Hunger Games Trilogy

This week I started reading The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, only to realize that it's a trilogy. Luckily for me, all three books have already been published, which means you know exactly what I'll be up to the next several days. I can say that this series is going quick (the more you like what you're reading, the quicker you are able to finish). I am currently inhaling the last book in the series, Mockingjay. These books are dubbed dystopian in nature, representing a futuristic world of strife and oppression.

Beastly, by Alex Flinn

• Pub. Date: October 2007
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5

 

Synopsis

I am a beast.
A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Review

I'd like to start out by saying that the movie is NOT consistent with the book. I watched it first and then read the book, but the differences are enough for the reader to notice them regardless the order. Now, I liked the movie AND the book, but I think the book was more realistic - you know, assuming a witches and spells and magic are real.

Flinn twists the classic story of Beauty and the Beast and sets it in a current, urban background. Cliche Aesop moral that you can see coming from a mile away? Heck, yes. Still worth reading? Heck, yes. I know this is mainstream and a lot of us avid readers are above all that hype, but sometimes, mainstream is good. I liked the description and all the tiny details and conversations and thoughts Flinn inserts and the tie to the original. If you have time, go watch the movie and look for changes the producers made -  in my opinion, it feels like a different story altogether, especially the characters. Now, I kind of feel like watching me an old Disney film...

AGNES AND THE HITMAN, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

• Pub. Date: August 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 

 

Synopsis

When a fiery food writer meets a hitman with a heart of gold, all bets are off in this“wildly entertaining” (Seattle Times) novel from bestselling authors Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer.
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT
Agnes Crandall’s problems are rolling to a boil. First, a dog-napper invades her kitchen, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she’s staked her entire net worth on. Then a man climbs through her bedroom window to save her. “Shane” (no last name) may be Agnes’s hero, but he’s also a professional hitman—so he’s no stranger to trouble himself…
GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN
Between a rival who wants to take him out and an uncle who may have lost five million bucks in Agnes’s basement, Shane’s plate is plenty full. Soon Agnes and Shane are tangled up with the lowlifes after the money, a gang of Southern mob wedding guests, a dog named Rhett, and—most dangerous of all—each other.

Review

Cruise is fantastic and light and entertaining as usual. I read Welcome to Temptation this bast Christmas and got hooked on her style of mystery and romance. I haven't read anything singly by Mayer, but I feel the need to now so I can see how each is incorporated in their joint works. Yes, I said workSSS.

The setting is whimsical, like a Nora Roberts backdrop with some added mystery and violence (maybe Janet Evanovich-y?) The story's beginning is complicated, only to get even more so once the reader is filled in on the circumstances. My favorite character is Brenda and the situations she creates or finds herself in. That and the dead body pileup. In real life it wouldn't be funny, but this author duo makes it work.

Like I said before, although it is a mystery novel, it was light reading with a great, twisty little ending. Worth the read.

The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Series #1), by Suzanne Collins

• Pub. Date: July 2010
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Pages: 384

• Series: Hunger Games Series , #1

Rating: 5/5 

 

Synopsis

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

Review

This book set on my shelf for a full week before I began reading it because the cover looked really Tom Clancy-ish and I wasn't really in the mood for that much action - but let me tell you, it provided plenty of action, and many other plot twists and gut-wrenching moments that I had no preparation for. I really enjoyed the book! I have a high appreciation for science-fiction/futuristic novelists because they have to invent all their groundwork, and that is so much more risky, hoping that readers will understand and catch interest and play along.

Katniss, the main character (I was unsure the first couple of pages if she was a boy or girl....let's face it, gender cannot be assumed with only names in this book...although I do like most of them), is a strong leading role, especially for a young girl that has had a rough upbringing. Following her through the story is a real treat, as well as other main characters. Collins does a great job of keeping the reader interested and guessing too - who's going to die next? Katniss can't die....right??? Thrilling. On top of that, the end of the Hunger Games is not the end of the book. It keeps going!!

Although I have just started the genre this year, I have found that I like YA fiction, particularly distopian in nature. So, you might be seeing a pattern, but I'll mix it up as best I can.

Quote 10: Above them.

I will not budge.

I feel somehow pressured to find a respectable job in a field that I've been educated...when I tell colleagues in my department that I haven't found a position I'm interested in, they return an almost pitiful look. Maybe it's too much to ask for a career that propells you to want to go to work in the morning. Maybe being lucky enough to have higher education to qualify for a good-paying job should induce a feeling of happiness.

(Un)fortunately, somewhere along the way, I have joined the idealists - some things are better than money like happiness, curiosity, and passion. Food trumps all these, though ;) So there you have it: I have no intention of settling on a job that does not interest me (unless I'm starving). In three months I will be moving, hopefully with a prospective position. If not, though, I intend not to freak out about it because I am not hopeless. I am ingenious and I will find what I love, even if it takes longer than I want. 

Cool new website!!!

So I found this website which has a cool picture and an inspiring or thought-provoking question. I think I'll incorporate this because I like it. That's all.

Oh, and the website is here:
www.thoughtquestions.com



http://thoughtquestions.com/page/133


Answer: Just because you are able to stretch further does not mean it is the best thing for you.

Evermore (Immortals Series #1), by Alyson Noël

Product Details

• Pub. Date: February 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Pages: 320

• Series: Immortals Series , #1

Rating: 1/5

 

Synopsis

The first book in Alyson Noël's #1 New York Times bestselling Immortals series.

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school - but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste...

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she's thinking - and he's the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn't know who he really is - or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Review

Yeah. So the story line had many possibilities and I really like the main character, Ever, who's perfect and beautiful, but hides under a hood because she's a clairvoyant. Damen is somewhat of an interesting character, too. I'm kind of disappointed because I liked most of the characters in the book, but the plot, action, everything else....they were all lacking something. Other than that, it seems like the same old song and dance of supernatural love (which btw, gives me deep satisfaction), but frankly, it's kind of boring.This is one of the few series that I don't care to finish -BUT, for those of you that liked this book....the review is my personal opinion, not fact.