 5/5