In order to balance last week's love of a heroine, this week we are discussing our favorite heroes. And, I absolutely can't pick just one (again). So here they are, in no particular order:
Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series. I already talked about how much I love Anne, but I have to admit I love him almost as much. I always wanted Anne to figure out faster that he was the man for her. He was loyal and sweet and he is an all around nice guy (as opposed to all those bad guys in books today). I am pretty sure I married a Gilbert. :)
Valek is very different from Gilbert, but there is something about him that thrills me. I adored how he and Yelena fell in love in Study series by Maria Snyder and then how he always showed up when she needed him the most. Mind you, he is an assassin, so I'm glad I haven't got one in my life, but I sure love reading about him.
Of course, any discussion of a favorite male book character for me has to include Mr. Darcy. I absolutely love him, even though for most of the book he tends to act like a jerk. Why is that? Anyway, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I swooned in those parts of the book (and for Colin Firth in the mini-series) when he declares love to Lizzie. Eloquent and passionate.
And another classic favorite is Mr. Thornton from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Not only is he sooo adorably played in the BBC movie version by Richard Armitage, but in the book, I fell hard for the part where he and Margaret finally get together. Oh, I simply adore it. These are the kinds of books that show us what romance really is about. And it hasn't escaped me that all of my heroes are romantic interests in books. What can I say, I'm a romantic sucker at heart.
What guy characters do you love?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
But, in a contest where there are only eight entrants, it wasn't too difficult to win a copy of YOU by Charles Benoit. At least it wasn't difficult for:
who was the winner. I've already emailed you, so hopefully the book will be winging its way to you shortly. BTW, I really love to read about people's stories of books that impacted them at some point in life. I tend to ask that question for almost every book contest I have and it is so interesting to see the different responses I get. For example, the responses from this contest included:
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Candide by Voltaire
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Somebody Else's Kid and One Child by Torey Hayden
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
What an awesome list! I simply adore how varied people are in these choices. Don't you love that books are just as varied so that people of all types will find what they need?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
I've been meaning to post about some things going on (or that already went on) in the blogging world. So, in order to consolidate things, here they all are together.
First, I wanted to mention the excellent Utah Book Blogging Social that took place last Saturday. It was (as usual) fabulous. While I didn't meet too many new bloggers (I really should have, though) I did get to chat with some old friends and get introduced to some new-to-me authors. I will send you to look at Suey of It's All About Books' post with pictures. This is very brave of me, since her photo of me is dreadful. I'd love to list a bunch of the folks I met, but perhaps instead I will send you to look at the list that Natasha has created of us. That will give you an glimpse at our numbers! Can't wait until February when we will hopefully be doing it again.
And I've decided to throw myself into another new challenge. I loved Lenore's Dystopian August, though I didn't get to appreciate it as much as it deserved while I was on vacation, and so I was super thrilled when Darren announced he was hosting the YA dystopian challenge. I'm going for a level three wherein I hope to read at least five dystopian books between October 1st and December 19th. We'll see how that goes!
1. Matched by Ally Condie
2. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
3. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
4. Hunger by Michael Grant
5. Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Next up, we have another Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-Thon coming up on October 9th. I've kind of been in a reading slump, not taking much pleasure in what I read, but doing it anyway for the sake of accomplishing something (and not falling farther behind in my review books). I'm hoping this will help me get excited again (and not send me over the edge of insanity). Either way, I'm probably going to take it easy and not attempt too much. But, I still love to participate!
And finally, I was super excited to see that the Cybils are getting ready to start again. Last year, I got to be a judge for the MG/Elementary sci-fi and fantasy category and I simply loved it! I haven't signed up to be a potential judge again (yet), but I am thinking about it long and hard. I don't know if I can stop myself! Either way, you can head to the Cybils main page for more info on the award and on volunteering to judge.
I think that about does it for me! Hopefully you survived all that info and are not catatonic. If so, quickly go read a book or a book review or something.
And remember that at least I did not include my kitchen sink.
The Red Tent: A Novel by Anita Diamant
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: September 1997
ISBN: 9780312427290
Source: Library (book club set!)
