Mockingjay by Susan Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The final installment of The Hunger Games.

Previous review on Catching Fire (Book 2)

Katniss has survived her second round in the Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell has ended with her separated from Peeta, and District 12 blown off the map. Katniss now has to acknowledge that District 13 does exist. Now she will have to decide if she can be the symbol of hope to all those who are fighting on the rebel side as well as a symbol of rebelliousness to the Capital.

In the beginning of Mockingjay Katniss has yet to really regain her bearings from the Quarter Quell. She is lost, and wonders about District 13. She uses a therapeutic method of keeping herself grounded by repeating known truths about herself. She doesn't know if Peeta is dead or alive or what it is that the Capital is doing to him. All she knows is that she is relatively safe while he is suffering pains that could be worse then death.

Then Coin, the leader of the Rebellion, tells her that she needs Katniss to be the face of the rebellion. The Mockingjay. When Katniss finally agrees to do what Coin wants she is unsure, again, if her actions will be of any help to anyone outside of the rebellion. Peeta is the one she most often thinks about. His welfare and whether or not the Capital is torturing him at that very moment. Her mother and sister, along with Gales family, are safe. So why would she worry about them? The only person really that Katniss has to worry about is Peeta...and Johanna.

I actually completed Mockingjay almost a week ago, and when i finished the book I knew, just knew, I'd have to read it again in order to really get everything I'd read. I was in such a hurry to just read the pages and learn what happens next. I'd wondered for a year what, and how, Collins would do next. She'd done such a marvelous job of pulling us in and surprising us over and over again. I wanted to know.

SPOILERS

MAJOR SPOILERS

I WARNED YOU.

In the end we all knew it would be Peeta. I was rooting for Gale in Book 1until you really got to know Peeta. Then I had no idea who to like. In Book 3 you get to see Katniss without Peeta, and then at a time when she, like almost everyone else, has found Peeta to be a shadow of his former self. He is no longer the sweet, kind, and intense person who has always loved Katniss from afar. He is instead a Mutt born from the Capital with the express purpose of killing her. It's Gale's chance to step in, take over, and win Katniss over. But he, and Collins, don't play it that way. Instead, as he tells Peeta, he understands that Katniss will choose the person she can't survive without. Gale understands something that even Katniss does not. That Katniss needs someone to balance her out. Someone to be the calm to her fire. I love how that ended. So heartbreakingly lovely and true to their characters.

Okay, now that I've said my piece on that. War is said, and so many lost their lives so easily in this book that it made me not want to turn that next page. To pretend that they are still alive and happy. Collins said she wanted to make her books reflect war. It's scars that are left behind on everyone, and I have to say she did so magnificently. I don't feel she pulled punches when it came to getting her message across. I could hardly get through Cato's death in Book 1, and expected much of the same to happen with Book 3. Although it didn't have quite the same effect seeing how Peeta and Johanna came back from the Capital was hard. Peeta, the always kind and loving boy, reduced to an animal.

I can't really write more on the book, because I really believe it deserves a second read to really get what Collins was trying to convey. I loved it, I cried, and I can't wait to see what Collins comes out with next.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver (Book One) By Lois Lowry

(Author Site) (Giver Trilogy)

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community.

When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to recieve special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to recieve the truth. There is no turning back.

Summary from back of a 2002 print book.

The Giver is book one of a trilogy called the Giver Trilogy. The world that Jonas lives in is a completely assimilated one. No one questions the life they are given. After 12 yearly milestones the passage of time no longer matters. You are given a job, are trained for that job, and you continue to on in life until you are considered an Old. In Jonas' world everyone has a place, and if you do not fit into one of those places you are sent away. To be sent away is to go into the unknown.

Jonas is called to become the next Receiver, a job that he has never heard of, and will be the only Receiver once his training is complete. He is told it is one of the hardest, most painful, and solitary jobs for one person to have. But, it is also one of the most important. When Jonas begins to train to be the new Receiver he begins to learn things that he never knew before. Like colors, snow, and sunburns. He also learns about making mistakes.

"Frightening isn't it?" The Giver said.

Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices."

"It's safer."

"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."

But when the conversation turned to other things, Jonas was left, still, with a feeling of frustration that he didn't understand. (pg. 98-99)

The more that Jonas learns from the Giver the quicker he realizes that the world has so much more to offer then what he has been shown in his short life. The more he learn the more he begins to want others to see what he sees. While he's been told his whole life that Sameness is best the memories that the Giver is passing onto him causes conflict within himself.

I really have to say that I can see why The Giver is such a classic. The exaggerated conformity of the world that The Giver is set in doesn't really seem too far off. If no one speaks up for change in the world we could very well find ourselves blindly following others.

"It seems to work pretty well that way, doesn't it? The way we do it in our community?" Jonas asked. "I just didn't realize there was any other way, until I received that memory." (pg. 125)

As simplistic as Jonas' life is the more he learns about other ways to live and of other memories the more he wants to experience what is beyond his community. Jonas comes to understand that happiness can come from variety, experience, and knowledge rather then Sameness. The Giver is beautifully written book. The message that Lowry gives to young readers is loud and clear. I look forward to reading the next two books of the series.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

(Author Page) (Author Blog)

Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known, and all she needs for happiness.

But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.

One night beyond the Barrier...

One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery...

One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.

Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

The Dead-Tossed Waves is apart of a trilogy, and is not a sequel but a companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. If you remember I loved FHT so much that I gave it a glowing review last year. I was so excited to read this book that it's been talked about almost to death on my blog. (Yeah, sorry about that.) Unfortunately I can't really give Dead-Tossed as glowing a review. Not because I didn't like the story, but because I just didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, ever since I purchased the book I haven't been able to put it down. I brought it with me to work to read during lunch. When I came home I ate quickly so I could read it, and would spend my whole evening reading it. This book is just as gripping, just as engrossing as the FHT. I do not think anyone will be disappointed with the book.

The nit-picky things about this novel was that it felt like not much had changed from the FHT. Let me elaborate. The main character, Gabry, is the daughter of Mary. The same Mary as FHT, and thus this story is years after FHT. Unlike Mary, Gabry is not a brave character. She is constantly afraid of breaking the rules, and if she could she would have lived her entire life in the sea-side town of Vista and never looked for more. She, almost unwillingly, goes to the amusement park because of a boy. Gabry's world is constantly in flux. Consequences are constantly resulted by the one decision she, and the other teenagers, made in going beyond the Barrier. I loved this element of the story. Very NOT like Twilight where everything is wonderful for Bella and she gets everything she wants.

However, it seemed like every time some little bit of good occurred in Gabry's life a huge amount of bad would happen in return. Gabry experiences her first kiss. Immediately afterward a Breaker attacks the entire group. Infecting and killing several teenagers. I can't really say anymore without spoiling the story, but for every good thing a huge amount of bad occurred. No wonder the poor girl was so damn scared. If every time something good happened to me someone died I'd want to curl into a ball on the floor. ( For the record no, I'm not saying every time something good happens someone dies I'm just saying things to that effect happened all through out the book. I'm just using the introduction and summary as an example.)

Also even though I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book is over 400 pages long it felt like some stuff could have progressed faster or been left out. Although I was almost always intrigued and wanting to read more. There are events in the book that could of taken less time and words to occur. Not often, but enough for me to look at the pages left and think "when is this book going to end?" Also the love triangle and Gabry's affections, which were wishy-washy at best, and constantly annoyed me. I wanted to scream at her to pick a guy and stick with him. I could excuse Mary's love-triangle wishy-washy antics in FHT a little bit, but after a while it got old. With Gabry her wishy-washy antics really got to me. Especially when she was pledging her love and devotion to one boy and then a chapter or two later doing so again with another boy.

Now these are really nit-picky things about the book. Over all the story was really well thought out and written. You could really see the work Ryan put into surprising her readers and keeping them guessing. Events happened in the book which seemed inconsequential at first but eventually came to mean a lot more down the line. Again I won't say what, but Ryan surprised me more then once. Even with one particular character who was quite minor but whose presence is a big catalyst in events that occurred later on.

