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Loss

Jackie Morse Kessler

Billy Ballard was different and he was sick of it. He was bullied often and beaten regularly by Eddie Glass and others. All Billy ever wanted was to blend in with the crowd, because then he could finally be that guy that no one would push around. So far he had hidden the bruises from his mother. She had enough to worry about with her father wrapped tightly in the arms of Alzheimer’s. The only joy Billy had for now was his friendship with Marianne. She had been his friend since kindergarten and she understood him. She just didn't understand why he hadn't asked for help to get the bullies off of him. Billy knew what was real in his life, he also knew there were some strange things happening too. The strangest being his encounter with death, an actual horseman. And what's worse is, death has a favor, or is it more than that? Billy learns that his recurring dream of “The Ice Cream Man” was no dream at all. He was tricked into wearing the crown of Pestilence, the White Rider, when he was five years old. Realizing the power he has, Billy is pushed into summoning it when the bullies confront him at school, yet again. He wields the power of Pestilence and struck down his enemy with an appropriate sickness. Bill didn't like what he was becoming. He didn't want to be the very thing he despised, a bully that attacked others who are weak. The only way that Billy can save himself is to find, the Ice Cream Man, and return him to his body and make him take his job back. But it won't be easy, the Ice Cream Man is in hiding in a world that wraps itself in white with the memories and horror of the Ice Cream Mans own fears and terrors. Billy is loosing himself and is desperate to get back his life and gain his future. In the white, Billy learns that when Pestilence stepped down and refused to ride, the bow that shot the diseases never stopped. It had a mind of it's own and was out of control. If Billy didn't find the Ice Cream Man, what would or could become of the world? Whatever it meant, Billy knew he had to stop it. Kessler puts us in a place we don't like to go. Being bullied and finding the strength to stand up for oneself is a path most of us have taken. The path is long and often times not very reassuring that a person could survive. Kessler has put readers in the world of bullying by creating a world surrounding the Four Horsemen and a quest for a teenager to find himself. The theme is powerful and readers will feel the emotion of the words and character in this dramatic story. A pager turner for sure just like the rest of her series. Kessler has created a good, rhythmic and visual read that anyone would enjoy and relate to no matter what age.

BIBLIO:2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ages 12 to 18, $8.99.

REVIEWER:Kristi Bernard

FORMAT:Young Adult

ISBN: 9780547712154