Dinah is just a name, mentioned almost in passing in the bible, a swift and lonely reference to a real woman, a daughter of Jacob among many sons. But in this novel, Dinah is a woman among her mothers, a girl who grows up learning all she needs from those mothers in the red tent. Her life is destined for tragedy, as laid out in her violent biblical history, but those moments do not make up the whole of her life. In this book, we get a glimpse of what it must have been like to be a woman in biblical times, a look at the sisterhood and motherhood bonds that tie all women together.
Things I Liked:
I really loved how much we "learn" about some of the women in the Bible. I'm fairly familiar with the stories from the bible, including Dinah's story, but I'm always interested in knowing more about women in the Bible. This story brings Dinah to life and we grow up with her and her mothers in a world that doesn't pay much heed to women, but that have to acknowledge their power and influence. In our club meeting, we focused almost exclusively on the world of the red tent - where women go when menstruating and to have children. To have this place where they gather monthly as women and celebrate being who they are - I loved it! I loved that it isn't considered shameful or annoying or anything most of us consider our periods today. It was obvious that women had a vital role in that time, even if it wasn't a visible one.
But the other reason women wanted daughters was to keep their memories alive. Sons did not hear their mothers' stories after weaning. so I was the one. My mother and my mother-aunties told me endless stories about themselves. No matter what their hands were doing - holding babies, cooking, spinning, weaving - they filled my ears. p 3
Things I Didn't Like:
Having my own particular views about the people in the Bible made me less eager to read this author's views, particularly about religion. The way she portrays some of the people I honor for their strength of character and religious devotion as fools and worse really annoyed me. Really, for a story so surrounded by religious belief, there is surprisingly little of it. Our club also discussed how less than thrilled we were at all of the fairly explicit material. I had to essentially skip the first two chapters because I didn't really want to read about it. The beginning of the story moved very slowly for me and sometimes I wanted to put it down. It definitely picked up when Dinah's story finally did.
Read-alikes:
Women of Genesis books by Orson Scott Card (though, I've never read them)
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
not a lot
mrg-factor: XXXXX
ad nauseum, there is also a lot about menstruation and birth
v-factor: ->->->
there is definitely some violent stuff that happens, most of it brief
Overall rating: ***
It seems I have read a lot of "really liked this about it, but really hated this" books lately. What about you?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
While these two books might not appear to be similar enough for this kind of comparison, I was reading them at about the same time and was struck by a few similarities and things I wanted to discuss in relation to each other. So, I present to you another double feature.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Margaret K. McElderry)
Publication date: August 2010
ISBN: 9781416975861
Source: ARC provided by Traveling ARC Tours
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication date: October 2009
ISBN: 9781416989424
Source: Purchased
Summaries:
Clockwork Angel: Tessa Gray does not expect what awaits her when she arrives in England, searching for her brother. After being kidnapped by the Dark Sisters and discovering a world full of dark creatures - vampires, werewolves, warlocks - she finds herself as one of them, a creature not human with a unique power. She manages to escape for a time and hides with the Shadowhunters, those who are supposed to protect humans (mundanes) from downworlder creatures. But, she finds herself drawn to two best friends, Will and Jem, both different and yet appealing to her in different ways. But, being caught up in this world means she might have to make a choice between saving her brother or saving the world.
Hush, Hush: Nora Gray is just an average girl, trying to recover from the unexpected death of her father. When her new biology partner, Patch, is thrown into her life, she feels equally drawn to his dark nature and repelled by his sinister secrets. But, when she learns the truth about him, she is sucked into a deadly game where she is the target.
Nephilim and/or Angel Mythology:
CA: In this book, the Nephilim are the good guys (even if they're pretty arrogant), set to protect humans/mundanes from demons and other downworlders. They are not necessarily descended from "fallen" angels, but from a mixture of one angel's blood with human blood, creating somewhat immortal beings that call themselves Shadowhunters. This also inevitably includes mixtures of the demon race with humans, who are downworlders like werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. Tessa is introduced to Shadowhunters rather abruptly - a bit like throwing the whole bucket of cold water on her at once - and right near the beginning of the book. However, she already has had some glimpses of unnatural beings because her own abilities. I prefer this kind of introduction, since the slower ones are usually so long in coming they get ridiculous.