Questions left at the end of book one were answered in DTW, and even the mythology was well explained and expanded throughout this book. Which is great, because a lot of people were complaining that not enough of the history was explained or mapped out in FHT. In DTW you are given two histories. One that Gabry was told since she was a child, and a second history that she learns later on. It's really up to the reader and the character to wonder which history is the right history, and what has been altered throughout time and personal perspective.

Finally, the thing that Ryan has also excelled at in this book as well as with FHT was the human element. All of the characters may have acted selfishly or unselfishly at times, but I could really understand the reasons why they did. Plus, the mother-daughter interactions between Gabry and Mary are amazingly real and sweet. This part of the story I truly loved, because you really could feel the love that Gabry and Mary have for each other in this book.

Overall if you liked the first book you'll enjoy the second. I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends.

Edit:
The Boy would like to add that the author used the word "possibility" a bit gratuitously. Which I hadn't really noticed until he started to read the book and pointed it out. It was funny though!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Amazon Page-Author Page

Katsa was born with a special ability and is known as a Graceling. Others in Katsa's world have Graces that are different for each person, and each Grace is defined as a superhuman ability to do a task- swimming, fighting, archery, and mind-reading to name a few. Katsa's Grace is deadly. When she was just a child she killed a man quickly, and without truly meaning to do it. Her uncle, King Randa, decided then to allow Katsa to hone her Grace, and then tasked her with the duty to bully or kill anyone that defied his authority.

Katsa's life continues this way until she meets Prince Po who is searching for his kidnapped grandfather. Katsa befriends Po because she able to fight him, and he is able to stand up to her beatings. Their relationship quickly turns into friendship. Po gives Katsa the ability to look at her Grace, and herself in ways she could never have imagined before.

I can't really summarize this story anymore without giving away too many plot points.

Cashore is a wonderful world-builder. She has a way of creating such vivid and wonderful history and scenery that the reader will be submersed in the novel completely. Katsa, although stubbron and angry, is easily relateable as a character and main voice of this novel. Katsa is used to being defined by her ability as a bully for her uncle King. She may find ways to work outside her uncle's notice, but she still feels defined by what he asks her to do. Her world view is thoroughly challenged by Po who is Graced as well. The progression of the novel shows a great progression of Katsa not only in her life, but how she perceives herself as well.

Although there were a couple predictable story lines in Graceling none of them felt forced. Instead they progressed naturally, and comfortably. Cashore took her time to allow events and changes to happen in a way that mimicked life. In this way Cashore has shown a real ability to allow natural growth occur in her novels without losing her readers. Although I felt that this method of story telling did cause the novel to drag at times over all the effect causes the readers to really know and understand the characters. Graceling is a perfect example of a character driven story that really succeeds.

The only real problems I saw with Graceling, beyond the points where the novel dragged, was the closeness that Katsa and Fire had to each other. (For more about Fire read my review on that book.) Like Fire, Katsa refuses marriage or children although the purposes of this are not fully fleshed out. Fire refuses children or marriage because she wants her monster genes to die off with her. Katsa simply refuses marriage or children because she wants to be completely independent. She doesn't want to have to report herself to anyone but herself. Her motives for choosing a marriage-less and child-less life are completely selfish and not to keep her future children from becoming Gracelings. There are no genetic co-relations between Graced people having only Graced children. Quite the contrary, non-Graced people have Graced children. It isn't quite explained how or why Gracelings are born, but this simply strikes me as odd. One would think that eventually this selfish motivation would change, but it does not.

Like Fire, Katsa is constantly the center of attention because of her differently colored eyes, and is constantly and easily recognized. However I truly wonder how easy it would be to really notice that a person has differently colored eyes. Whenever I see someone with heterochromia it takes me a while to actually catch it. And, if Gracelings are so abundant, why would anyone really take notice of her immediately. Variations in eye color for Katsa, one green eye and one blue eye, aren't as fantastic as Po's, one gold eye and one silver eye. Yes, she is famous as her Uncle King's henchmen, but I had to wonder how people could really distinguish her so easily when all her fame was word of mouth.

