Loss by Jackie Morse - ADVISABLE

Kessler, Jackie Morse Loss, 251 p. Graphia (Houghton), 2012.  $9.  Violence: PG-13 (bullying); Language: PG (2 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G.  

Billy Ballard, 15, has a crappy life.  His grandfather has advanced Alzheimer’s, so Billy spends  a lot of his time corralling the old man and ducking this stranger who inhabits the body of his formerly beloved grandparent.  And for years now, school has never been a safe haven, as Billy is the target of the school bully.  Even in his dreams, Billy is haunted by a very faint memory – of a man with a face like melted ice cream who rides a pure white horse and gives Billy nightmares.  Now Death has come for Billy – literally.  It turns out that memory was real – and when he was only 5, Billy promised to be the next incarnation of Pestilence – one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Billy must either recall the current Pestilence to his job, or take his place.  When Billy takes possession of the Bow, one of Pestilence’s tools, he turns on his tormentors, but is that who he really is?  A desperate race through Pestilence’s realm will give Billy clues to find the man and maybe to coming into his own.  

Though this book is purportedly about bullying, the point is not as poignant as in the other two books in this series.  The story is still intriguing and well worth reading, though.  

MS, HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher