I got this softcover from Better World Books. It's the first of the "Riders of the Apocalypse" series, and uses the idea of the Four Horsemen's "Famine" as a way to examine eating disorders. And it was a very involving and effective read, mixing the fantasy elements (whether you choose to believe they're real or that Lisa is imagining them) with the all-too-real effects that her anorexia has on herself and those who care about her. [The author notes at the end that she had her own experiences with eating disorders, and lost a friend to them.]

Here, Lisa has attempted suicide after a fight with her boyfriend, only to be interrupted by a delivery man who hands her a set of antique-looking scales and tells her "Thou art Famine. Thou art the Black Rider; go thee out unto the world." (Turns out they actually struck a bargain over this, though Lisa's fuzzy on the details.) Nobody else can see the scales - or the big black horse that's hanging out in her backyard eating the rhododendrons - and Lisa wants to think she's imagined the whole thing, but eventually decides to give it a try. And in the process of seeing how famine effects wide swathes of humanity, she gradually learns to fight it - and to fight the voice inside herself that tells her she's too fat, she mustn't take another bite, she must exercise 'til she drops...

I don't know how the book would affect people suffering from eating disorders, but I'd hope it would give them a nudge towards realizing that something's wrong and that they need help. In this case Lisa eventually does get to that point, and while the book glosses over the weeks she spent in rehab, it does make it clear that she had to reach out on her own. (It also presents friends who have been trying to help her all along, though their efforts didn't pay off until she was ready.)

I admit I was more drawn to the fantasy side of things, but I enjoyed the book as a whole, especially the rather cheerful and sympathetic Death (not quite the Discworld's Death but a similarly likable one), and the surprisingly upbeat Pestilence (who, like Lisa/Famine, is trying to heal rather than destroy). Oh, and the horses, especially Lisa's black steed, who seems to enjoy having a rider who pets him and says nice things to him - and gives him pralines {wry grin}.

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the Little Free Library in the park; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2021 Wine+Food challenge. ***