HH: In this book, Nephilim are not the good guys. Fallen angels and the Nephilim are separate things in this book. And the Nephilim are not all descended from just one angel. They are the race created when a human and a fallen angel have children. Fallen angels apparently don't experience human things completely. However, they can possess bodies of humans so that they can experience things more fully. Things are less well explained in this book, I think, leaving a lot of questions and confusion. There is not really any talk of demons as separate from fallen angels, so I get the impression that they are the same thing in this book. Nora gets a very slow introduction to them. She mostly just thinks she's going nuts, rather than that Patch might have a big secret that means he's not human. Nothing like a slow-revealing mystery that was pretty obvious to everyone from the front cover of the book, but which Nora must figure out one painful step at a time. And, of course, through the internet.
The Ladies:
CA: I like Tessa - she's timid and definitely not what you'd immediately think of as a tough heroine. She's a regular woman in the 1800s who still pretty much believes in a place for women and that she should not step out of it, which is refreshing to me. A lot of historical characters in books have very modern views, but I think she balances that quite well. She's a likeable character who is true to her time and not totally modern, but also not really a wimp either. She isn't into fighting and everything, but she's got a brain and will use it if needed.
HH: Nora is back and forth for me - she says things that are smart and that would indicate intelligence, yet she also ignores warning and feelings and keeps being drawn to dark, dangerous, and rebellious Patch. Apparently she thinks, but does not really act on those thoughts. I do have to admit she's stupid when it comes to liking a guy she's not entirely sure is safe, not to mention wants to possibly kill her. She's a very conflicted person, obviously. One minute she likes and trusts him, the next she doesn't.
The Gents:
CA: I like both Jem and Will, though they both obviously are flawed and have problems. Deep down, I think they are both good, but there are some things that make them just a little bit frightening as a love interest. However, both feel quite real, their characters' are described in such a way that they are brought to life. They have both good and bad sides, just like all of us. I'm not sure which one I like more, since they are both so different. Hopefully the next book will help me decide.
HH: I hate Patch. Really, I do. I've never been drawn to bad guys, so maybe that's it, but he's got some serious issues that I'd never be able to overlook. I'm sure there are guys out there like him, which I would stay far, far away from. He seems really back and forth too, which probably exacerbates Nora's wishy washy ways. He's a little bit good, a lot bad, a jerk, a nice guy, etc. Make up your mind already.
Things I Liked in CA:
It has some positively lovely writing - her descriptions are so beautiful and vivid that each person and each setting seems so real. The story was surprising - taking turns, albeit mostly near the end, that I did not expect. I really enjoyed how things developed and that clues were dropped throughout, but not enough for me to figure it all out before. I was pretty much caught completely off guard for a few of them. In an overcrowded market of paranormal, this one shines as original and delightful. I'm definitely looking forward to more in this series. Some favorite parts:
Now that she had worn other faces, seen through other eyes, how could she ever say any face was really her own, even if it was the face she [had] been given at birth? When she Changed back to herself, how was she to know there wasn't some slight shift in her very self, something that made her not who she was anymore? Or did it matter what she looked like at all? Was her face nothing but a mast of flesh, irrelevant to her true self? p 110 of ARC
"I've known girls who were quite companionable with their ladies' maids," Tessa protested. This was not precisely true. She had read about such girls, though she had never known one. Still, according to novels, the main function of a ladies' maid was to listen to you as you poured your heart out about your tragic love life, and occasionally to dress in your clothes and pretend to be you so you could avoid being captured by a villain. p 132 of ARC
The woman who sat in the tallest of the chairs was slender and stately. A hat was tipped forward on her head, balancing a massive black plume at its top. Her dress was of rich red velvet, her icy white skin swelling gently over the fitted bodice, though her chest never rose or fell with a breath. A rope of rubies wound her throat like a scar. Her hair was thick and pale blond, clustered in delicate icy curls around her nape; her eyes were a luminous green that shone like a cat's. p 176 of ARC
"I," said Gabriel, "would rather have my entrails yanked out and tied in a knot in front of my own eyes than apologize to such a worm."
"Gracious," said Jem mildly. "You can't mean that. Not the Will being a worm part, of course. The bit about the entrails. That sounds dreadful."
"I do mean it," said Gabriel, warming to his subject. "I would rather be dropped into a vat of Malphas venom and left to dissolve slowly until only my bones were left."