Over all though Graceling is a book that deserves it's popularity. Cashore is such a talented writer and story teller I can't wait to see her third book, Bitterblue, which she is currently writing. If it is anything like Fire or Graceling I'm sure readers will be in for a treat.

Edit: Read an amendment to this review posted 01/19/10.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is the second book of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Generally I don't like spoiling a book for a reader. So in this case if you haven't read Hunger Games don't read this review. Unless, of course, you want to be spoiled.

Katniss has accomplished an almost impossible feat. She won the Hunger Games, and with such a victory should come a life of wealth. Katniss and her family will never want again. Katniss will never have to worry that her mother or sister will starve. But Katniss is now something she never thought she would become. When President Snow visits Katniss one morning she becomes aware that she has become a symbol for a rebellion that has been brewing in other districts. Now Katniss must decide just how she will play her cards to keep her family from disappearing.

When I first started Catching Fire I had no idea just how Collins was going to move this story forward. I had read reviews and heard rumors, and still I had no idea how the second book would unfold. That same guessing continued even as I began to read the continuation of Katniss's story. Up until the very last page. This truly was a story I could not predict. I can't wait for the third and final novel.

Something that surprised me even more was the relationship between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. I don't really know how anyone could choose a side! Of course there are the Team Gale and Team Peeta's out there, but honestly? Who has time for a romance when the world as you know it is changing at such a rapid pace? Katniss may wonder herself about the possibilities of futures and relationships with both Peeta and Gale, and the situation that she had been put in warrants it. For Katniss, though, she cannot see a future where she must watch her children stand in line every year to be chosen. Or be forced to watch them compete in the Games. For Katniss that is the same scale as being able to watch Prim be selected for the games. And we all know how that went.

I really loved the way that Collins handled the whole romance dynamic. How even if Katniss could love Peeta or Gale in a way that would lead to marriage and children Katniss knows just what she would be asking of her future children. To have a character be that mature was a real breath of fresh air. I could write more, but do yourself a favor and read this book. Check it out at your local library. I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Mary's world exists inside a very delicate balance. The only thing that separates her from certain death is one fence. The fence protects Mary and her village. The village has survived because of the balance of power that the Sisterhood and the Guardians hold over Mary and her fellow villagers.


While Mary may be safe in her village from the constant threat of death at the hands of the Unconsecrated Mary dreams of more. She dreams of freedom, of what is beyond the fence, and most importantly of the ocean. Mary knows she has the Sisterhood and the Guardians to thank for her safety, but Mary still dreams. She can't help but think of the ocean and of her mother's stories of the world before the Unconsecrated.

When the fences are breached and the village is overrun with the Unconsecrated Mary is thrust into the world beyond the fence. Now, Mary runs for her life.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an excellent, heart-thumping, mind-blowing read. I cannot talk highly enough about this book. What makes this book ever more impressive is that this book is Carrie Ryan's debut novel! Ryan has weaved a world and this both eloquent and devastating which is an amazing feat for a book about zombies. That's right, zombies.


Don't let the subject matter fool you into making judgments about Hands and Teeth. Ryan has broken into and artfully designed a type of horror book that is written in a hauntingly beautiful way. Mary is such a compelling protagonist that I found myself wanting to hate her for her faults and love her for her strength and her sheer force of will.

One of the best things about this book is that it I believe it will surpass not only the Young Adult to Adult label barrier but also the gender barrier. With a female protagonist most male readers won't initially want to read this book, but Ryan has created a tale so fascinating that even my Boy couldn't put this book down. He read the whole thing and asked for more.

Hands and Teeth can't get enough good press. It has already been optioned for a movie, and the second book of this trilogy, Dead Tossed Waves, out March 2010 has already garnered good reviews! Personally I can't wait.