Book: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Edition Published: 2011

By: Scholastic UK

Goodreads summary: Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

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Rating: ☽☽☽☽/5

Katniss has now survived The Hunger Games twice, only the escape the arena on the second. But she’s still not safe. Panem is fighting back, and a revolution is unfolding. And it seems everyone has a hand in the carefully laid plans, and Katniss has to put them all together.

She has to be the Mockingjay. The symbol of the fight, the battle, the revolution. No matter what the personal cost.

It is impossible to be the Mockingjay. Impossible to complete even this one sentence. Because now I know everything I say will directly be taken out on Peeta. Result in his torture. But not his death, no, nothing so merciful as that. Snow will ensure that his life is much worse than death.

Before I talk about the good, let’s start with the things I didn’t like about this book. There isn’t many things, just one big one. One very big one in fact.

The ending. Not the very last pages, where everything is happy between Peeta and Katniss – that is possibly one of my favorite parts about the book. But the last 50 pages or so, I just…didn’t like. And I know Emma will back me up on this one.

It just felt somewhat rushed. Like Suzanne had decided each book had to be under a certain number of pages and just crammed everything in. I feel like some things that need to be explained, weren’t explained. And although The Hunger Games were abolished, Katniss is back in District 12 as she was before. She loses Prim. Annie loses Finnick. Yes, Annie loses Finnick, which means she should be mad, right? Crazy without her lover to calm her. But no, she’s barely mentioned after he dies. And when she is, she is completely sane.

It seemed like more could have happened. Like Suzanne Collins went halfway to happiness – with The Hunger Games finishing and Peeta being back to normal – but not all the way there. It’s a bit like, if you’re going to decide to go the happy way, go the happy way. Don’t start going that way and then take the second left turn off the road. This just really annoyed me, and actually made me pretty sad. I think this could be one movie that I like more than the book. I can’t wait to find out.

Now, for the good.

I have to say, this book absolutely consumed my thoughts for hours. I actually walked around, ate, thought in a daze. About this book. About Katniss. About her situation, her mind. About the Capitol. The suspense just took over, and whenever I could in the past 24 hours, I have held that book and read. And read. And read.

I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

And I have to give The Hunger Games so much praise for this, because it evoked something in me I have never experienced before. To be so consumed in a fantasy world that the real world no longer seems normal. And just, simply for this, I believe this book and this series deserves 5 stars. I feel, currently, like this book deserves all the fricking stars in the sky. And beyond. I am truly part of the fandom. And The Hunger Games is honestly the best series I’ve ever read.

Is The Hunger Games a dystopian series?

This is something I would really like to discuss. Apparently, The Hunger Games falls under the adventure fiction, science fiction, drama and action genres, but not dystopian (according to Wikipedia, anyway). But obviously, this series is dystopian. Unless, of course, it is not set in the future. Because anyone in their right mind would classify the actual Games (and Panem) as undesirable. So, it comes down to the question, is The Hunger Games set in the future? And, is it a dystopian series?

-Beth

Book: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Edition Published: 2011

By: Scholastic UK

Goodreads summary: 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.

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Rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5

Katniss and Peeta survived the 74th Annual Hunger Games, and now the Capitol wants revenge.

The tributes from District 12 are now part of another battle. Ever since Katniss tricked the Capitol into letting two people win The Hunger Games, there have been whispers of an uprising, a rebellion against all they’ve ever known.

Now, all eyes in Panem are on the “star-crossed lovers.” Can they live up to their expectations, and put out the flames that are just starting to spread?

There. He’s done it again. Dropped a bomb that wipes out the efforts of every tribute who came before him. Well, maybe not. Maybe this year he has only lit a fuse on a bomb that the victors themselves have been building. Hoping someone would be able to detonate it. Perhaps thinking it would be me in my bridal gown. Not knowing how much I rely on Cinna’s talents, whereas Peeta needs nothing more than his wits.

As the bomb explodes, it sends accusations of injustice and barbarism and cruelty flying out in every direction. Even the most Capitol-loving, Games-hungry, bloodthirsty person out there can’t ignore, at least for a moment, how horrific the whole thing is.

I am pregnant.

I absolutely am in love with Suzanne’s writing. She has become near the top in my favorite author list. She is not just a writer, an author, but a person who works magic, casts spells. Magic that makes minutes spent reading seem like seconds as you flick between pages, intensely reading.

I love the plot of Catching Fire, it is very different from the first book. It makes the series unified, yet separate. Obviously, there is elements of the first book that filter in to the second, but there is also alarming differences too. Katniss’s attitude and maturity, her thoughts and emotions, and the fact that she is willing to work with allies, for example.

It makes the books interesting, instead of boring, which they could very easily be. No one would want to read a series that just repeats events from the books before. The Hunger Games does the complete opposite of that. It keeps you alert and ready to read. No matter where you are or what you are doing.

-Beth

Book: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Edition Published: 2011

By: Scholastic UK

Goodreads summary: The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

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Rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5

Every year, one girl and one boy from each District of Panem fight to the death. The odds are one in thousands that you will be chosen, but as Katniss Everdeen is about to find out, it is not impossible.

When her beloved 12 year old sister is selected to be a tribute in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss feels it is her duty to volunteer to take her place.

But will it be that hard, really? When killing animals is second nature to Katniss, will killing people be that different?

Certainly Peeta has thrown a wrench into our star-crossed lover dynamic. Or has he? Maybe, since he hasn’t spoken much about me, we can still get some mileage out of it. Maybe people will think it’s something we plotted together if I seem like it amuses me now.

As you know, The Hunger Games isn’t normally the genre I would go for. But, I am thrilled to say, I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Honestly, no matter what amount of hype it has had, I was scared I wasn’t going to like it. Just the thought of reading a SERIES is daunting to me.

But, The Hunger Games is one of those books that really deserves the hype it gets. Suzanne’s writing is truly gripping, and the suspense is amazing, even when you’ve seen the movie. I loved the movie, and I’ve seen it twice or three times, but this was my first time reading the book, and I was actually shocked at how much I really loved it. The pages went by without me noticing, and I flicked through without feeling the need to count the pages until the next chapter, like I do with some books. Even though I knew constantly what was going to happen next, I still felt the suspense.

I am scared that I love the book so much because of how similar it is to the movie, the acting is impeccable, and attitudes are spot on, the scenery is stunning, I just can’t get over how accurate it was. But, luckily, I haven’t watched Mockingjay Part 1 (or 2, obviously), so I will be finding out what happens for the first time.

This is a book that truly deserves 5 starts without question. I just hope the next 2 in the series live up to my expectations.

-Beth