"Really," said Will. "Because I happen to know a chap who could sell us a vat of- " p 207 of ARC
Things I Liked in HH:
I will admit that the creepy atmosphere and the setting of the book were quite well done. You feel a sense on unease throughout that makes you wonder both what is coming and when it will come. The ending is surprising as well, not exactly what you expect. I like how there are some loose ends in the story that will be addressed in the next books. I thought it had some intriguing twists and turns, not to mention it has that weird element of you-must-keep-reading-me. It must be the action and suspense and the good creepy atmosphere. And it has a lot of teen appeal and did much to create interest in reading, rather like Twilight. I'm glad there are books that will do this still.
Things I Didn't Like in CA:
It seemed a bit slow at the start. The action, while pretty much throughout, wasn't quite as exciting as it became at the end.
Things I Didn't Like in HH:
I admit to being completely annoyed with Nora for being such an idiot (I am not entirely sure you got that vibe from my previous comments on the book). She is so utterly stupid that it makes you wonder how she will survive. I will agree that some amount of appeal in a dangerous guy exists and that your heart will lead you where it will, but she seems to be brainless. He treats her like crap sometimes, and she just keeps coming back for more. Her mother is so blind that she unwittingly leaves her teenage daughter alone for days at a time. What, kids that age don't need adult supervision? I thought the ending, while clever, suffered from not enough information and explanation. An interesting twist that could have been better if there was more information about fallen angels, Nephilim, and Nora's part in it all. And, of course, it suffers from comparisons to Twilight, to which it has some very strong similarities. I hope for more from the sequels.
Read-alikes:
Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Need and Captivate by Carrie Jones
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS for CA:
s-factor: !
a few
mrg-factor: none
just some nice kissing :)
v-factor: ->->
rather a lot of fighting, as expected
Overall rating: *****
______________________________________________________________
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS for HH:
s-factor: !@
some here and there
mrg-factor: XXX
full of innuendo and sensuality, though not much actual action
v-factor: ->->
mostly its frightening stuff, rather than violent
Overall rating: ***
Do you have a favorite fallen angel/nephilim book?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Publisher: Amistad
Publication date: February 2010
ISBN: 9780060760885
Source: Library
Things I Liked:
This book was fabulous! Williams-Garcia manages to combine an interesting and important bit of history with excellent writing and delightful characters. I positively adored Delphine and her sisters, particularly the way they interact with one another. Each sister is unique and has personality enough to fill multiple books. It's nice that we learn about history and the issues that were happening at that time. But, really, this book is all about Delphine and how she grows, changes, and begins to understand her mother. Her voice is just perfect, making me feel like I had a little sister I never knew about. Pretty much, I agree with those who mention this as a Newbery contender. Beautiful writing, memorable characters, and an interesting topic. Here are some favorite parts:
Mother is a statement of fact. Cecile Johnson gave birth to us....Mommy gets up to give you a class of water in the middle of the night. Mom invites your friends inside when it's raining. Mama burns your ears with the hot comb to make your hair look pretty for class picture day. Ma is sore and worn out from wringing your wet clothes and hanging them to dry; Ma needs peace and quiet at the end of the day. p 14
I never thought about what Delphine meant or if it had a meaning at all. It was just my name. Delphine had a grown sound like it was waiting for me to slide into it, like a grown woman slides into a mink coat and clips on ruby earrings. I figured since Cecile didn't have a mink coat or ruby earrings to give me when I grew up, she had dreamed up a name that I would grow into. p 82
Good old Merriam Webster. I trusted Merriam because I thought, instead of having children she didn't want, she wrote the dictionary. She didn't have anything else better to do, probably didn't have sisters and brothers to see after, which was why she knew every word in the world. p 83
Wouldn't Little Bobby rather be alive than be remembered? Wouldn't he rather be sitting out in the park than have the park named after him? I wanted to watch the news. Not be in it. The more I thought about it, the more I had my answer. We were staying home tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. p 133
Things I Didn't Like:
I just felt a bit sorry for the kids because their mother so obviously didn't care about them. I wanted to cry for them, especially when Delphine would have to prepare herself so she didn't feel bad about being ignored or dismissed. And I'm not sure how much kid-appeal the story will hold, though I think they might enjoy the characters.
Read-alikes:
Reminded me a bit of Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: none
Overall rating: *****
What do you think are some possible award winners from this year?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
(Yes, that apple is as big as my face. No, it doesn't have much to do with back to school. But, it is an apple...)
