Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Seventeen-year-old Katniss Everdeen is a girl who has suffered an incredible loss on her path to what some might consider celebrity of the most distorted kind. Forced to fight in the Capitol’s vicious games where randomly chosen teens are sent “to kill or be killed” for the entertainment of the elite citizen’s viewing pleasure. Katniss has defied many odds in battle and done things that will haunt her the rest of her life. However her very survival and the love between her and a fellow tribute captured the attention of a country, as she became the legendary “girl on fire”.  Now she has become a symbol for rebellion and a beacon of light for those being oppressed by the Capitol and its regime.

Finally free from the Capitol’s control, Katniss finds herself again fighting for her life under the rebellion, as their “Mockingjay”.  As the pawn of the rebellion Katniss must watch, as the boy she loves becomes the unwilling pawn of the Capitol. Peeta still in the hands of President Snow is now the means by which Katniss is manipulated since she and her family have found safety in District 13.  How can she fight when Peeta will suffer for her every action? Who could risk the life of the very person who has saved his or her own?

In the first two books of the Hunger Games series, readers have been with Katniss as she has fought her way through the sadistic games, conquered numerous enemies and lost countless friends. Now they will be by her side as she fights for freedom not just for herself but also for the citizens of all the Districts. With her childhood friend Gale by her side, she must decide what she is willing to risk in order defeat the Capitol and end the President’s vicious reign. Will Katniss and Peeta ever truly be together or will Katniss accept love closer to home in her oldest friend Gale? The love triangle continues in Mockingjay with an answer finally revealed to this long debated question.

The much-anticipated conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy has finally arrived and readers will find it just as impossible to put down as Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  Without the battle ground of the games and its non-stop action, Suzanne Collins has managed to still keep teen and adult readers enthralled and guessing until the very end of a magnificent journey undertaken by unforgettable characters that will remain with you long after the last page has been turned. A new modern dystopian classic series has ended but readers will rejoice in its well-written and symbolic conclusion that is every bit as satisfying in the end as it was when it began.

Hunger Games Trilogy: Final Book Revealed

For all those out there who have patiently been waiting for the next installment (and sadly the last) of the Hunger Games series. Scholastic has revealed the title and cover and lots of other tidbits! I personally love it….I think the three books have very cohesive covers and I cannot wait until August 24th to dive back in! Marking my calendar as we speak!

Other News:

*Libba Bray has just signed on to do a new series called The Diviners, which is so exciting to me since she is one of my favorite YA authors….this is following her big Printz win for Going Bovine which is sitting on my side table waiting to be read as we speak….I will always love her very first series though. Gemma Doyle has a place in my heart….I tried to convince my husband to name our child Pippa if she was a girl…didn’t go over so well. But I loved that series and characters, I fell in love from the start! I am sure her next will be spectacular!

*Harper Teen is giving away a book a day in their 28 Day Giveaway! Some great stuff is up for grabs so make sure to check it out! Just answer the poll to be entered.

*And……A New Jane Austen Challenge has just come to my attention from Fly High! The challenge is hosted by The Life and Lies of Inanimate Flying Object. Of course I will be signing up…and keeping up with my progress on my blog! I will be signing up for Fanatic of course. I was planning to re-read all my Austen’s this year for research purposes for some future possible writing projects so this challenge is perfect for me or any Austen lover out there! Won’t you please join us?
Levels:
• Newbie 2 books by J. Austen & 2 re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)
• Lover 4 books by J. Austen & 4 re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)
• Fanatic 6+ books by J. Austen & 5+ re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs (by other authors)
-Challenge books can overlap with other challenges.

-Any format counts: bound book, e-book (check online for free downloads of J.A’s copyright-free books), audio book, or any other thing you can think of.

-You can change which level you read!

-Challenge runs January 1st 2010—December 31 2010.

R.I.P IV Challenge 2009

R.I.P. IV Challenge 2009

I am excited to have finished my reading for Stainless Steel Droppings’ R.I.P IV Challenge. I am posting early just because I rarely have time lately to post and with my son’s first Halloween coming up I am busy with Mommy stuff and may not get in anymore spooky reading! I must say I was happy with what I accomplished this last month though reading wise. I really have gotten hooked on Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse series and I found a very similar series I like by Molly Harper. The first two books are out now: Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs and Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men. Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever will be released January 2010. Now normally these books would not be “my cup of tea” but the main character is a Children’s Librarian, dedicated Janeite and frankly hilarious! So my final total was 10 although I did not get to every genre. I really wanted to re-read some Poe and The Monk but time ran away! Happy Halloween!!

Mystery: Helter Skelter
Suspense: The Ghost Writer by John Harwood, Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
Dark Fantasy: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan , Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Gothic: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Supernatural: A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris, Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs and Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men by Molly Harper

Playing Catch Up: Hunger Games Series

So much has been going on lately that I have barely posted but I have had my nose stuck in some fantastic fiction! For the past two days I have been reading The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I had never read The Hunger Games so I was able to read that and then Catching Fire back to back. I loved them both. Such smart ideas and unique writing. So much of her futuristic society went back to basics and yet other parts like the Capitol reminded me of Scott Westerfeld’s work in the Uglies series. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and cannot wait for the next in the series. I love the mix of futuristic technology and natural survival skills. I see the future reverting to one of these two. In some ways I think our separation from nature and inability to survive within true nature may be our downfall like many of the tributes.  All in all some terrific writing and “can’t put it down” reading. Below is a synopsis of the latest book Catching Fire:

“Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.”

Another book that I have recently read on the futuristic society theme was The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I read this book in about a day. I simply could not put it down. Her fast paced plot and interesting storyline keep you sucked into the story at a non-stop pace. I was intrigued by her idea of the future as a place haunted by the undead due to some sort of virus type illness. Zombie plots abound but this was done in such a new and classic way that I found myself finding beauty, sadness and life in the strangest places with her writing. Absolutely a must read…Ryan is also a native South Carolinian which is always nice. I love to find local authors making a splash in the book world! Below is a synopsis of The Forest of Hands and Teeth:

”  In Mary’s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?”