Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Series: The Hunger Games, book #3
Read my review for The Hunger Games & Catching Fire
Next book in Series: --
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: August 24, 2010
Hardcover: 390 Pages
Age Group: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Source: Library
Challenge: Support Your Local Library, 350 Page
Overall: 5/5

Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12.

First Paragraph: I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather. This is where the bed I shared with my sister, Prim, stood. Over there was the kitchen table. The bricks of the chimney, which collapsed in a charred heap, provide a point of reference for the rest of the house. How else could I orient myself in this sea of gray. 

Oh. My. God. I don't even know what to say about this book. I'm very heart-broken that this series has ended. I tried to read it slow, to savor every last detail of the book, but it was just too good and I had to devour it!  

Even though a lot has changed and it wasn't as good as The Hunger Games (Of course!) it was amazing! I finished it hours ago and I can't stop thinking about it, and I doubt I will for a while. Each book has continued to haunt me. 

Katniss has grown so much since volunteering to take her sister's place in The Hunger Games. She's been forced to grow up. She never gets a break! Just when it seems like she can try and calm down a bit and just try and face the nightmares she already has to deal with, something else happens to bring on more nightmares. 

But she isn't the only one. A lot of other characters is thrown into the category as well. Namely Gale, Peeta, Prim, Finnick. 

I think this might of been the more emotional one out of the trilogy. But I can't completely set my mind on one because all of them set you on an emotional roller coaster ride. 

Just like the first two books, I was never able to guess at what would happen next. I could try and guess, but would always fail. 

I am very happy with the Epilogue, and I'm going to leave it at that because I don't want to give anything away.  I canNOT wait for the freaking Hunger Games movie. I am counting down and hoping and praying they don't screw it up too much. Hopefully it will follow Harry Potters lead and be as close to the book they can get it! 

I recommend this to everyone. This series should definitely be on your to read list! It's worth every bit of the hype it is getting!

Cover: The covers are growing on me. :D

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


Series: The Hunger Games, book #2
Read my review for The Hunger Games.
Next Book in Series: Mockingjay
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Hardcover: 391 Pages
Age Group: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
Source: Bought
Challenge: A to Z, Off the Shelf,  350 Page Book
Overall: 5/5

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.

First Paragraph: I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air. My muscles are clenched tight against the cold. If a pack of wild dogs were to appear at this moment, the odds of scaling a tree before they attacked are not in my favor. I should get up, move around, and work the stiffness from my limbs. But instead I sit, as  motionless as the rock beneath me, while the dawns begins to lighten the woods. I can't fight the sun. I can only watch helplessly as it drags me into a day that that I've been dreading for months.  

Even though Catching Fire wasn't as good as The Hunger Games, it is still a favorite of mine and a great sequel to The Hunger Games. I was worried, at first, that I wouldn't be able to jump back into the book because I wasn't really sure what could possibly go on in this book without Katniss and Peeta in the game anymore and just the fact that after reading The Hunger Games  I had VERY high expectations about it's sequel.


I think this possibly might be my all-time favorite series now. But then I start thinking about all my other top favorite series and can't possibly choose.


Catching Fire got so many reactions out of me, which a truly great book always does. I screamed and wanted to throw the book across the room so many times due to some of the events that happened. I was hit in the face so many times because I wasn't expecting the events to happen. Which I've always loved about these books because I've never been able to guess what would happen next.


You can see that Katniss has grown a lot since being in the Hunger Games and you get to see the effect that it has had on her. Even though Katniss annoys me at times with the whole Peeta situation, I still love her as a main character.


Overall, I absolutely loved this book. But absolutely HATE the cliffhanger at the end. I own the first two books, but don't have the last one yet, sadly. I went to put it on hold, being very happy I was going to be going to the library the next day, but to find that ALL 32 copies of the book that the library systems in my town has, were all UNAVAILABLE. I put it on hold and I'm currently 28 on the list to get it. WHY?!


I recommend this to everyone. Read it!


Cover: Even though I absolutely love this series, the covers are on my top favorite lists. Though I love that they fit the storyline. Book design is by Elizabeth B. Parisi

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Book #1

Next book in series:Catching Fire
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Release Date:  October 1, 2008
Hardcover: 374 Pages
Age Group: Young Adult (12+)
Author Website

Rating:

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? 

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 second 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 death before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. 

When I first got this in the mail about a year or two ago, I quickly set it aside after seeing the not very alluring cover. After days went by I finally decided to try and look past the cover and see what it was about. So I did, and was still not very into wanting it on my reading list. It sounded a bit interesting, but not enough to really draw me in.

But now, lately, I've seen this book and it's series around everywhere. I couldn't shake this series. I started reading reviews on it and all of them have been great reviews. I have not seen one bad review so far! Basically all of them are five or four stars. So I finally decided to sit down and try and read it.

I told myself that I would read the first 10 pages before I went to bed and if it didn't catch my attention and if I didn't remember what I had read the next day, then I would set it aside again and try and read it at a later time when I was more in the mood for it.

The next day came and I remember everything and was more interested in reading it! And I'm so glad that it caught my attention because this is one GREAT book. I can see what all the hype is about it now and why I see "Team Peeta" and "Team Gail" around everywhere! Which, by the way, I am completely "Team Peeta". Not that there is anything wrong with Gail, he's a nice character. But Peeta has me completely won over!

I can see the meaning of the cover now and it fits with the book well. It may not be one of my favorite covers, but I appreciate it a bit more now after reading the book.

Collins' world building is prodigious, but scary! I can't imagine being able to live in Panem. The world is already upsetting enough, but not as upsetting as her world would be. Can you imagine being forced to sit down and watch twelve through eighteen year olds fight to the death as entertainment? I couldn't!

The characters in this book were real and believable. I couldn't help but want to know more about the other tributes as they were killed off, one by one. Each one had their own personality and it was sad to see them killed.

Katniss was the perfect heroine. She was strong, and selfless, and intelligent and her family was her top priority, which is highly admirable.

Collins' left nothing out, you read from Katniss point-of-view at all times as though you were really in her mind, watching everything she sees and does. Even though the chapters leaves off in amazing cliff hangers, she starts right back up from where it left off. Which I really liked. Her writing style kept you reading and at the edge of your seat.

This review is really hard for me to write because this book completely blew me away and I can't type fast enough to even begin to tell you everything about what is going on in my mind about this book. I highly appreciate the honesty that Collins' put into this book, no matter how disturbing her world was, and I can't wait to continue the series and see what else she has install for us.

I recommend this to anyone who would love to be put into a world different, but somewhat the same, as our own. Also, even if the book doesn't sound appealing to you, please try and at least give it a chance and read a chapter of two before you completely dismiss the book. You will be missing out on a wonderful book that I can see as a classic one day.