The Horsemen of the Apocalypse series is a well-executed mix of supernatural characters and an unflinching look at issues that many teenage girls face. In the previous novel, Hunger, Kessler's personal experiences with eating disorders had lent the book a raw, cathartic feeling which didn't feel quite as realized in Rage. Kessler admits in the afterward that she doesn't have personal experience with self-injury, the main issue in Rage, but she certainly did her research well. The rage and intense self-loathing that drives the protagonist, Melissa Miller to injure herself was conveyed with an honesty that's almost uncomfortable. Again, Kessler does not romanticize the issue. The prose is sparse but good. 
 There's a lot of internal dialogue between Melissa and War. If you take a lot of the passages out of context, the words will come across as hokey, but within the context of the novel, they work perfectly. Yes, again, there are some flaws and holes but overall I'm impressed enough with the book itself to overlook them. Mythology-wise, I'm a lot more pleased with the ending in Rage than I am with Hunger. I can't wait to read the next installment about Pestilence.