Rage (Horsemen of the Apocalypse #2) by Jackie Morse Kessler

Book Name: Rage
Author/s: Jackie Morse Kessler
Source: NetGalley
Publisher, year: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
Page total: 228
Date Read: April 03 to 04, 2011
Genre/s: YA, fantasy, Paranormal
First line of Book:The day Melissa Miller killed her cat, she met the Angel of Death.

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.

After reading Hunger (and not enjoying it that much), I wasn't really sure whether I'd want to read Rage, but since I usually give things second chances, and I got this from NetGalley, I decided to give the author another chance. Well, I am really happy that I did, because this is so much better than Hunger!
It deals with an almost completely new cast of characters (I don't think Death could be replaceable anyway), and we're introduced to Missy, a girl who cuts herself to escape to the pain. Personally, I liked Missy a lot more than Lisabeth; while Lisabeth was really flat to me, Missy was truly alive to me. She had so much emotion and it was a lot more realistic, I think. I also appreciated that her life outside her Horseman job was more developed, it was great to see why she had her problems. Sometimes I was just as outraged as (or even more than) Missy. her sister, especially mad me want to pull off some hair... her hair. She was SO obnoxious! And it really pissed me off that her parents were blind to everything (though not as much as knowing there are parents like that in real life). The things I loved the most, though, were how she ended up finding her inner strength, no matter how cliché that sounds, and the ending. It was so much better than Hunger's. And I could see it happening with Missy!
The writing was also a lot better, and it didn't bore me to death. Personally, I don't think you need to read Hunger to appreciate Rage, but if you want to anyway, go for it.

4/5

"If Melissa Miller were an artist, she would have painted the world in vicious streaks of red. Nothing like Picasso's rose period, all soft and cheerful and so optimistic that it made you want to puke. Missy's red phase would have been brutal and bright enough to cut your eyes. Missy's art would have been honest."