Loss

February 1, 2012
Bullied Billy Ballard must take Pestilence's crown and ride with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse or let the world be destroyed, in this third book in the Riders of the Apocalypse Quartet. Haunted by his childhood promise to the disease-riddled Ice Cream Man (aka the White Rider/Pestilence/the Conqueror), 15-year-old Billy is nonetheless surprised when Death asks him to abandon his mortal life and assume apocalyptic power. Given that Billy's world is filled with bullies--whose motives are inadequately explained--a workaholic mother and a grandfather made alien and violent by Alzheimer's, a new life seems preferable. Unlike War and Famine (in Rage, 2011, and Hunger, 2010), Billy has a choice: Defeat the Conqueror or convince him to ride forth and restore balance. Billy dreamwalks among Pestilence's millennia of memories of suffering, only to have the White Rider return and try to save the world by sickening it--an illogical solution paralleled by other equally incoherent plot points. Issues of bullying and Alzheimer's vie for attention, unsubtly and incongruously matched with a dark fantasy story about apocalyptic personifications. Flat characters--the horses have more pizzazz than the obligatory love interest, Marianne Bixby--undermine Billy's epiphany of self-worth and social belonging. A book about "bullies and bruises and babysitting Gramps" with apocalyptic interludes--the End cannot come quickly enough. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid whom every bully in school zeroes in on. At home, he is left in charge of his grandfather, who has Alzheimer's, while his mother works a second job to support the family. The only joy in Billy's world comes from his longtime friendship with Marianne. He would like to move her into girlfriend status, but he's too chicken to take the initiative. One night while he's keeping his grandfather company, Death comes to Billy's door. The teen assumes Death has come for Gramps, but it has come for him. Death wants Billy's help. It seems that long ago Billy was tricked into making a deal with Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse, and Death has come to hold him to it. Billy must convince the White Rider, who has turned insane, not to unleash a plague that will wipe out the entire world. To do this, he must travel through time and find a way to bring the White Rider back to sanity and to prevent the end of the world. Kessler blends fantasy, history, humor, and hard reality into a gripping tale. Although it is part of a series, it stands on its own as it addresses the issues of bullying, having a relative with Alzheimer's, and finding the power within yourself to do what is right.-Kathy Kirchoefer, Prince Georges County Memorial Library System, New Carrollton, MD

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard, a bullied teen and caretaker of his Alzheimer's afflicted Gramps, unknowingly sealed his fate when he was five years old. He was tricked by Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse, and agreed to wear the crown of Pestilence in exchange for a ride on the man's white horse. Initially the power is seductive, but Billy realizes he doesn't want to be a bully himself. Kessler's third book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series stays true to the initial premise of exposing a teen afflictionthis time bullyingby providing an allegorical analysis of its effects and offering hope to its sufferers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)