Ah, it's that time of the year again. Back to school time. It always makes me think pencils and notebooks and clothes shopping and the dreaded homework. Fortunately, I'm coming back to school now as a librarian and not a student. However, I threw together a list of books where a large part of it or an important part of it takes in school. Whether that be a boarding, a regular old public, or a wizarding, these kids are all dealing with the social, emotional, and academic challenges of school.
Back to School Edition:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks by E. Lockhart
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Flipped by Wendalin Van Draanen
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff
Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (suggested by Susan)
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Schooled by Gordon Korman
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Shug by Jenny Han
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
We the Children by Andrew Clements
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
You by Charles Benoit (I happen to be giving a copy of this away right now!)
Always looking for suggestions, since I am certain there are many more!
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
I was going to skip the theme for this week in order to simply post photos of my vacations, but I decided I couldn't pass up a little love for (a few of) my favorite heroine(s). (You should know by now I have a hard time picking one favorite anything.)
When I think of a favorite heroine in literature, the first few that come to mind are always: Anne Shirley and Jo March. Really, those two shaped my childhood and on into my later years (I still love to watch the Anne of Green Gables mini-series). I even wrote a letter to Anne, expressing why I loved her and how I wanted to be her. And Jo. Oh, how I loved having a girl who didn't quite fit in, a girl who wanted to write and wear pants, to be my best friend.
But then I had to think of Kit Tyler from The Witch of Blackbird Pond, one of the first books that really sparked my love of reading. I wanted to be her. I wanted to wear her dresses (yes, how ironic that I loved Jo March, who didn't want to wear them). I adored Nat.
Then in the middle school and high school years, I discovered Jane Eyre, a much more sophisticated role model, but one who I adored for her romantic heart and yet her resolve of steel. From her I learned not to give in to temptation despite what your heart wants. She was one tough woman. And, of course, Elizabeth Bennet who wielded a tongue that made me so envious I memorized whole sections of the book (and movie). A women who obviously made mistakes, but who could still overcome and accept them. And there was always Eowyn, the heartbroken, but never-giving-up destroyer of evil, who found a way to mend her broken heart (which, as I'm sure everyone did at that stage in life, I related to completely). How could I possibly choose among them all?
I couldn't. Of course not. So, I revel in those women who can be tough and tender. Who can spurn a man with the best of them, and then come to love them. Who are never perfect, but still manage to overcome their weaknesses. Ah, the power of a writer to bring to life those women we can relate to and aspire to be like. (It didn't escape my notice that all but one of these women was created by women who likely held some of these traits in their own personalities.)
Can you pick just one?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
You by Charles Benoit
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: August 2010
ISBN: 9780061947049
Source: ARC provided by publisher
Things I Liked:
I had really high expectations of this one. In some ways, I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed the unique second person narrative. I've never read anything that pulled that off before. I was impressed. Admittedly, sometimes it was distracting or confusing, but still unique and interesting enough to keep my attention. The story itself was a bit slow to start. After that attention-grabbing beginning, it slows down and we get a lot of the day-to-day life of Kyle. I think that was intentional, since it is his daily experiences that lead him to the inevitable ending. I liked Kyle, I thought he was a good kid, even when he did stupid things over and over again. I will admit the ending had me surprised - it was not as I expected, which was quite obviously the point.
The teachers complain that the students today are all lazy, ignorant, and stupid. But the truth is that you're smarter than they are. You're not even old enough to drive and you already know that none of this matters. Not the English or the social studies or the math or the science. If it did, if it really mattered, they'd teach it in a way that made you want to learn it. But no, they've got to teach it in the most mind-numbing way possible, moving on without any real discussion to get to the next thing that's going to be on the test - the standardized test. p 35-36 of ARC
You want to tell her that what's wrong is the whole stupid assignment, that all it teaches kids is that there's one way to think, one way to act, so that by the time they reach high school all they have to do is look at somebody and they can tell if he's cool or a nerd or a jock or a hoodie. That way if somebody starts thinking for himself, starts acting all weird, like wearing a sport coat to school, they'll be easy to spot. p 110-111 of ARC
Your whole life is a chain of choices - your choices. p 215 of ARC
Things I Didn't Like:
As mentioned above, I liked Kyle, but I really wanted to slap him upside the head. He could have used that. Sometimes things coming from his perspective sounded very didactic (just look at those quotes I have above - they sound rather preachy, don't they). Zack was intriguing, but kept making me angry as well, though he was supposed to. I am quite sure if I had any kind of similar experiences when I was a teen, this book would have been life changing. However, I was really not like Kyle, so it didn't resonate with me as much as it will with others. While I was surprised by the ending, I was terribly confused the first two or three times I read it. I guess I'm a little slow, but it wasn't immediately apparent to me exactly what happened. Definitely a unique book with an audience that will adore it. I'm just not in that audience.
