Series - Riders of the Apocalypse
Loss takes on the life of Billy Ballard in the form of bullying and Alzheimers. Billy Ballard has spent his life experiencing loss of more than one kind - loss of self, loss of family, loss of wellbeing. He meets "The Ice Cream Man" at the age of 5 who is, in reality, Pestilence ... one of the four riders of the apocalypse. Pestilence gets 5 year old Billy to agree to take on the crown and become Pestilence when he is older. Move forward 10 years. Billy's father left him at 6, Billy started to be _seriously_ bullied by classmates shortly after and shortly after that he lost his grandfather to Alzheimers and became his caretaker. Billy doesn't stand up for himself in the slightest and the book is mostly about finally coming to grasp with the idea that he has value/he has worth/he is important. I loved reading his story, meeting the love of his life (his best friend) and watching him morph into a kid willing to stand up for himself - to realize his value. There is a lot of loss (but you were warned with the title), a lot of heartache, a lot of emotion ...but there is also hope, promised love, romance and a happy ending.
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