Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Synopsis:
Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol--a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

My Rating: 9/10

My Thoughts:
Two of my friends and I got up early the day this book came out, bought it, and then sat in my living room all day reading it. Everyone who saw us laughed, because we spoke very little to each other for hours on end, simply sitting in our chairs reading. Our only interaction was to ask what page the others were on and to comment on the content of the book in our hands. It was a glorious day, and the book did not disappoint.

With this book you get a much broader perspective of the country of Panem. You find out a little bit more about the other districts, and what they do in each one. Also you get a much bigger sense of the anti-capitol undercurrents swirling around the districts. I had a guess about what would be going on in this book, and I guess I was kind of right in the sense that I was still far enough off that I was taken completely by surprise half way through. I don't know, maybe you all saw what was coming, but I didn't.

The only reason I knocked a star off this book is because it lacked the same punch the first one had, but being the second in a series, you can't really blame it. You're left with another clifhanger ending, this one even worse then the end of Hunger Games, and I can't wait for the third book to come out next August. My desktop countdown says only 196 days!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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 steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contended. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Rating: 10/10

My Thoughts:
I don't care what people think about this book, I love it and to me it's perfect. It has absolutely everything I want in a book: An oppressive futuristic society, underlying social commentary, a kick-ass female protagonist, an exciting and action-packed plot, and of course an amazing male love interest. I don't know if it's possible for me to come up with anything negative to say about this book, other than it was too short. I just can't believe I had it sitting on my shelf for so long before I finally read it.

This is one of the books I'm very possessive about. I encourage all my friends to read it, but it's one of those where I just want the rest of the world to leave it alone. Unfortunately there has been a lot of buzz about this book since it came out, but I can live with a bookworld buzz, it's when the outside media gets it's hands on it that I have a problem. However, with the movie planned for release in 2011, I have a feeling the worst is still ahead. I hate when pop culture snatches one of my favorite books, simply because they can make money off of it. They make a movie (usually not a good one ie Twilight), inundate us with mass advertising, collectibles, and media frenzy and take what was once an amazing thing and ruin it. I wish Hollywood would leave my books alone.

But enough ranting. This book is awesome.

O Pioneers by Willa Cather

Synopsis:
Published in 1913, this novel tells of Alexandra Bergson, a Swedish immigrant who, in her early 20s, loses both her mother and father and is thrust into the role of surrogate parent to her three brothers. Alexandra's success with the family farm enables her to send her brother Emil to college, but the family is challenged once more by his tragic love affair with a married woman.

My Rating: 8/10

This book is like Little House on the Prairie for adults, and I think that's why I loved it so much. It's not a thrilling page turner, in fact not a lot happens until the end, but this novel manages to entertain despite its lack of action. To me it was a soothing read, and in ways reminded me of The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. In fact, looking at the book again I realize O Pioneers is dedicated to her, so I guess that's fitting.

My favorite part of this novel is the fact that Alexandra is successful and she's a woman. Many books written at the time, and earlier, try to write strong women, or claim they do write strong women but fall short. O Pioneers however succeeded with a strong female character where others fail.

The one thing I didn't like about this novel is how it jumped through time. One section would end right when a plan was thought or a decision was made and the next would start 5 years later. I would have like to see a little bit of the plan or decision executed, but that's just me.

Overall I really enjoyed reading Willa Cather and already have My Antonia sitting by my bed waiting to be picked up.

Books I Loved

I've decided, now that I have several reviews published on this blog, to organize them by the rating I gave them. This list contains books I gave a rating of 8, 9, and 10.

10 stars:
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
Kushiel's Dart- Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel's Mercy- Jacqueline Carey

9 stars:
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Fire by Kristen Cashore
Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
The Eyre Affair- Jasper Fforde
The Maze Runner- James Dashner
Graceling- Kristen Cashore
The Dead-Tossed Waves- Carrie Ryan
Naamah's Curse- Jacqueline Carey
Kusheil's Chosen- Jacqueline Carey
North of Beautiful- Justina Chen Headley
Before I Fall- Lauren Oliver

8 stars:
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Feed by M. T. Anderson
Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Coraline by Neal Gaiman
O Pioneers- Willa Cather
The Man From Saigon- Marti Leimbach
Perfect Chemistry- Simone Elkeles
Boys, Bears and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots- Abby McDonald
The Body Finder- Kimberly Derting
Heir to Sevenwaters- Juliet Marillier

Books That Were Okay

I've decided, now that I have several reviews published on this blog, to organize them by the rating I gave them. This list contains books I gave a rating of 5, 6, and 7.

7 stars:
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Dairy Queen- Kathrine Gilbert Murdock
Impossible- Nancy Werlin

The Hero and the Crown- Robin McKinley
Hourglass- Claudia Gray
Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater
Silver Borne- Patricia Briggs
The Last Song- Nicholas Sparks
The Line- Teri Hall
Girl Overboard- Justina Chen Headley
In The Woods- Tana French

6 stars:
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely
The Declaration by Gemma Malley
The Off Season- Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott- Kelly O'Connor McNees
Dear John- Nicholas Sparks
Nothing but the Truth (And a Few White Lies)- Justina Chen Headley

5 stars:
Evermore by Alyson Noel
House of Many Ways- Diana Wynne Jones
Front and Center- Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Books I Did Not Like

I've decided, now that I have several reviews published on this blog, to organize them by the rating I gave them. This list contains books I gave a rating of 1, 2, 3, and 4.

4 stars:
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Fall of Light by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

3 stars:

2 stars:

1 star:

Fall of Light by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Synopsis:
Opal LaZelle is a makeup artist, specializing in transforming actors into fantastical and grotesque creatures. Unknown to the cast and crews of the films she works on, Opal comes from a family gifted in the art of magic--and she applies more than makeup when altering an actor's features.

On location in the backwoods of Lapis, Oregon, Opal uses her talent to turn Corvus Weather into the Dark God of Forest of the Night, enabling him to vanish into the role. But when Corvus's performance becomes too convincing--on set and off--Opal realizes he's not acting. Something has taken possession of Corvus. Something sinister tied to the town's past and capable of absorbing the very essence of life. Something Opal doesn't have enough power to confront, much less drive from the man she has fallen in love with.

My Rating: 4/10

My Thoughts:
I could not for the life of me get interested in this book. I loved the first one, A Fistful of Sky, and was so excited for this one to come out. But this one was almost painful to continue reading. Nina Kiriki Hoffman's stories are often unusual, bordering on weird, and this one was the same way. But unlike her other books, which I found unique and entertaining, Fall of Light was weird and boring. It starts off alright, but all the build up for a big final confrontation and resolution simply becomes a non-isssue.

Now I will admit that in A Fistful of Sky Opal was the least interesting character to me. She seemed vain and shallow, and this worried me when I found out she was the main character in this book. However when you read from her perspective you get a sense of where she is coming from, and what she experienced growing up and I began to like her a little more. However, I wish there had been more family members featured. To me that was the best part of the first book, the interaction between the siblings. Maybe the next book will make me happy and feature Jasper.

Hoffman seems to me to have a unique world view on the interactions between people, and this is reflected in her characters and how they always seem to take strange and disturbing news in stride. No one ever freaks out when they discover that they had been possessed by a forest god all day long, even though they previously never believed in magic or spiritual beings. Everyone's reaction is simply: oh, ok that explains it. In this book that fact annoyed me hugely. Reacting that way seemed unnatural and kind of detracted from the story.

Overall it was the fact that it was a quick and easy read that allowed me to finish, but this book has not scared me away from Hoffman forever. I just hope the next book steps it back up to the old standards.