Read-alikes:
A bit like Chris Crutcher and Gail Giles and other 'edgy' YA authors
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
not as many as expected
mrg-factor: XX
definitely implied, though not described
v-factor: ->->
a few incidents, but not a lot of detail
Overall rating: ****
It just so happens I have an extra ARC of this book for one lucky reader (US only, sorry). Leave me a comment telling me of a book that you read as a teen that really impacted you in some way (and a way for me to contact you). I'll pick a winner next Friday. Good luck!
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: August 2010
ISBN: 9780439023511
Source: Purchased :)
Katniss has survived her second Hunger Games. She's now living in the mysterious District 13, part of a rebellion that she's been a pawn in without knowing it. Peeta was taken by the Capitol and she doesn't know what's happening to him. Will she be able to keep him, herself, her family, Gale, and everyone else safe or will she have to risk it all to be the leader of the rebellion?
Things I Liked:
After all the hype and the waiting, it was so great to finally pick up the final book. Just reading a highly anticipated book like this is an experience apart from the book. But, enough about that. I was happy for nearly all of the book (though the beginning was pretty slow for me). I loved how there were several plot twists that threw me, specifically Peeta. [Purposely vague to avoid spoilers.] It was, once again, really hard to put down and kept me on the edge of my seat for most of it. I love what Collins manages to do, creating this world full of horrible things and yet not making us despair because of the hopefulness and the happy parts. This book delves into Katniss' inner thoughts and emotions. We get to see just how raw and difficult it is to survive after all this psychological, emotional, and physical stress. It feels quite real to me. Exciting, non-stop, grueling, heart-breaking (oh the heartbreak in this book)! Favorite parts:
It isn't enough, what I've done in the past, defying the Capitol in the Games, providing a rallying point. I must now become the actual leader, the face, the voice, the embodiment of the revolution. The person who the districts - most of which are now openly at war with the Capitol - can count on to blaze the path to victory. I won't have to do it alone. They have a whole team of people to make me over, dress me, write my speeches, orchestrate my appearances as if that doesn't sound horribly familiar - and all I have to do is play my part. p 10-11
"Oh, no. It costs more than your life. To murder innocent people?" says Peeta. "It costs everything you are." p23
Things I Didn't Like:
Right about when we hit chapter 25, I started to not like the book. Up to that point it was everything I hoped for and more. The rest disappointed and confused me. I just didn’t feel very satisfied with the ending. It felt half-hearted and vague and totally confusing to me. If you'd like to read more of my thoughts on this, do check out the discussion in Natasha's spoiler post. I didn’t much like the romance either, but that was just my personal preference. :)
Read-alikes:
Read the first two books in the series The Hunger Games and Catching Fire
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few (though I admit I wasn't paying much attention)
mrg-factor: X
romantic, but not much else
v-factor: ->->->->
again, quite gory and violent - there's a lot of blood
Overall rating: ****
I'm finally home from vacation (it's been quite a while since I wasn't living out of a suitcase, or at least it feels like it)! Today is my first day back in my own library and I feel both happy and sad about it. Going back to work is so hard, no matter where you work, I think. Anywho, I'm also back in my local public libraries and checking things out again! I really didn't get nearly enough of my review copies read to justify this, but I had a few books on hold that I simply don't want to wait for. So, here they are:
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (yes, I'm probably the last to read this)
Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
And the books really piled up while I was gone (ok, not really, but I was pretty excited about them all the same...)
Matched by Ally Condie (I've really been dying to get my hands on this, so I was super excited that it came for me)
It's a Book by Lane Smith
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
And, though I didn't get to visit any amazing bookstores while I was vacationing, I did stop by a for charity book sale and pick up a few books:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
The Field Guide by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
And this list would not be complete without this delight, which I purchased (of course):
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
and which I just finished and am currently trying to figure out my reaction to. I loved getting to hash out some thoughts and read others' over at Natasha's spoiler-ridden discussion of it.
What did you get this week?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
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